Do Believers Need to Prove that God Exists?

I recently read a blog post that started off like this:

God could very well exist. However, the burden of proof is on the believers to produce and provide evidence of her presence.

Is it?

Do believers really need to prove that God exists?

Faith, by it’s very definition, is a confidence or belief in something unseen. So it seems ignorant at best or disingenuous at worst to ask someone to prove something they have faith in. In fact, faith is the key element of the entire gospel, so how does it make any sense at all to ask a believer for proof?

Perhaps a better question is why God would make it this way and not show his face in the sky every morning at 9:00am PST as “proof” of his existence.

Skepticism is easy. It requires no action. Faith demands a lot more effort. More strength, more courage, more maturation, more devotion, more trust. More of all the qualities we want more of as humans. So maybe God made it that way on purpose – to give us purpose. Because you know what only believes in what they already know?

A robot.

I’m thankful to not be reduced to a state of a zero or a one. I’m thankful for infinite possibility. Thankful for the opportunity to learn how to see things that aren’t right in front of my face. For the conviction that moves me to do things I might not otherwise do. To become what I might not otherwise become.

I may find bits and pieces of what I’m searching for in my worldly pursuits, but I’m always left wanting more. It’s only through faith that I ever feel whole. Such it was with the woman who so faithfully touched the border of Jesus’s garment after 12 years of trying to find a cure for her disease from other physicians. His simple response after feeling a bit of power drained from him and figuring out what had happened: “thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”

My faith isn’t perfect. I’ve prayed for more evidence and not received it. I’ve been discouraged and angry when things didn’t happen for me that I felt I deserved. I have a lot more to figure out. But I’ve learned to see doubts as opportunities for growth instead of catalysts for atheism. I’ve learned to embrace not knowing everything, because this life would be really boring if I did.

And I’ve learned to feel and comprehend the evidence that he does provide through His spirit, which He has promised to everyone that desires it. He has not left us alone. Again, a skeptic would say “prove it”. But I wouldn’t ask someone to prove that they’ve felt love for their child or spouse or grandparent. Just because you can’t put something on a scale or measure it with a ruler doesn’t mean it’s not real.

I don’t even know what a proof of God’s existence would look like. He sent his son as proof, who performed physical miracles and provided exactly we all yearn for – eternal truth and knowledge of who we really are – and was disbelieved, mocked, and crucified.

Would God’s face in the sky be proof? Or would it be explained away? I’ll take the blank canvas of a boundless blue sky. He believes in us much more than we believe in Him, and He knows the best way for us to reach our boundless potential is through faith.

So, no, it’s not my job to prove that God exists. It’s my job to prove myself.