Today, you can find all kinds of religions throughout the
world, all vying for your attention and accept-
ance to help explain the universe, and our purpose within it. In most of the religious beliefs, you will discover man seeking after and pursuing God to find purpose and meaning to life.
"If it is to be, then it is up to me," mentality. Others choose not to believe in a higher power at all and choose to accept and believe that the universe, and everything in it, had it beginnings from the "Big Bang-" a theory that states that everything once was one large mass of matter which exploded creating everything that we know know and see today. This, too, takes faith to accept. The scientist say that there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth. And, when you add the fact that many of these stars are millions of light years apart, that is one enormous universe and one heck of a large, single mass that was in place before the big bang occurred! And, given all that, the next important question of faith concerns itself with this, "Where did all that matter come from?" No one knows. The answer to that question ceases. But many will still adhere to the "Big Bang" as the truth and accept by faith the rest that is unexplainable. With that acceptance, comes also the understanding that this is all that life hold for us, and I am not accountable to any higher being since there isn't one. We are hear by random chance. Perhaps, this also explain why so many people travel through this life self-centered and insecure.
It is true that such vastness described about space can easily make doubters of us that there really is something behind all of this. It definitely requires faith. Throughout human history, man has continually sought to find truth and the ultimate reality upon which to build his life, otherwise, man's life is limited only to this lifetime and its temporary nature in everything that is seen and beheld.
Getting back to the religions of the world, suffice it to say you can explore and follow a wide array of religions. In one you will find one God. In another, many Gods. You might choose to follow a pathway of enlightenment or pursue a lifestyle characterized by frugality. Another pathway may lead you to believe that there are many ways to find God- there are no absolutes! And in another, there is no God- we are here by chance and masters of our own destinies.
I have chosen to rest my faith on Christianity. In the days, weeks, and months ahead, I hope to shed more light on the why's and to share with you key attributes in Christianity that have brought peace, joy, patience, purpose, love and fulfillment to my life. Food for thought for those of you who are really seeking answers: what we choose to believe has great implica- tions for how we live out our lives here on Earth.
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one come to the Father
except through me."
John 14:6
In an age where relativism is widely received in the context of believing in no absolutes, Christians are perceived in this world as being judgmental and intolerant of others. I would contend, on the other hand, that the very opposite is true. True Christianity is based on love- a love from God which in turn enables us to love and accept one another as God has, first, loved us.
Jesus, himself, said, " By this everyone will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35
We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19
Christianity conveys a conceptual difference from most religions in that Christianity professes that it is God, not man, who initiates and makes provision for a relationship between God and man. Our relationship with God is not dependent upon our human effort or feeble attempt to become righteous in God's sight. Christians believe that our righteousness before God comes through our belief and faith that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross and shedding his blood for each one of us. Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. The penalty our our sins and crimes must be paid for. A holy and just God is held to it. Either we pay the price ourselves or Jesus pays the penalty for our sins. The Bible states emphatically that we are unable to save ourselves- we all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. And if we were able to be good enough, then there would have been no need of Christ sacrificing his life upon the cross. God did for us through Christ what we were unable to do for ourselves. Let that settle in for a few moments. How incredible is this reality and what it means for each one of us if it is all true! A provision for all of our sins, past-present-and everything in the future, was made on our behalf! Crafted in God's unconditional love and grace, our sinfulness was imputed upon Christ at the cross while Christ's righteousness was imputed back upon us. In Christ, from God's viewpoint, it is as if we have never sinned- holy and righteous we stand before God through Christ. In our new state of being, we have been spiritually reborn and our relationship with God, our creator, has been reconciled forever. In our own human efforts, we could never have righted our wrongs.
"But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
The crucifixion of Jesus on the cross allows us to see and understand the depth of God's love for us. Until we really believe that God is for us, that we can't screw things up with him, we will withhold our trust to follow his ways and resort to follow our own or the pathway of others.
Faith can be defined as something that is believed with strong conviction. There must be a strong enough belief system in place for someone to be willing to base their lifestyle upon such beliefs. There is a choice before each of us. On one hand, we can live for this world and for ourselves. On the other hand, we can live for God and for others. One is temporary. The other is eternal. It is only one's faith that will determine which pathway one will follow. As for me, my faith deepened and solidified as I grappled with my understanding of God's love and grace for me which, in turned, led me to these three tenets for my belief system- a system which has anchored my faith and allowed me to grow in my understanding of God and to experience a new perspective for the world around me. I offer them to you, now.
Firstly, if there is no resurrection of Christ, there is no such thing as Christianity. The resurrection of Christ is essential. Present the dead body of Christ, after his supposedly resurrection, and one would quickly argue there is no merit to believe and have faith in Christianity. The resurrection is essential to the proof of who Christ claimed to be. ( See the Apostle Paul's argument about the resurrection found in 1 Corinthians chapter 15)
Secondly, the changed lives of the Jesus' disciples. From a Jewish point of view, the disciples had long been awaiting a Messiah who was to come and set the Jewish people free from the oppression of the Romans. Jesus was believed by his disciples to be the long awaited Messiah and there hope rested upon their desires to be a part of the leadership in this new kingdom set up by Jesus. But when Jesus was crucified upon the cross, fear and doubt permeated the mindset of each of the disciples. Fearful for their lives, the disciples scattered, fleeing for their lives. But then something happened. Something that caused these fearful ragamuffins to gather back together, speaking a message with such boldness,
that not even death could derail their actions. Their message? Christ has risen! Christ was who he claimed to be! What on earth could have changed the mindset of these disciples and move them boldly to do what they would do? I believe the only explanation was that Christ, himself, appeared in person before the disciples after his death and resurrection. Their faith was ignited. Jesus' resurrection proved who he claimed to be. Life after death has now become a proven reality.
Thirdly, there was the life-change of Saul, the performer, into Paul. the one lead by grace. (Found in the Book of Acts in the New Testament. Chapters 7-28) There was a great change that overcame this man who was previously called Saul- Saul, the one who persecuted the early church. His story in chronicled in the book of Acts. Saul, transformed from being a performance driven, zealot of God's law to becoming Paul, God's servant who owed his total existence to God's mercy and grace. Paul's spiritual transformation demonstrates for each of us our own such transformation that can take place in our lives today. It is this unconditional love and acceptance by God that enables a transformation within us- from that which is being controlled by our own selfishness and insecurities, creating our fears and anxieties, into becoming individuals grounded in wholeness, fully accepted through God's unconditional love and grace to find joy and peace within us as we become stewards of God's love to others. There is a direct link of one's wholeness with one's capacity and ability to love.
I can testify personally, in the midst of such love, that my faith and spirit have grown to bear witness that there is a God and that this God who shed mercy upon an undeserving, self-serving Saul also extends his mercy and grace to you and I. By faith, I have come to understand and believe that He is for me, and not against me! And the same is true for you, too! And, if you are ready to hear it, God's love is reaching out to you today. He is for you, Not Against you!
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:35-39
Seeing ourselves in God's unconditional love and grace is a perspective that changes everything!
Until next time....
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