God is so good to us. He provided a paradise for us to live in. He wanted nothing but the best for us. He wanted to walk among us, to live with us and care for us. He gave us only one rule. He also gave us free will. With free will, we broke the one rule. Yes, each of us did so when Adam took the fruit from Eve and ate it without question.
Today, we continue to sin without question. Both Christians and non-Christians alike. If it feels good, looks good, seems okay or simply that we want to, we do it.
Is it any wonder that the entire universe is spiraling out of control? First there was global cooling with a new ice age coming, then global warming, then climate change and now we have cycled back to a space age freeze. Whether you believe the scientists or not, there is something going on. While I believe the cause is man-made, I don’t agree that it is something that is happening because of fossil fuels or cars or cows or anything else of this nature.
From the perspective of a Christian, I see the world and the universe breaking up because of man’s sin. That which was beautiful and perfect is now imperfect. It’s like a beautiful, hand-made bowl. It worked perfectly and functioned great. Then the elements worked against it and found a man-made flaw from which it developed a crack. It started leaking and eventually fell apart and became useless.
That is how I see the world. The beauty and perfection was in Eden, then the crack first developed with Adam and Eve. Today, we are coming apart. Everywhere you look, there are more cracks developing and it is only a matter of time before the whole thing crumbles into uselessness. Nothing more than refuse where perfection and paradise once was beheld.
God does not mean for that to happen. His son Jesus stepped into time to give us a way to be saved. He lived for us and died for us and gave us an eternal pardon. All we have to do is accept it and repent of our sins that he died for, then ask him as God to live in us and to guide our steps going forward.
It is so easy and yet, for many, so difficult and for some, seemingly impossible. We live in an age where admitting you are wrong is unacceptable. It’s better to stake your spot and be unwilling to change. Yes, that’s the answer. As long as you say it is so, then, for you ,it is so.
That’s a fancy way of saying you are sticking your head in the sand. You don’t see anything beyond your point of view.
This is true of many Christians, too. They fix on a point or two of the Bible and will argue themselves silly. Some of them gang up on others in social media groups to ambush them. One will post and the other will answer and then they wait for someone to disagree with them and then comes the battle. They argue mostly with other Christians and that seems a poor use of their time.
Rather than spreading the good news of salvation, this comes across at best as wrong-headed pride in your skill as a debater or at worst, a form of bullying. There is also more than a tinge of setting yourself up as the definer of Christian behavior and then as judge when you do this. Remember Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Non-Christians visit Christian sites and pretend to be part of the group. They then dig in and ridicule beliefs of others. The Christians there try to talk with them and change their minds. It can go on for hours. Christians – at some point, shake the dust from your shoes and move on.
Arguing never solves anything. We are generally speaking, the creatures who stick with our ways through thick and thin. An argument won’t reach anyone. Only God can reach into their hearts with love and compassion.
It’s time to reach out to the world with love. Yes, it will be thrown back in our faces time and time again. There will, however, be times when the love of God reaches through to even one person.
I truly believe that there will come a time when no matter what, no one further will come to believe in God and accept Jesus as their savior. It is at that point that the end will come.
However, that time isn’t now. How do I know that? Well, the end hasn’t come yet. It might come tomorrow or it might not for a thousand years. I have to behave as if time is short and that God needs to use me and other Christians to reach those last souls who will accept salvation.
The wonderful promise we have is that someday the heavens and the world will be made new. That perfection and beauty will surround us once again. Once again and forever, God will walk among us. He will live with us and care for us.
This time it will be forever. Brothers and sisters, I hope you will be there with me.
Revelation 21:1-8
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new! ”Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars — they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”