"Pascal's Wager"

     Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, philosopher, and Christian theologian. Some of his quotes are so outstanding that we still hear them today, for instance:

· “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”

· “In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t.”

· “The heart has reasons that reason cannot know.”

· “Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.”

· “I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter.”

· “Faith is different from proof; the latter is human, the former is a Gift from God.”

        But what was Pascal’s “wager”? And what was a Christian doing “wagering” anyway? In fact, Pascal wasn’t placing any bets, he was balancing Christianity against unbelief. One form of his evaluation says, “If you gain, you gain all. If you lose, you lose nothing. Wager then, without hesitation, that He exists.”

        To explain a little further, Pascal is saying that if you believe in God you’ve covered all your bets—if there is a hell, you’re safe, and if there isn’t, it doesn’t matter. But there is more. How do you establish yourself on “God’s side”? Mental assent to the wager is not enough because it should be blindingly obvious to everyone.

        The Apostle Paul said, ‘If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’ (Rom.10:9). Jesus himself explained: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mat.11:28). And the end result will be, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” (John 10:14).