Skeptics

. . .I want to remind you that in the last days there will come scoffers
who will. . .laugh at the truth. This will be their line of argument:
"So Jesus promised to come back, did he? Then where is he? He'll never
come! Why, as far back as I can remember everything has remained exactly
as it was since the first day of creation" (2 Peter 3:3-4, TLB).

Skeptics think like that. Nothing ever changes. TAKE GRAVITY. Heavy
objects fall toward the earth. Always. So a builder can construct a
house and never worry about his materials floating away. Count on it.
TAKE CHEMISTRY. Mixing certain elements in precise proportions yields
the same result. Always. So a doctor can prescribe a medication with
predictable confidence. TAKE ASTRONOMY. The sun, the moon, those stars
work in perfect harmony. Always. Even the mysterious eclipse comes as no
surprise. TAKE ANATOMY. Whether it's the pupil of the eye expanding and
contracting in response to light or our skin regulating our body
temperature or our built-in defense mechanism fighting disease, we
operate strictly on the basis of facts. Hard, immutable, stubborn facts.
Reliable as the sunset. Real as a toothache. Absolute, unbending,
undeniable.

"Jesus, what do you mean, give them something to eat? We have only five
small loaves of bread and two fish. Those are the facts. Five and two.
No more, no less. Send the five thousand people home; we can't take care
of them today."

Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, Growing Strong In The Seasons of
Life, Zondervan, 1983, p. 102.