Eternal life…
What is that?
It’s a curious thing to think about.
Eternity is defined as infinite time, duration without beginning or end.
Can you believe in that? How can that exist? I have mentioned numerous times about scientific laws are fact and theories are not scientifically proven at all. Well one of the laws of thermodynamics is the law of entropy, which is the law that everything is running down. A kind of, your dying as soon as you’re born type of law, a law that is a sort of downer, if you will.
So how is there more? You know more. That feeling hat you get, that there must be more than this. Well, I believe there is, but how can that be if everything is wearing down? Life wears down, at least, how we know it…it all ends. So we come to the conclusion that if there is more, there must be something we cannot experience fully here in this life, because this life wears out and we end up being dust.
If I cannot experience the “more” fully in this life how do I get in connection with the “more”? Well there are several theories on that, I mean if you look at all the thousands of different religions out there, and then add in everyone’s “educated” guesses, for example, I talked to a chap recently that believed (honestly he does) that just like in a comic strip God is asleep and dreaming (you know with the little cloud like bubble above His head) and when He wakes up we are done because we are His dream.
And that is what his life is based on.
I say that because look at people’s actions, I mean it, look at them. People will act out what they believe will happen in the future. For the Buddhist, they follow the teachings and live a life that adheres to what the teachings of that religion say they should do.
I guess I am similar, but I follow Christ, now having said that…I want to also add, I am in the “ministry”…so how many of you stopped reading? Why do I even ask that question? Well, because I am fully aware that there are a lot of “Christians” out there that are in NO WAY like my Jesus, THE Jesus and because of that drag His name through the mud and in my opinion, and in many cases, have no right to call themselves by the “Christian” name.
I have gone to 4th of July celebrations where people walk down the street with huge banners condemning Harry Potter readers and immediately passing judgment on anyone that picks a Harry Potter book up. This is Jesus? Jesus could handle a woman caught in adultery with truth and grace and we can’t handle a book? A BOOK! We can’t handle that with any amount of grace?
Which brings me to the point where I must tie all of this together, I am a Christian, and I do believe there is something far greater awaiting me after I pass. I believe that I have made the contact to that greater thing I mentioned earlier, the “more”. That connection comes through my belief in Christ, His sinless life, His death, and His resurrection.
Now I want you to think…whether you don’t believe, whether you are the guy holding the banner, whether you have been saying amen through this whole thing, or whether you are one of the miscellaneous others…If you are out there and you are representing my Jesus in a way that causes slander to His name, causes people to build a wall against a true, honest belief in Christ, cause people to view church as an organized religion as opposed to a place of healing, a place of forgiveness (remember that? Yeah We were forgiven at some point…and guess what…we STILL are… but for the grace of God there go I), a place of hope, a place of restoration…and yes it IS a place of TRUTH…but TRUTH with GRACE doesn’t make it any less truth…TRUTH without GRACE does make TRUTH less received, and therefore less productive… and if our purpose, as Christians, is to point people to what we feel passionately is the “More” then we would be dropping the ball, and not just any ball…we would be dropping the most important ball of all!
I am passionate about the way I know leads to the “More”, I believe it to be the only true way to the “More”, and when I see the only way to the “More” being handled with foolishness, selfishness, legalistic ruling, graceless, hypocrisy, Pharisee-like actions, it really gets under my skin. Jesus told the lady caught in adultery to “Go and sin no more”, He gave here truth…but only after He had shown grace to her and saved her life from being destroyed.
Acting like Jesus doesn’t mean we work towards perfection and point at those who further behind us in the perfection race. Acting like Jesus is living this journey, knowing what our future holds…knowing what those who do not believe future holds as well, and passionately seeking to draw them into the “More” that they need, and at least presenting that to them for them to make a decision.
Remember I mentioned the Buddhist and their actions… If we truly believe what we believe, what would our actions look like? I have used a term “eternal mindset” before, what would that look like? If we really, I mean REALLY were trying to save someone’s life…would we stand on the cliff and point and ask, “look how you got yourself into this one!” Or, “if you hadn’t walked off the cliff in the first place you wouldn’t be in this mess now!” Or finally, “You are wrong for hanging off the ledge, you should be standing here with me where it is safe!” I would imagine you would drop what YOUR PRIORITY IS AT THE MOMENT (your agenda) and take care of the necessity, which is getting to that person before whatever they are holding onto snaps and they are lost, forever. I could stand and push my priorities all I want at you if you’re hanging from a cliff but that is not what you need…you need help. If I truly believe what I say I do, think about how important it is to me to rush to that cliff side and get to the person that is about to fall… imagine if it is my family member, my friend, or even a stranger…
How would you react?
Think about it.
Grace and Truth.
simpleMan
