Faith That Can Move
Mountains
This is a true story of something that happened just a few years ago at
USC. There was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply
committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to
spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God couldn't exist. His
students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable
logic. For twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever
had the courage to go against him. Sure, some had argued in class at
times, but no one had ever really gone against him (you'll see what I
mean later). Nobody would go against him because he had a reputation.
At the end of every semester, on the last day, he would say to his
class of 300 students, "If there anyone here who still believes in Jesus,
stand up!" In twenty years, no one had ever stood up. They knew what
he was going to do next. He would say, "because anyone who does believe
in God is a fool. If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from
hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple task to prove that he
is God, and yet he can't do it." and every year, he would drop the chalk
onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter into a hundred
pieces. All of the students could do nothing but stop and stare. Most
of the students were convinced that God couldn't exist. Certainly, a
number of Christians had slipped through, but for 20 years, they had been
too afraid to stand up.
Well, a few years ago, there was a freshman who happened to get
enrolled in the class. He was a Christian, and had heard the stories
about this professor. He had to take the class because it was one of the
required classes for his major - and he was afraid. But for 3 months that
semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand
up no matter what the professor said or what the class
thought. Nothing they said or did could ever shatter his faith, he
hoped. Finally the day came. The professor said, "If there is anyone
here who still believes in God, stand up!" The professor and the class
of 300 people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the
classroom. The professor shouted, "You FOOL!! If God existed, he
could keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!" He
proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his
fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleats of his pants, down his
leg, and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away,
unbroken. The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He
looked up at the young man and then ran out of the lecture hall. The
young man who had stood up proceeded to walk to the front of the room
and share his faith in Jesus for the next half hour. 300 students
stayed and listened as he told of God's love for them and of his power
through Jesus.
"Yet to all who received HIM, to those who believed in HIS name, HE gave
the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent,
nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of GOD."
"But HE knows the way that I take. When HE has tested me, I will
come forth as gold." Job 23:10