Mountains and Jesus

Jacob and his dad got up early to hike the valley below the Grand Tetons, where they were spending a week of vacation. As Dad paused on the trail to take a picture of the towering peaks, Jacob looked up at the snowcapped mountains glistening in the rising sun. "What a wonderful God we have!" Dad said. "He created all this beauty for us to see!"

Jacob was quiet a moment. Then he said, "I wish my friend Nicholas were here. He says he doesn't think there even is a God. He says if there is one, we should be able to see Him."

"When we get back home, you can show him our pictures of the mountains," Dad suggested as they began hiking again. "You can remind him that even though he doesn't see the actual mountains, it doesn't mean they don't exist. The mountains are here even when we're at home and can't see them, and God is real even though we can't see Him."

"Yes, but..." Jacob hesitated and pointed to the camera. "I can show Nicholas pictures of the mountains, but we don't have pictures of Jesus."

"No, we don't," said Dad, "but we have the Bible, which tells about many ways God interacted with people in the past. It also tells about Jesus, and Jesus is God. The Bible tells how He came to earth as a human long ago. He lived a perfect life, was crucified and buried, and rose from the grave to save us from sin."

"And many people saw Him, didn't they?" Jacob asked. "Both before He died on the cross and after He rose from the dead."

"That's right," Dad replied. "Since He returned to heaven, people on earth can't see Him anymore, but we have accounts from those who did see Him. God uses their testimonies to reveal Himself to us."

Jacob nodded thoughtfully. "When we get home, I'll tell Nicholas he can learn about the mountains by looking at our pictures and hearing me tell about our trip. And He can learn about Jesus by reading the Bible and finding out what people who did see Jesus say about Him. We can't see God, but we know He exists. He's real." -Karen E. Cogan