C. S. Lewis said,

“If you find yourself with a desire that no experience in this world can satisfy, then the most probable explanation is that you were made for another world.”

In Lewis style, then,

“If you find yourself with a sinful desire that no amount of will power can overcome, then the most probable explanation is that there is an explanation: Satan.”

Taking an honest look at why we all desire to live forever in a place much better than the present one, Lewis counsels the skeptic to consider that the desire is probably meant to find the reality that it seeks. Likewise, if one takes an honest look at why there is massive evil in the world, by which earthly explanations do not satisfy, then the speculation is probably meant to expose the truth – Satan must be real. Let’s consider a few things that we interact with on a daily basis.

1. A World of Contrast. Hot and Cold. Light and Dark. Sweet and Sour. Fast and Slow. Tall and Short. Love and Hate. Summer and Winter. Refreshing and Rancid. Beautiful and Ugly. You get the picture. If there was a man who once walked the earth and never sinned, not once, and was so selfless that he gave up his life so that others may live forever, then the odds are, is that there is a being who is equal in measure, but in contrast – he is the very embodiment of sin, of selfishness, of deceit and lies, of murder and destruction.

2. A World of Toddlers. Having raised three children, and now watching and playing with two grandsons (not to mention observing little ones at Walmart), there is no earthly explanation for why a one year old can so easily lie, deceive, manipulate, coerce, destroy, strike, seek revenge, play on your fears, apply guilt, all this and more, without the least bit of coaching or example. The most reasonable explanation is beyond societal influence: something is deeply broken at the very core of our existence that can only be explained by believing in someone who is as hellish as Jesus is holy.

3. A World of Death. Here we have the most striking evidence as a witness to the existence of Satan. Death is proof that Sin exists, for death is the consequence of sin. But you cannot speak of sin in the abstract – you cannot say to a wife whose husband was murdered, “there is nothing necessarily evil or good about what was done to your husband.” You must speak of sin on a capital level: Sin is real because Satan is real. And death is the height of the consequence of Sin that has infiltrated what was once completely Good. If you want to know how bad Sin is, look at Death, for death is the consequence of Sin. Which is why Man works so hard to overcome death.

When it comes to Death, no man is a true Darwinian, accepting, even relishing the opportunity to get out of the way so that the strong may survive. No – we protest against Death with a megaphone of deeds, tears, medical care, safety measures, poems and songs, and the respect of the body upon expiration. For me, it is not a strained leap of faith to conclude that behind all this death is a Serpent whose very goal is to kill me and everyone that I love.

Which is why I find within me a desire to see him destroyed along with Death, at the hands of the one who conquered both Death and the Grave. I believe in Satan because I believe that Jesus would not have walked this earth unless there was such a formidable enemy that needed to be put in his place.