The “Ice bucket challenge” went viral in the summer of 2014. The goal was to raise awareness and money for those suffering from a debilitating disease called ALS.
2000 years earlier Jesus issued a challenge of his own:
Jesus said to the Governor Pilate, “I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” (John 18:37 NLT)
Did you catch that? Jesus gave Pilate a challenge: “If you love truth, you’ll seek it. And in the end you’ll believe in me.” Jesus was not afraid to dare Pilate to follow the evidence. He was not afraid to dare Pilate to believe the truth revealed by the evidence, whatever that truth might be.
Our culture is full of people who believe themselves to be enlightened. If you are one of those people, will you take Jesus’ challenge? Are you genuinely a seeker of truth?
Will you commit to discovering for yourself the truth about Jesus? Will you commit to genuinely studying all facets of his claims about himself and the claims of his followers? Will you genuinely approach this subject with an open mind? Will you set your presuppositions aside and withhold judgment until you have done the hard research yourself? Will you commit to looking at this subject objectively and rationally?
Some people who deny Christ have an irrational response when I ask them this simple question: “If Christianity can be proven true, would you become a Christian?”
Their irrational response is, “No!” That response is not rational because it betrays the true feelings in their hearts: they are not open to discovering the truth, whatever it may be. Rather, they are only open to the “truth” that they have already pre-determined to believe.
For more than 20 years I have studied the evidence. For more than 20 years I have weighed the claims of the historical-figure, Jesus. I have read more books on the subject, taken graduate-level classes, listened to more debates, and studied the biblical texts in greater depth than many people ever will. I have endeavored to do this objectively, and to believe what ever the evidence leads to. In spite of this, I do not consider myself an expert; I consider myself a seeker of truth.
Today I issue a challenge to anyone else who endeavors to be a seeker of truth. Will you seek the truth openly, honestly, and objectively? Will you endeavor to reserve judgment? Will you seek the truth, and believe the truth, no matter what it may be?