Easter 6A - Additional Thoughts: Knowing God

It is an interesting journey into epistemology to have a discussion about whether or not you can have certain knowledge of God's existence. To a skeptic who actually considers the possibility that he might just be a brain in a laboratory with electrodes providing the stimulus that makes up his concsiousness, knowledge of God's existence is an epistemological impossibility. Even the ancient creeds speak of "I believe..." not "I know...." Even to those who don't dive to that level of skepticism, faith must still take a large role in the Christian experience. We don't have objective evidence of God outside of our own experience. Instead, we must take a leap of faith to place our lives in the hands of God.

To a culture that is increasingly agnostic, the Christian claim may seem tenuous at best. And yet, those of us who have experienced spiritual rebirth have such a certainty regarding God's existence that we don't often understand the agnostic skeptic who hasn't experienced the presence of God in such a clear way.

In our Gospel lesson, Jesus provides some last words of comfort and direction to His disciples before He prepares to be arrested and crucified.

^14:18 "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. ¹⁹ In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹ They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."

This is the sort of certain knowledge promised to Christ's disciples. We can know God because we can be in relationship with Him. We don't worship an "Unknown God," but a God who is in us, and we are in Him. It certainly does require a leap of faith to enter into that sort of intimate relationship with an infinite God, but we know that His promises are forever, and that He stands ready to have that sort of a relationship with those who come to Him by faith.

Grace and Peace,

PastorJon