By Doug Carroll
Communications Staff
Photos by David Blakeman
Ravi Zacharias, one of the most prominent defenders of the Christian faith in the world today, brought an intellectually engaging perspective to a large audience Sunday evening at GCU Arena.
“Helping the thinker believe, helping the believer think” is Zacharias’ apt summary of his ministry, which travels the globe with the message of the Gospel.
“Where Is God?” was the topic for Zacharias’ talk, sponsored by Pinnacle Forum and CityServe AZ, and he got to the point quickly.
“The most challenging question of all is not so much where is God,” he said shortly after taking the stage at the Arena’s south end before a crowd of more than 2,000. “It’s where is God when so much seems inimical to His sovereignty.
“For me, it’s a very real question … in settings (in the world) that can be very depressing.”
Zacharias, 65, who was born in India but is Canadian-American and lives in the Atlanta area, acknowledged that the going gets tough — even for the most committed believers.
“When belief in God becomes difficult, the tendency is to turn away from Him — but to what?” he said.
“God is like the sun. You cannot look at the sun, but without it you cannot look at anything else. Without God, even some of the questions are delegitimized.”
When we say there is evil in the world, Zacharias said, that presumes the existence of good — and a moral law and a moral-law giver as well.
“Every time the question of evil is raised,” he said, “it is raised by or about a person. Intrinsic worth is assumed by the questioner.”
Using the story of Job’s suffering from the Old Testament, Zacharias illustrated how God came to Job as creator/designer, healer/comforter, mediator/savior and strengthener/restorer.
He said that meaninglessness in life comes not from being weary of pain, but from being weary of pleasure. Even pain, he said, should be considered a gift from God.
At the end of his talk, which went well over an hour, Zacharias took a number of questions from the audience, covering topics such as death, the afterlife, one’s calling in life, women in the faith and the assurance of salvation. This segment had the effect of changing him from lecturer into pastor, revealing an impressive depth of human understanding.
“God will meet you where you are,” Zacharias said, “and He’s nearer to you than you think.”
Reach Doug Carroll at 639.8011 or [email protected].
