STAND UP FOR JESUS
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 because of his reputation.
At the end of every semester on the last
day, he would say to his class of 300 students, "If there is 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 believes 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 would do nothing but stop and stare.
Most of the students thought 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 enroll. He was a Christian,
and had heard the stories about his professor. He was required to
take the class for his major, and he was afraid. But for three 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 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 would 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
pleat 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, proceeded to
walk to the front of the room and shared 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.
