Why Does the Lord God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Desire to Call Us to Himself?
What Is the Point of Humanity Believing in Christ, Jesus, As Lord and Savior?
When one thinks of what we humans call evil in this world, it is easy to see and believe that there is no God and that God is an imagination of our mind to help humanity make it through the day. A false hope, if you will, or an "opiate of the masses," as Carl Marx claimed. However, how else would one expect to give and receive genuine love in a relationship without free will? Simply put, without the possibility of so-called evil in this life, one could not have the possibility of true love. One cannot experience or know the pain of the heart without the pain of suffering the loss of the love and joy experienced by a genuine relationship. Humans are not automatons programmed to obey another's whims; humans could accept and reject another's advances of will.
Consider the point of the Born-Again Christians' appeal to follow their God, the Lord Christ, Jesus. For the most part, Christians come to believe in Christ because of a crisis in their lives. A personal crisis of faith can stem from three primary questions that need addressing and answering.
First, the question that nearly all thinking individual's come upon is, "where did I come from?" The question is simple enough, but the question of origins is not only a question theologians have dealt with for millennia, but the agnostic, in truth, has equally dealt with this question, which is why they claim agnosticism. They do not know, and the answer they have come to is not good enough for them, which leads many to claim atheism. They say there is no God, while the agnostic that continues to search is agnostic, they just do not know but are willing to leave the door open for more evidence to reveal itself. The atheist is unwilling to look further for evidence, claiming no God exists. A problem with this position is the claim that there is no God, and there is not enough evidence to prove there is, which implies this individual has looked for and examined all the evidence for the existence of God for all of time. One can reject the basis for this claim outright because, for all of history, there is not nor has there ever been an individual that has lived for all of time to have studied all the evidence and come to that conclusion. Obviously, with the exception and consideration of an individual that lives outside of time, one that can foretell the future with 100% accuracy 100% of the time, one could at least consider that opinion from a purely objective point of view, examining those claims.
Second is the question, "why am I here?" This question speaks to purpose, life must have a meaning, purpose, and hope, or the existence one lives will appear empty, a chasing after the next thing. One of the major enjoyments of this life is a relationship with a significant other. Consider the trajectory of this relational development. A couple meets and begins to spend time together. Over time, the couple begins to know each other and what they like and dislike. They discover if they are compatible. Upon more time spent together, they look forward to spending time with each other so much that they no longer see themselves as individuals but as a couple. This is the falling-in-love phase that typically occurs from knowing the other person so well that they look forward to spending time with each other, and when they are not together, life no longer seems to have the same meaning, fulfillment, or joy derived from being together. This example, one could argue, gives those lives meaning, and the individuals are becoming, one could say, "I am completed" by the other and vice versa. Intuitively, the couple has recognized why they are here when one considers the heartfelt joy derived from their partner.
Third, the question is, "where do I go when I die? Is there more to this existence beyond this life?" Consider the following example. An individual lives an exemplary life. This individual is a model citizen, a contributing member of society. This individual has learned about life's struggles, hardships, heartaches, joys, and the fruit of building into another's life all the experience that they learned so the next generation could reap the reward of that life well-lived. This is a multifaceted example of parenting, role-modeling like that of the journeymen to the apprentice. Instructing the student all the lessons of life necessary to live successfully in this world. This picture is like that of Christ in the simplest of all senses that He lived this exemplary life. When one examines His life in the pages of Scripture, one can easily see His life is the model to follow and pattern one's life. A problem with the previously described individuals, like the agnostic or atheist, is that they have decided not to pattern their life after the model. They have decided to live after their own lives, and they have become their own role model, thinking they know best aside from any evidence to the contrary.
The problem here is sin. Another way to say this is the problem of free will has led the individual away from hearing the truth of the Word of God to accepting the lies this world promotes. The world cannot answer the heart's questions: "where did I come from, why am I here, and where am I going when I die?" The best the world offers are chasing after the wind. Pursuing the empty, vain pleasures of this life cannot fulfill the emptiness of the heart that every individual on the planet has found a glimpse of in a loving relationship for all recorded time. Every individual that has experienced true love knows the sense of fulfillment of the heart and the heartache of the loss of the same. Divorce or death is a cause of brokenness, and those that have experienced this from the perspective of an adult or child know the pain felt in the heart. But for God and His grace, that pain could have permeated all the existence of life had it not been for the hope that God provided.
