This isn't just a story about God, but all things believed in.
"Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they
discuss it freely." --- Macaulay
This is a true story of something that happened just a few years ago at
the University of South Carolina. There was a professor of philosophy
there who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one
required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove
that God couldn't exist. His students were always afraid to argue with
him because of his impeccable logic.
For twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever had the
courage to go against him.
Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever 'really
gone against him' (you'll see what I mean later). Nobody would go
against him because he had a reputation. At the end of every semester,
on the last day, he would say to his class of 300 students, "If there
anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!"
In twenty years, no one
had ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would
say, "because anyone who does believe in God
is a fool. If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from
hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple task to prove that he
is God, and yet he can't do it." And every year, he would drop the
chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter into a
hundred pieces.
All of the students could do nothing but stop and stare. Most of the
students were convinced that God couldn't exist. Certainly, a number of
Christians had slipped through, but for 20 years, they had been too
afraid to stand up.
Well, a few years ago, there was a freshman who happened to get
enrolled in the class. He was a Christian, and had heard the stories
about this professor. He had to take the class because it was one of
the required classes for his major. and he was afraid. But for 3 months
that
semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to
stand up no matter what the professor said or what the class thought.
Nothing they said or did could ever shatter his faith, he hoped.
Finally the day came. The professor said, "If there is anyone here who
still believes in God, stand up!" The professor and the class of 300
people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the
classroom. The professor shouted, "You FOOL!! If God existed, he
could keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!"
He
proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his
fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleats of his pants, down his leg,
and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away,
unbroken. The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He
looked up at the young man and then ran out of the lecture hall. The
young man who had stood up proceeded to walk to the front of the room
and share his faith in Jesus for the next half hour. 300
students stayed and listened as he told of God's love for them and of
his power through Jesus.
"Yet to all who received HIM, to those who believed in HIS name, HE
gave the right to become children of God-children born not of natural
descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God!"
"But HE knows the way that I take. When HE has tested me, I will come
forth as gold." Job 23:10
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