H O P E
1-Jul-08
As we look around us, we see lots of beautiful & wonderful things in the world we live in - breathtaking sunsets, scenic landscapes, good times with friends & family, heroism, human achievement & many other things. However, against this idealistic backdrop, reality unleashes some very ugly things ranging from natural disasters to the some of the worst atrocities which are done by the hands of man. I don’t have to name them because they are all-to-common occurrences that dominate our headlines.
However, the most nagging reality is death. It just doesn’t seem to make sense or seem fair. It’s never welcomed or convenient for our friends, family or even the perfectly humane strangers whom it finds. And when it does find them, an even more nagging thought is aroused – when will it find me??? It is certainly certain & uncomfortably inescapable. Ironically, though it is unavoidable, people typically avoid discussing it or what might follow. You would think that more people would investigate as much as they could about this inevitable point in time & what’s in store the very first second after.
Strangely, there’s the common adage to “never discuss politics or religion” which is aimed at not hurting peoples feelings & avoiding conflict. Nonetheless, important topics need discussed & honest questions deserve answers. Of course, the many religions of the world offer much advice on the afterlife, but the problem is that logically, they cannot all be true. Unless the religion ignores logic & reality, which it would thereby discount itself & cease to have any meaning.
Truth is singular in nature & given the title of this paper, you might logically expect it to offer some hope based on a supposed truth. If it didn’t, it would be pointless. I certainly believe this to be true or I wouldn’t be writing it. The reality of truth is that it is true regardless of what people believe about it… or even if it’s uncomfortable to discuss.
I believe that the truth about all things is revealed in the Bible & reality squares up with it. It tells us that an all-powerful, timeless God created our physical world. This God is perfect & personal, yet beyond our total comprehension – that’s what makes Him God. Though, because He is personal, He wants us to know about Him. The Bible also explains that this world was created in a perfect state, but was stained by a horrible curse of death & decay – that is exactly what we see, a beautiful world, but something’s not quite as it should be.
The appropriate reason for this curse is because the first 2 people chose to disobey & abandon the God who chose to create them & warn them about the consequences. In His perfect justice, God had to administer the curse that these 2 people were warned about, yet brought on themselves. Part of the curse is that this tendency to disregard God, a.k.a. sin, would be spiritually inherited by all people. Whether we agree that this is fair or not, is irrelevant because our minds are tainted by the curse itself. Death & decay, the results of sin, have been validated every day since.
Part of the curse is that our conscience is aware of right & wrong, but when presented a moral situation, we must continually make a choice between them. The difficult thing is that the right moral choice is usually the most difficult & not to our immediate benefit. Morally wrong choices, the Bible identifies as sins, include but are not limited to, any possible type or magnitude of lying, dishonesty, stealing, lusting, coveting, hating, murdering & the like. If one doesn’t believe God is concerned about those things, doesn’t acknowledge Him, doesn’t make Him a #1 priority, or puts undue limits on Him; those too are sins.
The problem is that our sins separate us from God. This morally perfect & holy God cannot simply overlook, tolerate or ignore sin of any type. Because God is absolutely just in the purest sense, He must punish sin. However, He is also completely loving in the purest sense, having a love that we cannot totally comprehend. As a result, He created a way for people to have fellowship with Him once more. This exclusive way is only offered by God Himself & on His conditions. Any attempt to make our own way to Him, earn His favor or ignore Him are futile & all the more condemning.
God graciously explains in the Bible that if we recognize our sin & its offensiveness to Him, we can admit (confess) that to Him & ask for His forgiveness. God can only offer His forgiveness if our sin is justly punished. For more on eternal life & forgiveness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ >click here<.
However, the most nagging reality is death. It just doesn’t seem to make sense or seem fair. It’s never welcomed or convenient for our friends, family or even the perfectly humane strangers whom it finds. And when it does find them, an even more nagging thought is aroused – when will it find me??? It is certainly certain & uncomfortably inescapable. Ironically, though it is unavoidable, people typically avoid discussing it or what might follow. You would think that more people would investigate as much as they could about this inevitable point in time & what’s in store the very first second after.
Strangely, there’s the common adage to “never discuss politics or religion” which is aimed at not hurting peoples feelings & avoiding conflict. Nonetheless, important topics need discussed & honest questions deserve answers. Of course, the many religions of the world offer much advice on the afterlife, but the problem is that logically, they cannot all be true. Unless the religion ignores logic & reality, which it would thereby discount itself & cease to have any meaning.
Truth is singular in nature & given the title of this paper, you might logically expect it to offer some hope based on a supposed truth. If it didn’t, it would be pointless. I certainly believe this to be true or I wouldn’t be writing it. The reality of truth is that it is true regardless of what people believe about it… or even if it’s uncomfortable to discuss.
I believe that the truth about all things is revealed in the Bible & reality squares up with it. It tells us that an all-powerful, timeless God created our physical world. This God is perfect & personal, yet beyond our total comprehension – that’s what makes Him God. Though, because He is personal, He wants us to know about Him. The Bible also explains that this world was created in a perfect state, but was stained by a horrible curse of death & decay – that is exactly what we see, a beautiful world, but something’s not quite as it should be.
The appropriate reason for this curse is because the first 2 people chose to disobey & abandon the God who chose to create them & warn them about the consequences. In His perfect justice, God had to administer the curse that these 2 people were warned about, yet brought on themselves. Part of the curse is that this tendency to disregard God, a.k.a. sin, would be spiritually inherited by all people. Whether we agree that this is fair or not, is irrelevant because our minds are tainted by the curse itself. Death & decay, the results of sin, have been validated every day since.
Part of the curse is that our conscience is aware of right & wrong, but when presented a moral situation, we must continually make a choice between them. The difficult thing is that the right moral choice is usually the most difficult & not to our immediate benefit. Morally wrong choices, the Bible identifies as sins, include but are not limited to, any possible type or magnitude of lying, dishonesty, stealing, lusting, coveting, hating, murdering & the like. If one doesn’t believe God is concerned about those things, doesn’t acknowledge Him, doesn’t make Him a #1 priority, or puts undue limits on Him; those too are sins.
The problem is that our sins separate us from God. This morally perfect & holy God cannot simply overlook, tolerate or ignore sin of any type. Because God is absolutely just in the purest sense, He must punish sin. However, He is also completely loving in the purest sense, having a love that we cannot totally comprehend. As a result, He created a way for people to have fellowship with Him once more. This exclusive way is only offered by God Himself & on His conditions. Any attempt to make our own way to Him, earn His favor or ignore Him are futile & all the more condemning.
God graciously explains in the Bible that if we recognize our sin & its offensiveness to Him, we can admit (confess) that to Him & ask for His forgiveness. God can only offer His forgiveness if our sin is justly punished. For more on eternal life & forgiveness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ >click here<.