Just the other day, I heard a most peculiar thing. At school an avowed atheist girl said, "Oh my God!"

So I thought, "Why are you, an atheist, taking God's name in vain? You don't even believe in Him!" If I had voiced that thought, it would have been an interesting conversation indeed.

Even atheists need God

Why is it that even the atheists, the same people who deny God and are the strongest against Him, take His name in vain? He's not their God, and they have no qualms in telling you so, but if something goes wrong, then they don't hesitate in taking His name in vain.

I have read about people in communistic atheist countries who do the same thing. It seems that even the atheists need God, despite all their protests of His existence. If they don't acknowledge that they need Him to live, they at least acknowledge that they need Him to blame for whatever goes wrong.

There is an inner need for a God

It is not just atheists who need God. Humanity throughout the ages has needed God.

Why is it that all the ancient civilizations had at least one god? In times when survival was the hardest for the human race, they offered their gods food and gifts. Why? Why would they take the hard route and worship a god or group of gods when it would have been easier to just worship themselves and say that they are "it," as modern atheists do?

Mankind seems to have an inner need for God. We have a yearning to worship something greater than we are. Something built into us makes us want to worship God.

It makes sense, since God created us. Wouldn't it be logical that He would create us with a desire to worship Him? Humans are hardwired to look up to and love a father and mother figure in their lives. Is it possible that we are also hardwired to worship a spiritual Father?

How much do we need God?

All of humanity needs God. Sometimes, our need for God is more noticeable than at other times. The ancient Israelites needed manna to eat. Beforehand, their need for God was less noticeable than when they relied on God every day for His special bread (Exodus 16:14-35).

However, our very survival (all of us!) depends on God. If it wasn't for God, we would all have the death penalty over our heads, since the price of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Thankfully, that death penalty is removed after we repent due to God's grace and the sacrifice of Christ.

More than just the physical

We also rely on God for much more than the mere physical gifts that He gives us now. Only through God can we reach the highest potential a human can ever achieve—to become spiritual beings in His family Kingdom. Only through God can we have a future beyond the simple and very short life that we all know today. We need God to live a fulfilled life.

We may be among the only ones who believe in God with all of our hearts and minds at this time. But the whole world needs God, His incredibly generous blessings now and the amazing spiritual future with Him in His plan.

It's not just the atheists. It's not just the ancient Israelites. It's all of us who need God—with every single fiber of our being we need the God of the universe. VT