When an atheist loves or does good, is it from God?
Is a spiritual truth from another faith still wisdom from God, even though it may not be attributed to the one true God?
The fact of the matter is there are some atheists and people of other faiths more loving, friendly and generous than many of us Christians.
We were all made in God’s image. God IS love, and any love that is in us is from Him. Just because some people don’t attribute that love to Him doesn’t mean it doesn’t come from Him. Love definitely cannot come from the devil.
Genesis 1:27 (NKJV)
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
But, being made in God’s image doesn’t mean that we look like Him physically because He is a spirit.
John 4:24 (NKJV)
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
In fact, Jesus represents our invisible Father in bodily form…
Colossians 1:15 (NKJV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Colossians 2:8-9(NKJV)
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
But, being made in His image means we look like Him spiritually. It means we can have His character…His heart…His attributes…His mind.
1 Corinthians 2:16 (NKJV)
16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?”[a] But we have the mind of Christ.
It means we can love like Him. We can hurt like Him. We can be angry like Him. We can feel like Him.
He gives EVERYONE of us a measure of faith…
Romans 12:3
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
He also gave us free will, and because of that free will, some choose place that faith in idol Gods…other religions…themselves…or no one at all.
It’s just like a son who looks just like His father but resents and rejects him saying, “You’re not my father!” “I look nothing like you!”
Consider this verse…
Romans 2: 14-16
14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
Anyone’s ability to love and do good comes from God, even if they don’t believe in Him, it still originates from Him.
Also, since God is all-knowing, and the source of all knowledge…then even the wisdom of other religions is still from God. They just don’t attribute it to Him….
Romans 1:20-23 (NKJV)
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Just because that same son we mentioned earlier doesn’t want to admit that he inherited his intelligence or talents from his father or mother, doesn’t mean that he didn’t.
It’s evident in everything the son does, he proves he came from his parents, he proves they exist or existed…whether he admits it or not.
So, when unbelievers love. When someone of another faith speaks wisdom. When either of them are generous…it still comes from God. They are still created in His image. They just don’t give Him credit as the source.
For example, the wisdom behind ‘karma’ is still the same Godly knowledge of ‘reaping what you sow’…
Galatians 6:7-9(NKJV)
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
When you hear truth coming from an atheist or someone of another faith…the fact that they don’t believe in the one true and living God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ doesn’t prevent it from being truth…in fact, they are proving God is real.
It is our responsibility to convince them to give their measure of faith to God.
BE BLESSTIFIED!!!
BE BLESSTIFIED! 
I’m following all of this and I am on board. My concern, is the same as yours, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
If what they say is true AND they are a “good person”, is there not some risk of deception, thinking they will get to heaven, when they will not. Not a complaint, just a concern. There is a lot of this “good person” deception floating around out there. I’m sure you see it.
Be BLESSTIFIED!
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I agree with you 100% my brother. That is a concern. We have to continue to let our lights shine. Hopefully we can help connect those ‘good’ people who don’t have faith in God to the real source of their goodness.
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I was staunchly agnostic, almost an atheist, for many years. As a member of Mensa, the high IQ society, I thought I was too intelligent to believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, a Creator, and other “fairy tales.” I had all kinds of intellectual arguments for why God probably did not exist.
But I was, in fact, lying to myself. Deep down inside, I knew there had to be a Creator. The evidence of Intelligent Design is all around us, and within us. God’s existence is the only thing that makes sense of reality!
The reason for my unbelief was simply this: I did not like God’s rules. I thought I knew better than God, how things should be done. It wasn’t until shortly before my fiftieth birthday, when I finally reached the end of doing things “my way,” that the reality of God’s love melted my hardened heart.
A few years ago, when I first discovered Twitter, I was happily following back almost everyone who followed me, without much regard for who they were. So I did not realize that I was following, and being followed by, a world famous atheist, a scientist who has written best-selling books full of his intellectual arguments for atheism. I did not realize it, that is, until one day when I checked my Twitter feed and there, at the top, was a tweet by this atheist scientist that said: “I hope there isn’t a god. Who needs the constant supervision?”
This well-known atheist/scientist/author wasn’t the one in the wheelchair. But apparently the one in the wheelchair followed him closely, because as I was looking at this tweet, the wheelchair scientist liked and retweeted it.
I took a screenshot of the tweet. Then I replied, something along the lines of: “I know how you feel. During my agnostic-almost-atheist years, before I became a Christian, I felt the same way.”
The author of the tweet immediately “liked” my reply.
Even the most hardened atheist knows the truth, deep down inside. They just don’t want to acknowledge what they know, because: “Who needs the constant supervision?”
Today I am so grateful that God is always watching over me! But when my sin was more important to me than God, well, He probably didn’t exist anyway, so it was OK…
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This is so powerful! It’s awesome how that “measure of faith” was always inside you. Thanks so much for sharing this!
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Thanks for the great testimony. Very helpful to hear. So glad you found the way to Jesus. Be blessed. God is in a good mood.
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“Funny” you posted this! I have been sensing that same exact thing lately! ALL GOODNESS COMES FROM GOD WHETHER ONE ADMITS IT OR NOT!!
ALL HONOR AND GLORY TO OUR GOD THAT MADE US IN HIS IMAGE!!
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Hallelujah! He is the ultimate source!
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