1 John 1:1 (CEV): “The Word that gives life was from the beginning, and this is the one our message is about. Our ears have heard, our own eyes have seen, and our hands touched this Word.”
My wife was on two juries during 2019. Both times she and the other members of the jury were deciding the guilt or innocence of people that could lead to significant prison sentences. Over many days she took on this responsibility and weighed the evidence for and against the defendants. It was a responsibility that she took very seriously. I’ve never had this civic opportunity. I think that I would take it extremely seriously as well.
I strongly believe that evidence is important. I have watched the old CSI show about Crime Scene Investigators in Las Vegas. A regular statement by the lead character of the show was, “follow the evidence.” This character felt that the evidence would lead to the truth.
This type of approach is the opposite of many in our society. Many will start with a premise of what they feel is true and then interpret evidence to support their original premise. This is backwards. An example of this type of thinking is found in the theory of evolution. If you start with a premise that there is no Creator then you interpret evidence to support that premise and discount anything that goes against it. For me, I look at the evidence of our universe and conclude that the existence of a Creator is the most logical explanation.
The apostle John, both in his gospel and in the verse above, demonstrates the importance of evidence regarding Jesus. The evidence of a witness to an event is extremely convincing. John refers to Jesus as “the Word.” He then states that he has heard Jesus, seen Jesus, and touched Jesus. In other words, John is stating unequivocally that Jesus was real and that what John is getting ready to share is truth.
I want to base my life on truth. I am confident that Jesus is the truth and that this has been proven through not only evidence from those who interacted with Him in the first century, but through the evidence of my own changed life.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for using men like the apostle John to share truth based on evidence. It gives me confidence regarding the truth of Jesus. As I have now embraced Jesus as my Lord and my Savior, I experience first hand His truth living in my life.
