Evidence

To anyone who actually reads my weekly blog, I wish to apologize for the lack thereof last Sunday.

This week, I would like to take a closer look at Luke 17:37. I failed to address it in the previous study. This is it: “And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”

Imagine, then, that you are a game hunter on safari. You see vultures circling in the sky. From your wealth of hunting experience, you know this to be a sign that there is carcass ahead. Sight of the vultures is evidence of something you do not yet see.

There is, in our existence, not one thing that is self-evident, and while many hold with the concept – as in, 'we hold these truths to be self-evident' – evidence, itself, implies the support of something else. For example, the carcass is not self-evident. The truth of its existence, while as yet unseen, is supported by the vultures circling overhead. It is quite obvious.

I would like for us to consider how many different ways we may express the obvious, or how many life experiences include such obvious evidence of things as yet unseen.

Imagine that you are driving down the freeway, approaching the off ramp you wish to take. You move over in preparation. You see the sign that says 'Business District ½ Mile.' That sign is the obvious evidence of the off ramp you do not yet see. What if, however, the sign has been removed – is all evidence of a truth gone? I think not. You still move over in preparation; your experience is obvious enough.

Imagine that war is coming. There are no troops on the streets; there is the report of neither bullet or bomb. Where is the proof of a coming war? Where is the evidence that supports the truth of it? If you are young, you are probably not even paying attention. Let us say, then, that you are mature. Let us say that you follow the news. Let us go one step further and say that you have experience in the political intrigues that presage the onset of war. You've seen it all before.

The political maneuverings, as well your own savvy experience, are both proofs of coming war. In this case, obvious evidence is the support of such as 'knowledge', 'perception', 'understanding', 'insight', 'discernment', 'acumen', and 'common sense'.

Imagine, now, that a major flood approaches. Some guy named Noah keeps going on about it. Where is the proof? You've never, in your entire life, seen a drop of rain. Water falling from the sky – who makes this stuff up? You are the type that is most affected by the things you see – and you have never seen rain, only the solid ground you walk upon. You cannot imagine the land covered with water. You believe only what you see.

Noah has been building a huge boat he calls an ark. It stands before you, bigger than life. You see it with your own eyes. If you believe only what you see, why don't you believe what you see?

Imagine the end of the world approaches. Where is the obvious evidence? Imagine a mortal man who is actually the very Son of God. What supports the truth of it? Imagine God. Is there evidence? Your eyes see no off ramp sign. Your eyes see no drops of rain. Your eyes see no troops and your ears hear no bombs. Yet, your eyes see and your ears hear. You are mature. You pay attention. You have experience and knowledge. You have perception and discernment.

Finally, you are the game hunter again. Beside you walks a game hunter with less acumen, less insight. He will not believe a carcass lies ahead. He is adamant in his self-limitation. He will not listen. He will not learn. He will not believe until he stumbles blindly into the guts and maggots. Belief at that point does little benefit; he has the mess on both boots.

Between the sighting of the vultures and the sighting of the carcass, there is a sojourn that rests in faith as the sole and sufficient evidence of truth.