I know a guy who tells me that he is an atheist. He states that if God were to write His name in the sky He would believe in Him. I just laughed and told him that CNN would just explain it away as some type of natural phenomenon like a plane leaving a vapor trail and he would blow it off like he does everything else. God has done plenty more than just writing his name in the sky, but he refuses to believe, and this relatively minor feat would be no different.
I told him that God is spirit, and he said he has a difficult time believing in something he can’t see. Now wait just a minute, he can’t see a cell phone signal either, but he can talk to someone on his I-Phone and he doesn’t have a problem believing in an invisible microwave transmission carrying his conversation thousands of miles away in milliseconds. For that matter he can’t see the person on the other end of the line, but just the same he believes in something he cannot physically see.
He can’t see a television signal either, but he can watch mindless shows on TV for hours on end. Why can’t he believe in one of God’s handcrafted glorious sunrises, or a black velvet night sprinkled with a billion stars sparkling like diamonds and a big old harvest moon?
Bah! I could go on but why waste anyone’s time. My friend wants to base his belief system in himself and not God, but that is his God given right. I used to get frustrated with this type of attitude and argue, but not so much anymore. We were all given a free will and some folks are going to choose to reject God no matter how strong the case for Christ.
The Bible states that there are vast fields of lost souls like my buddy that are “ripe for harvest” and more workers are needed. Hmmm . . . My friend is undoubtedly lost but doesn’t seem very ripe to me.
Sigh . . . I put my head down and plod forward and try anyway, and I suppose that is all I can do as a worker bee. I can refute his silly logic by quoting Scripture, but only the Holy Spirit can convince him of its truth, (and his foolishness). I try to accept it and move on, but admittedly it’s frustrating and disappointing sometimes. Many people just want to pick out the parts of the Bible with which they agree and ignore the rest according to whatever they deem right in their mind’s eye.
They will believe in all the verses of Holy Scripture right up to the point that it affects them personally. Unfortunately, this even applies to a human life being formed and shaped in the womb by God Himself and the sanctity of that life. “Christians” read those verses and nod their heads affirmatively right up until the moment their sweet little teenage daughter gets knocked up and they rush right on down to the abortion clinic demanding their “right to choose”.
And what is dearer to the hearts of many than our old pal money? Although the Bible tells us to give generously and God will “shower” His blessings upon us with an abundance that will amaze us, and further even challenges us to “test Him on this”, doing so is just as hard for many of us as my buddy believing in an unseen God who is spirit and not human flesh. Too many look on it as “their” hard earned money.
News flash: God owns it all – everything – gold, silver, bearer bonds, equities, stocks, bonds, cattle, land, timber, cars, boats, planes – et al . . . He’s just allowing us to use some of his holdings for a while. Trust me He can take it away much faster than He gave it to us.
Do you feel chest pains? Selah . . .
The Bible’s purpose as best I can determine is to lead us to salvation first, and beyond that to help us to enjoy whatever is left of this short life on this planet. Think of God as a loving parent writing the Bible as an instruction manual detailing to His beloved children what must be done to get the most out of life.
Many think of the Bible as a book of difficult rules that are seemingly impossible to follow and then there is that stern God sitting on His throne with a scowl on His face just hoping that some chump will get out of line or mess up, so He can swat him one.
Sigh . . . Nothing could be further from the truth, too bad that so many don’t understand the love and compassion of God. The Bible states that God is love. He wants nothing but the best for us. It reminds me of a loving mother who looks down and sees her toddler reaching for a red hot burner on a stove. The little tyke sees the pretty red-orange color of the glowing burner and wants to feel it with its tiny fingers. Suddenly she screams at that kid, “Don’t touch that!”
The kid has a choice. He can turn around and glare at his mom for denying him his good pleasure and proceed to grab it anyway and get badly burned, or he can instantly pull his hand away and avoid the pain. The Bible was written to help us avoid the pain and the closer we come to following what is written therein, the greater our propensity to enjoy this life.
It begins with the two greatest commands. What are they? Jesus said: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
If we love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind, we will read His word, the Holy Bible, and try our utmost to follow it. Some commands we may not understand at the time, (just like the little kid reaching for the pretty hot burner on the stove), others we know in our hearts what is right, (like giving), and what is wrong, (like not giving), but don’t want to obey
In the end we should know the following and follow God’s instructions to the letter whether we like them or not:
James 3:17
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!