According to the Bible, from the very beginning people knew that God existed and worshipped Him. Adam and Eve knew God and had close fellowship with Him — until they sinned, and then “they hid from the Lord God” (Genesis 3:8).

Over time, people lost sight of God and their understanding of God became corrupted. Instead of worshipping the one sovereign God of the universe, people came to believe in many gods and goddesses. They also made idols that represented these deities, and came to worship them — although they had made them with their own hands. But down inside they still sensed there must be “something” greater than themselves, and no tribe or other group has ever been found that didn’t have some type of religious belief.

Where, then, does religion come from? It comes from within — from a deep yearning within every one of us to know God. But where did that yearning come from? The answer is simple, and yet it’s also very profound: God put it there. God loves us and wants us to know Him, and He put within us a deep desire to seek Him. The Bible says that God did this “so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him” (Acts 17:27).

My prayer is that you, too, will seek God — and that you will find Him by turning to the only one who can satisfy our deepest hunger for God: Jesus Christ. Jesus’ words are true: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).