Needless to say, I've been crazy crazy inspired by this book. I am thoroughly impressed and challenged by it; I am certainly in awe of how well researched it is.
I could write about a million things right now, but I'll try to boil it down to a few key things.
I titled this blog, "Why I need a Savior" because I think this is the fundamental question that non-believers ask. Its one I asked angrily MILLIONS of time before I accepted the fact that I needed to be "saved." (I mean seriously, saved from what? HELL? Well, that's just not nice! I don't even know that thats real!!)
I've once heard someone tell me, that Christianity "suckers people into religion when they are the weakest." I'm here to tell you that, that is indeed true. (Although, personally I wouldnt use the term "sucker" because it implies stupidity and ignorance and I do not regard myself either of the two).
So before I came to accept the Truth of the Gospel, that Jesus Christ is TRULY without a doubt the way to abundant life on EARTH and for ETERNITY I had a few very common views about Christians.
1. You arrogant sons of (you know what), how dare you tell ME what I need.
2. My God loves EVERYONE and I refuse to serve one that says certain people are going to Hell (Because this crazy love I have inside for people cannot bear the thought of ANYONE going to this place you call Hell)
3. I am a good person! Religion disgusts me! All your stupid wars over who's God is better, who's God is the right God. KEEP ME OUT OF THAT CRAP! I just wanna love on some peoples!!,
Well, for starters, I know some amazing Christian people. Secondly, I have some also amazing compassionate non-Christian friends. The difference between them isnt who's better than the next. It's who's willing to admit whole heartedly, shamelessly admit they fall miserably short of something....even if they arent quite sure of what it is yet.
"This is the written account of Adam's line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God." - Genesis 5:1
God made us to be in the likeness of Himself, if I can say, one of the most important (if not the most important) attribute of who God is. The Christian's God is LOVE.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. - 1 John 4:16
With this Love of who God could possibly be follow the attributtes of everything Pure, Holy, Perfect, Innocent, Divine, Righteous, Humble but the two that stand out are Love and Forgiveness.
"Love" according to a Wikipedia reference is: In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels.[2] Love may also be described as actions towards others (or oneself) based on compassion.[3] Or as actions towards others based on affection.[4]
I've always felt a strong love, urge, yearn, compelling feeling (sometimes crazy overwhelming desire) to Love people. In all of their uniquness, all of their flaws, all of their sufferings and I believe its because we were made in this reverent image of something bigger than all of us. Something inside of us compels us to do "what's right".
Sometimes at great lengths and costs to ourselves, there is something sacrificial inside of us. (If you did not know, Love is/always GIVES; Yet like I said in the previous post, we usually only are looking out for ourSelves.) Truthfully, everything good and moral I claim to be/want to be I fail to really accomplish most of the time. This wicked true self gets in the way.
Then I think of all of these crazy of stories on the news about the guy who jumped in front of a train to save a stranger, or the guy in the drugstore who took a bullet for the child...What inside of us drives us to great lengths for others? But COMPASSION and Love. (I will get into natural instinct in the next few blogs and why moral and social theories on cause and reason why we act out of Love ultimately FAIL)
So when Christians (even having many arguments with my own mother) argued that indeed, disobeying the Word of God would send people to Hell it crazy crazy angered me. How can I believe in a God like that? Isn't God all loving? Why would He send people to Hell?
But I believed our capacity to Love so deeply, create so beautifully, and be so utterly and unmistakabely diverse...Was in fact totally DIVINE. So where did that leave me? Where does that leave the agnostic?
Dead end number one. Why do I need a Savior again?
TBC.
Powerful stuff, girlie. POW-ER-FUL.
ReplyDelete