Here is the point of the Christians' appeal to come alongside them and follow their God, the God of the Bible. Elohim, the God of all creation, answers the question of where we come from. The God of the Bible said 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.[6] We place value on an object we believe to be important to us. In a relationship, our partner is of significant value; some say so much so that they are willing to lay down their lives for their partner because of the value they have placed on them. When an individual creates something with their hands, a drawing, painting, woodworking, or a child of the womb, the creator of the object places a value that, for most, is inestimable. Because the God of all creation created humanity, humans in the mind of God are of immensurable value, as evidenced by Elohim having His Son, Christ Jesus, lay down His life for the redemption of humanity and by a simple belief that God desires to have a restored relationship with His creatures, His creation of inestimable value, we can experience that restoration. We come from God; thus, God answers the question of where we come from.
The question of why I am here, God says, 8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.[7]… 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you 6shall surely die."[8]
God gave humanity purpose because He created us and placed us in this world to manage His creation. We are partnering with God in the management of His property. We do not own this world, although many have tried; God says, 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?[9]. Clearly, God values us, His creatures, more than this world. Again, God values us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross at Calvary to pay a debt He did not owe a penalty we could not pay. Moreover, God loves us so much that, like a parent, He warns us not to do what He knows will harm us.
So, like a parent, God created us and gave us a job to do because He believes in us so much; He trusted us to manage His property for Him. Also, He warns us so we would not suffer needlessly. He told us not to do one thing because He knew how it would hurt and harm us; is this not what every parent, through all of time, does with their children?" 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him![10]
Finally, where am I going when I die when I leave this world? Of all the questions humanity seeks answers to, this question of destination should be of primary importance, considering how short our lives are on this earth.
Think for a moment of recorded history. Do not go so far back in time that you argue for recorded history as being revisionist. Think of the U.S. Civil War. Alternatively, you could think of WWII or the Vietnam War. Also, what about when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The Civil War occurred between 1861 and 1865. WWII took place between 1939 and 1945. The Vietnam War occurred between 1955 and 1975. Finally, J.F.K. was assassinated Friday, November 22, 1963, at approximately 12:30 p.m. C.S.T. We have an approximation of the time passing of 161 years since the beginning of the Civil War. To say this simply, many people died in the last 161 years. Historians have recorded events over time, and one can easily search and prove the events occurred. Consider that worldwide, in 2015, fifty million plus people died, and again, that is worldwide. Current statistics say that in the U.S. alone, it is well over two million deaths per year. Two times 161 is 322; that is lowballing the numbers. 322-million people have passed on into eternity since 1861. These people have been gone from the face of this earth for quite some time and may of which no one will ever know existed. History is not kind to every human. Those in the pages of history are there for good or bad regardless of where they ended up beyond this domain.
The point here concisely is that we live, love, and die. Yes, there is more to our existence than the aforementioned, albeit brief epitaph, but you get the point. We humans will spend a significantly greater amount of time dead than alive. Because of our death date, meaning we all have a date with death, we should spend a significant portion of the thought, energy, time, and conversation with those closest to that date, then us seeking an answer to that date; where am I going when I die? The point is not to spend an in-exorbitant amount of time thinking about death itself but to consider where we are going when we leave this world.
Someone has quipped, "if we fail to plan, we have planned to fail." That quip applies to many areas of life; one can argue for school, marriage, finances, retirement, etc. However, the better plan is for our death date. We all have a date with destiny. Many people live by a self-governing maxim of "I am the master of my own ship, I am the master of my destiny, I make my own luck, I can pull myself up by my own bootstraps, or my favorite, religion is a crutch." That maxim is fine until that final date with destiny. In the Bible, Job says, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord."[11] The reminder here is that regardless of how well one plans his or her life, regardless of how well he or she self-governs, steers, manages, and makes their own luck, we will all die one day. Where are you going when you die is the question that needs answering?
