The longer I'm alive, the more I'm aware of how much I know and keenly aware of how much I don't know. Especially when it comes to theology, religions, etc. I long ago discovered that those within the Christian faith have many different beliefs and ideas. Even with those differences, most of them fall into the category of believing that there is 1 God. He is exists in the beauty of the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit...three parts in perfect unity. Most believe that God (the Father) sent Jesus (the Son) who died on the cross so that we may be forgiven of our sins. And once we've confessed our sins and proclaimed Jesus as Lord of our life, the Holy Spirit dwells within us for the remainder of our time on this earth. How this knowledge is applied to our every day life and how it affects us begins to break up the different denominations within the Christian faith.
In the past few years, I've realized I have more friends that are atheist or agnostic than ever before. I read the emails, comments and links provided by my friends. And at times, I get to thinking...what if I'm the one who's got it all wrong? What if there is no God? What if there is no life after this?
So, what if I'm wrong? If my friends are right, and there is no life after this present one, when I die, my body will be buried (or cremated) and nothing more will happen. That's it...I'm just dead. Game over. The sacrifices I've made to live a "Godly" life mean nothing because there's no eternity. The tough times I've gone through in this life were many times in vain because how I reacted and dealt with the realities in my life didn't really matter. Trying to maintain love and joy during difficult times was really stupidity on my part. Yes, I should still try to be a good person, as society dictates, but there was no real reason for me to not be bitter, angry, full of hate. When my mom suffered through almost 3 years of cancer treatments and then died, I may as well have just been angry. When I remain single because I'm waiting for the best guy for me instead of settling, I should really just settle and then be filled with hatred. When I don't understand the circumstances of my life, I might as well choose to react out of bitterness because, after all, this was not how I thought my life would be!
But wait. If I'm angry my mom died, filled with hate over being single and bitter because of circumstances, WHAT am I angry with? WHO am I hating and bitter toward? This part confuses me. Am I mad at other people? Do I hate "the universe" because all of the cells that conglomerated in the Big Bang and evolved into humanity as we know it had apparently plotted against me? If I didn't believe there's a higher power anywhere, upon whom do I take out all of that rage and anger?
For argument's sake, though, let's say that I'm not wrong. Let's say that there is a God. He's in control and things in life don't happen for no reason. Let's say that He has a reason for the way that things go. Yes, bad things do happen...and even to His people who strive to live a life for Him. Sometimes, it seems especially to those who live for Him. What if the Bible is true? What if bad things happen because we live in a world that sin entered? What if He really did send His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for every individual's sins? What if He allows trials and tests to take place so that, as the Bible says, will draw near to Him, will learn to trust Him?
What if I'm not wrong and when these bodies die, it isn't really over? What if there really is a Heaven and Hell? What if He really meant it when He said in the Bible that there's no way to Heaven except by asking forgiveness and making Him the lord of our lives? What if, when this body dies, He really is the Judge, that He says He will be, and if you don't make Him lord of your life, believe in Him and live a life for Him, He really will send your soul to Hell for all eternity?
Those are some pretty big "what if's". And I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to be on the wrong side of this one! If I'm the one who's wrong and there's really no God (I guess I made Him up), then what harm has been done? I've lived a good, clean life and die contentedly....and my body rots and that's it. But what if you're wrong? When you die, if you haven't accepted Him, you'll pay for it for all eternity in Hell.
The good news? If you're still breathing, it's not too late to confess you've sinned against Him, ask His forgiveness, turn away from your sins (with His help of course) and make Jesus the Lord of your life!!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Animals more important than children?!
As a disclaimer, I would like to state that I do not hate animals. I, or my family, have owned at least 1 dog every year of my life..sometimes 4. We also had rabbits in the barn, some of which were made into house pets. I'm not a huge cat fan as I am horridly allergic to them (and they just aren't as lovable as dogs). But I do not hate animals.
