There is a God. Let's get that straight. Anyone who feels differently is obviously not paying attention. You need look no further than your own hand, the one holding the mouse you used to find this. Really look at it. It’s a masterpiece of engineering. We’ve tried for centuries, and the best replacement we can come up with for it is nothing more than a cross between a pair of needle-nose pliers and a meat hook. Have you ever tried to tickle a child with one of those? Yet there are people who will insist that it’s nothing more than the end result of a series of lovely bio-chemical accidents.
There is a God, and it's not you or me. I think that's really where most atheists are coming from. It's not that they don't really believe in a Supreme Being. They just don't like the fact that the Supreme Being isn't them. And if there is a God, and it's not them, then they have a real problem. If someone created them, there was obviously a reason for it, and if there's a reason for it, they are obviously responsible to that Creator. If we’re just mutated monkeys, then nobody is ultimately responsible for anything. Then there is ultimately nothing wrong with me picking up a gun (rock) and blowing (beating) your brains out. I’m simply weeding out the weaker of the species. If there is no God, then there is no arbiter of right and wrong, good and evil. If it’s just about survival, then we have no use for nursing homes, special schools for handicapped children, or even wheelchair ramps. If there is no God, then would somebody please explain to me why the mother of a child with Down’s syndrome would think nothing of lavishing as much love on that child as she would on any other? Would somebody please tell me where music comes from?
"So, if there is a God, why is there pain and suffering and death? Where was God on September 11th?” I’ll tell you where He was. He was right where we wanted Him, sitting in the corner, minding His own business, and staying out of ours. Where was He on September 10th? When someone says, "If God is so loving, why do children get cancer?" a better question might be, "If God is so just, why don't I have cancer?" (Not that I want cancer!) The bottom line is that the evil in this world is the result of evil people with the free will to choose evil. This is the broken, messed up world we’ve created for ourselves, because of the choices we all make. We made this mess. And it’s not because we are inherently good with just a propensity for evil. I dare you to pick up a newspaper and tell me with a straight face that we’re inherently good.
The great paradox is that God, being all-powerful, is not a party crasher. He doesn’t show up where He’s not invited. He’s not going to barge His way into your life. That’s what free will is about. God loves us. That makes perfect sense. Would you create something just so you could hate it? Do parents have kids with the firm intent of despising them? Of course not. So if God created us, He obviously loves us. The act of creation is an act of love. God loves us, and He wants us to love Him back. Otherwise, what's the point? Now, how many of you have ever been able to compel someone to love you? Love, by its very nature, has to be an act of free will. I believe that God gives us the choice to love Him, and in so doing, gives us the choice not to love Him too; because otherwise, our love for Him would be forced and artificial.
Now, a lot of people seem to think that they can just approach God in any way that suits them. “What you believe is not important as long as you are sincere, and anyone who says there’s only one way is being narrow-minded.” Well, truth by its very nature is narrow; and all the sincerity in the world doesn't make something true. I could sincerely believe that boiling water won't scald the heck out of me, but that won't help me a bit if you dump a steaming kettle over my head. Besides, I'm not the one who made up the rules. It seems clear to me that God's the one who can dictate how we come to Him, and His plan for approaching Him is available to us.
First off, there's absolutely nothing - NOTHING - we could possibly do to impress God. Think about it. He's all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, all present, and to be any less, He would cease to be God. So what makes you think you'll do anything to make Him say, "Wow?" Did I mention that He's also ultimately perfect? Nothing less than perfection could exist in His presence. But, don't despair. If you know there's nothing you can do to reach Him on your own, certainly an all-knowing God knows it too. And the cool part is that He's already taken care of it.
The Bible says that the penalty for sin is death, case closed, end of discussion. Not just physical death (separation of the soul from the body), but spiritual death (separation of the soul from its Creator). Dying in our state of sinfulness would leave us eternally separated from God, and that's something He does not want. He loves us, remember?
Enter Jesus Christ, God's Son. He stepped up, being 100% God and 100% man, and offered Himself to take what we had coming to us for offending God's justice and righteousness. He became the embodiment of God's mercy and love. But He went a step further. Simply dying for us would have only solved half the problem. Sure, our sins would have been paid for, but death would still have a hold on us. It would still be something to fear. Jesus beat death at its own game. He came back from death. "Come on," you say, "you don't actually believe that do you? He didn't really come back to life, did He?" Yep. The Bible says He did, and if I can't believe that part, then why believe the rest of it? Besides, He was seen by hundreds of followers afterwards, many of whom met a rather messy demise for refusing to recant their belief on the matter. Mass hallucination? Yeah, right. Like that's ever happened at any other time in history.
Because He lives, we no longer have to fear death and judgment. Our sins are paid for. And it's a free gift, not because of anything we did, but because God loves us. As I just said, it's a gift. It doesn't become yours until you accept it, and make it yours personally. It sounds to me like a pretty good deal. It sure beats working your butt off to impress someone who's impossible to impress, hoping it's going to be good enough, hoping He won't be too mad at you, hoping you make it to Heaven. Much better to know that it's taken care of, that the good you do is a result of your salvation rather than the means of it, that you’re assured of a place in God's presence, and that you no longer have to be afraid. He loves you, because to Him you are worth loving. Jesus died for you, because to Him you were worth dying for.
So, what are you going to do about it? If you've read this, you’ve heard the truth. I know, some people get nervous when someone sounds this sure about something; but I’m just being honest with you. This isn’t true just because I say it is, or because I happen to believe it. Even if I didn’t believe it, it would still be true. I have nothing to gain from telling you this. I’m not getting paid for this, and I get no closer to Heaven if you believe this. And God certainly has nothing to gain from lying to you.
You've heard the truth; and you can no longer go on living as though you haven't.
There it is.
Recommended Bible Verses:
Psalm 14:1, Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 26:10, Matthew 5:45, John 3:16, I Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 9:15, Romans 6:23, Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2:8,9, Romans 5:8, Isaiah 40:21, John 8:26, Revelation 3:3.