God's Word says this about the future and where we could spend eternity. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear![12]
Alternatively, God says, 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.[13]
Where do we go when we die; really, the choice is ours alone. We have free will to choose to accept to believe in what the Bible teaches, or we can reject what the Bible teaches; the choice is ours. One could argue again, as the agnostic, that there is not enough evidence to prove the existence of God and the validity of the words of the Bible as being true. However, from the argument of standing outside of time and predicting the future with 100% accuracy 100% of the time, one cannot stand up against prophecy. Consider the Rose Parade that occurs annually on New Year's Day in Pasadena, California. Think for a moment of riding in a helicopter overlooking the entire parade. One can view the parade in its entirety from beginning to end and everything in between of all that is occurring during the event of the parade. Now, you have your cell phone, call your friend, and say, in about 30 minutes, this float is going to come by your seat, be sure to look for it; it is amazing. You call another friend and say, be sure to look for this band coming by your way in about an hour; they sound great. Lastly, you call another friend and say, be sure to stick around for the end of the parade; I can see the parade staff giving out gifts to all the attendees that have stayed to the end of the parade; the gifts look great. That is a picture of prophecy from the 500ft view. The one flying in the helicopter can see all the events of the parade, future, present, and soon-to-be past. The individual's sitting in their seats waiting for the parade to pass by cannot see what is coming, but they trust in their friend what they told them would happen. They wait and see all of the parade; sure enough, the float, the band, and the gifts at the end all happen as their friend from the 500ft view said it would. That is a small picture of prophecy. God, in His divine wisdom and love, decided to write down enough of the future of the world for us to know that God is real, He is telling us the truth, and we can trust Him because of His love, grace, and mercy as every parent displays to their children.
All we need to do is accept by faith, just as we do when we wake each day, trusting that we will live to the end of the day. We wake up, prepare for the day and go about our routine and daily business. We expect by faith that we will accomplish all that we set out to do within reason. We believe our car will take us from A-B. We believe the plane will take us from A-B and back if we fly. We believe our family will be there when we get home, and the next day, we will do all that again. We do this all by faith, believing life will continue as usual. If we did not have a measure of faith to believe life would continue as usual, within reason, we would stay in our homes, lock the doors and windows, paralyzed with fear of the what-ifs of life. However, we do not act that way because we have enough faith to express a fundamental belief that life will continue in a semi-normal fashion within reason. However, we do experience black-swan events like the pandemic. The warning here or the thought to be aware of is that we do not know the future, and the most significant black-swan event in life is our death. Remember, we will be dead for an inestimable amount of time compared to our life here on earth. Again, think of recorded time; we recorded events of countless millions of people who had died long before we came here onto this scene. Thus, thinking about the future and where we are headed when we draw our last breath is reasonable.
If you believe you are not sure you know you will have eternal life when your die, then get sure. It is as simple as the step of faith you take when you get in your car and go to work. You believe your car with get you from A to B and back home again. God is waiting to hear you ask Him this simple question, "God, if you are real, prove it, prove to me that you are real by doing this for me." You, asking to prove the reality of God, is simple. Your asking of God to make Himself real to you is as simple as asking Him to do what you cannot do for yourself. God loves His creation which we all are. As a Father, He loves to bless us; He already does through our daily provision, our health, our roof over our head, etc., I could go on, but you need to make God real to you. Do not wait, ask Him right now and He will come into your life and prove the reality of His love, grace, and mercy to you; all you have to do is ask.
If you want to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, read the following.
Who Really Loves Me?
The Bible tells us that God loves us. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. "There are a few facts that are unique about God's love for each one of us. First of all, the Word love here speaks of unconditional love. This means that no conditions must first be met for Him to love me. He loves me, and I never have to do anything to earn it. 1 John 4:10 says, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. "It gives me great comfort in knowing that Jesus loves me just because I am me. Second, He demonstrated His love by sending His own Son to die for me. This gives me great assurance because He was willing to give the greatest sacrifice to have a personal relationship with me for all eternity.
"For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all,
then all died;" (2 Corinthians 5:14).
To Receive Christ, do the following:
Admit, "I am a sinner."
Confess and be willing to turn from your sin.
Believe by faith that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross.
Receive, through prayer, Jesus Christ into your heart and receive eternal life.
Pray, with a sincere heart, something like this
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me for my sins and cleanse me by Your blood. I accept You by faith as my personal Lord and Savior. Give me a thirst for Your Word, and Help me to follow You all of my days. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
What have you just done?
By accepting Jesus into your life as your personal Lord and Savior, you have established a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Before confessing Him by faith, you were an enemy of God because your sins had separated you from Him. The Bible says, "Your iniquities [sins] have separated you from your God… "(Isaiah 59:2). Now, by asking Jesus into your heart, you are free from the bondage of sin and are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Before accepting Jesus, you were ruled by sin, but now the Spirit will rule you. Romans 8:5 says, "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit."
If you have prayed the above prayer, great, welcome to the family. Now get started reading your Bible. Begin with the gospel of John and then start over with the Gospel of Matthew and read through to the end of the New Testament. If you do not have a Bible, download the YouVersion Bible App. https://www.youversion.com/
Alternatively, correspond with this writer to begin your new relationship with Christ.
God bless you as you begin your new life in Christ.
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