Having said that, I'm definitely not going to be on PETA's list of people to recruit as a spokesperson. I mean, I'm not overly fond of killing an animal simply for its fur or skin. However, I'm most definitely a carnivore, so I'm aware that for my daily diet, some animals have been killed. And that thought doesn't keep me awake at night. In fact, with an ambien, I manage to sleep quite well. :)
What does keep me awake at night? When I think of all of the children, in our country and around the globe, who have no parents, no home, nobody that loves or wants them...this is something that can keep me awake and in prayer at night. Children who are severely abused and neglected, yet no one cares enough to be bold & call to report the family. I grew up in a poor household with a disabled father. Times got hard and money was tight. But I NEVER went without shelter, food and clothing. And I ALWAYS knew the love of my parents (and grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, church family, etc). I can never imagine what it would have been like if my parents had not fed me, nor what it would do to me if my parents had beaten me on a regular basis. I cannot imagine what these little ones go through who have to live on the streets. Who have to beg for, or even steal, their food. Who don't know if they'll make it through the night without being raped or kidnapped & sold into the sex slave trade. As I type those things, my heart hurts SO much, and honestly, my stomach feels sick.
OK, so I have a heart for orphans & basically all children...why am I writing this? Well, it's because of the spot that children have in my heart, that I get so beyond irritated with our society. At least once an hour, regardless of what channel I'm watching, I hear a Sarah McLachlin song come on a commercial and the famous Hollywood celebrity tells me that the abuses these animals face are horrible. And I should send money to keep animals from being abused or homeless.
Why does that irritate me? Well, for one, it could be that other than maybe in April (which is child abuse awareness month), I never see people saying that we should send money for kid in foster care or that are orphaned. Or, it could be because the same people who are spokespersons on those types of commercials are also HUGE supporters of abortion. To me, when a society points out the "inhumane treatment" of animals, yet they fight tooth & nail for the rights to KILL unborn CHILDREN, it sends the message that animals are more important that our children.
I mean, really, what kind of message does that send to our children, our future and our present? "Well, you're lucky you were born, because abortion is legal and we thought about it. Don't get us wrong, we're good people. We send money to animals shelters all of the time to help those poor innocent animals, but we just weren't for sure we had enough money to have you, so we had to consider killing you because you might not have a good life." Wow...that would make me feel so loved by my parents, wouldn't it you?!
Having said that, I'm definitely not going to be on PETA's list of people to recruit as a spokesperson. I mean, I'm not overly fond of killing an animal simply for its fur or skin. However, I'm most definitely a carnivore, so I'm aware that for my daily diet, some animals have been killed. And that thought doesn't keep me awake at night. In fact, with an ambien, I manage to sleep quite well. :)
What does keep me awake at night? When I think of all of the children, in our country and around the globe, who have no parents, no home, nobody that loves or wants them...this is something that can keep me awake and in prayer at night. Children who are severely abused and neglected, yet no one cares enough to be bold & call to report the family. I grew up in a poor household with a disabled father. Times got hard and money was tight. But I NEVER went without shelter, food and clothing. And I ALWAYS knew the love of my parents (and grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, church family, etc). I can never imagine what it would have been like if my parents had not fed me, nor what it would do to me if my parents had beaten me on a regular basis. I cannot imagine what these little ones go through who have to live on the streets. Who have to beg for, or even steal, their food. Who don't know if they'll make it through the night without being raped or kidnapped & sold into the sex slave trade. As I type those things, my heart hurts SO much, and honestly, my stomach feels sick.
OK, so I have a heart for orphans & basically all children...why am I writing this? Well, it's because of the spot that children have in my heart, that I get so beyond irritated with our society. At least once an hour, regardless of what channel I'm watching, I hear a Sarah McLachlin song come on a commercial and the famous Hollywood celebrity tells me that the abuses these animals face are horrible. And I should send money to keep animals from being abused or homeless.
Why does that irritate me? Well, for one, it could be that other than maybe in April (which is child abuse awareness month), I never see people saying that we should send money for kid in foster care or that are orphaned. Or, it could be because the same people who are spokespersons on those types of commercials are also HUGE supporters of abortion. To me, when a society points out the "inhumane treatment" of animals, yet they fight tooth & nail for the rights to KILL unborn CHILDREN, it sends the message that animals are more important that our children.
I mean, really, what kind of message does that send to our children, our future and our present? "Well, you're lucky you were born, because abortion is legal and we thought about it. Don't get us wrong, we're good people. We send money to animals shelters all of the time to help those poor innocent animals, but we just weren't for sure we had enough money to have you, so we had to consider killing you because you might not have a good life." Wow...that would make me feel so loved by my parents, wouldn't it you?!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)