For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. [Romans 1:20 (NLT)]
We were discussing when and how we came to believe in the existence of God. Those who’d been brought up in families of faith said there never was a time they weren’t aware of God’s presence. Others spoke of believing in God because He is visible in His creation—in flowers, majestic mountains, birds, sunrises and sunsets, the vastness of space, or the miracle of birth. One came to believe in God while attending Vacation Bible School with a neighbor and another met God through a campus ministry. After apologizing in advance for “grossing” us out, one woman shared her experience while in medical school.
Not a believer at the time, she was sure science explained everything that needed explaining until she dissected a human brain. As she cut into the tissue and started labeling parts, she began to wonder. While slicing through the 100 billion neurons of a man’s brain, she questioned where she’d find the part that loved stroking his wife’s hair, knew the sound of his children’s laughter, taught his boys how to play football, or built a dollhouse for his daughter. She wondered which of those billions of neurons learned the alphabet and times tables, struggled to learn Spanish, loved his parents, knew how to play the guitar, told jokes to his friends, called blue his favorite color, or enjoyed both the Beetles and Bach? With each slice she asked things like, “Is this the part that knew sorrow at his child’s death or joy at his daughter’s wedding? Where is the memory of his first bicycle, first kiss, or honeymoon?”
She held the most fascinating and complex organ of the body in her hands and knew the name and function of every part of it but she couldn’t find the answers to her questions. Touching this man’s brain, she knew him more intimately than anyone. Nevertheless, she couldn’t uncover what made him who he was. When she couldn’t find his essence—his very soul—she realized that man is greater than the sum of his parts. Understanding that inside us all there is something unique that cannot be seen, cut into, labeled, or even explained was her “Aha!” moment. It was then that she recognized something or someone far greater is in charge. That moment she finally believed in God—the creator of heaven and earth and all things in between.
When she finished speaking, there was dead silence in the room and she started to apologize again for talking about cadavers and dissections. We reassured her there was no need for apology. Her compelling story had not turned our stomachs; rather, the beauty of it had taken away our breath! We sat in stunned silence as we each reflected on this great and marvelous Creator God who reveals Himself in such wonderful and unique ways.
Devotions of the Heart 