We live in an increasingly spiritually-curious culture. A sociological phenomenon is unfolding before our eyes and the pendulum has swung from the hyper-rationalism and empiricism of the previous era to a culture that is much more open to the possibility of the supernatural. We are teetering between the material and the mystical. Just a few decades ago, the debate was whether or not God even exists. Now, the dominant question of the day is “Which god?”

Yes, we are a generation of spiritual seekers. Evidence that this trend has hit the mainstream can be found in much of the music and movies on the market today. People are looking for God...or something like him. Problem is, many are looking in all the wrong places.

Some well-intentioned, would-be prophets pound their pulpits and proclaim what is required to find God is blind faith. At the risk of being branded a heretic, is that what God really requires? Where in the book of God is faith described as blind? Which commandment instructs us to check our mind at the door when we enter the arena of God? (And by the way, is there a commandment in there that says we have to become weird in order to be Christ-followers? Just wondering.)

Take a breath now before you click the “x” button and hear me out. I happen to think that the Bible is the most historically credible set of documents ever written. I believe the claims of Jesus of Nazareth to be absolutely true. But I did not come to those conclusions blindly. I sought with an open mind and hungry heart. I wrestled with the hard questions, some that remain unanswered. After all, if eternity is at stake, shouldn’t I check this faith thing out pretty thoroughly?

My contention is this: God is big enough to handle our questions. He doesn’t ask you to ascribe to a fairy tale. He gives you the hard core truth about who he is, what he is like, and what he is up to. His story is corroborated by fact after fact. The evidence is available. The claims can be tested. My conclusion is the book of God can be trusted.

Don’t misunderstand me. You will never fit the transcendent, everpresent, omni-competant God of the universe into any box. You cannot probe him and experiment on him in a controlled environment, repeat those experiments and record observed data, and therefore you can never prove his existence using the scientific method. He would not be God if you could. But you can find him. You can know him. And you can enjoy a relationship with him that will fill the aching void that is hard-wired into each of our lives.

This is where faith comes in. For many, the intellectual issues concerning the facts must first be satisfied. That is easy enough. An honest search will do just that. But mental assent to a set of facts is not faith. First the facts, then the faith. Agreeing with a set of facts is one thing, believing with the heart is quite another. But make no mistake about it, faith that is real certainly isn’t blind. The leap of faith should be taken with eyes wide open.

The story of God is one that is based on fact. A relationship with God is based on faith. You can leave the fiction to the fairy tales.