Dear sinner,
If you're reading this, you are a sinner, whether you realize it or not.
Do you find that offensive? We are easily offended when we feel
someone is making judgements against us. "You don't even know
me", "I know that I'm just as good a person as religious people
are", or "don't force your morality/beliefs on me" might be
responses that are triggered. I think those are all valid points.
Yet, because I believe that the Bible is true, I beg you to hear
me out.
I know there are a million different religions in the world,
and even among Christians the differences in beliefs seem to
be endless. I think that to find some kind of meaningful answers,
one has to look at the very basic questions:
1. How did we get here?
Evolution doesn't address the origin of life. The big bang
theory doesn't explain the existence of the universe. The
Bible explains both, as well as the meaning and purpose of
life.
2. What happens after we die?
To the naturalist, this brief existence is all there is. I know
many philosophers and atheists try to put a very brave face
on that, but I think that "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow
we die" makes life look so empty and meaningless that despair would
be the only conclusion. If we are more than merely physical
creatures, and part of us, the real us, lives on, then we have
more to consider.
Let me, in a very pathetic way, try to sum up the message of the
Bible in a few paragraphs:
God created man, woman, and everything else. The first man
and woman sinned. Their sin separated them from God, and
they became cursed to die.
Fast forward in time, God makes a covenant (a promise or contract)
with Abraham and promises that the world will be blessed through
him. Fast forward some more, God makes a covenant at Mt. Sinai
with Moses and the Israelites, in which he gives them His Law
and promises to bless them if they obey it, which they fail to do.
The sacrificial system, animal sacrifice, is brought in as atonement
(paying the price) for the sins of the people.
Fast forward again, the culmination of everything. God's eternal
plan of salvation fully revealed, His one and only son, Jesus, comes
to the earth, born of a virgin. He lives the life that we cannot live,
a life without sin. He gives his life willingly for a sinful world, so
they can be reconciled to God. He endures torture and a horrible
death on a cross. He became the true sacrifice that the old
testament sacrifices pointed to. He is buried, and three days later
is raised from the dead. He appears to many of his followers
before returning to the right hand of God.
Jesus Christ offers eternal life and forgiveness of sin to all who
believe in Him.
And if you're a sinner like me, that is good news indeed.
So many people are actually looking for the meaning of their lives. Since we are spiritual beings, I believe they feel the tugging of something more. We watched TRON Legacy last night, & at the end Kevin Flynn says "I was trying to create perfection, a perfect world . . . but now I realize (looks at his son) perfection was right in front of me all the time." The vibe from Kevin was more humanistic than God-centered, but he had been looking for something more.
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