This meme makes two points that grabbed my attention:
- God isn’t real
- People are afraid of reality.
I won’t bother with the first point; many websites explore the question of God’s reality (here are two from the perspective of Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s Son: http://carm.org/ and http://www.ReasonableFaith.org), so I’ll leave it up to them.
As for the second point, my first reaction was to immediately think this: people believe in God because they are all TOO aware of the reality of their condition.
People who believe in God and follow Jesus usually know they don’t live anything close to an ideal life.
Take me, for example. I’m aware that I’m:
- Self-centred (and therefore don’t care enough about others)
- Greedy (Frank, you have 700 CDs; do you really need more??)
- Prone to hold grudges (which always hurts me, not the person who made me so angry)
- Usually looking for something in return whenever I’m generous (It took me awhile to figure out this is giving with my hand out).
These are just the faults I can immediately identify; I’m sure my very patient wife can suggest more.
However long the list is, here’s the truth: while I can make little improvements, I can never truly fix all my weaknesses. I don’t have the willpower, the discipline or the discernment. And I’ll be bold here and declare that YOU don’t have what it takes to fix all your faults, either. In fact, no one does.
That’s the absolute, unblinking reality of humanity’s condition.
So, if we can’t fix ourselves, who can? Let me be quite radical and declare that God, our creator, is up for the task. In fact, His prime business is repairing broken people. The Internet has many stories about how following Jesus has restored damaged people. (I touch on two of those stories in this blog: https://wp.me/p2wzRb-fz.)
If you’ve met serious Jesus followers, I’m sure you’ll know we’re not perfect. Which might lead you to wonder if I’m truthful about God fixing people who following His Son.
I am truthful, but all this is mixed in with the mystery of free will. The horrors of human history make it plain God has never wanted humanity to be a race of goose-stepping robots. This means He permits people — including Jesus followers— to resist His efforts to fix us.
But when we accept the gift of Jesus and believe that He died for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do, then we welcome Him into our lives to start the repair work.
When will that work end? When this life is finished and we go to Heaven to spend eternity with Him. Until then, we serve as His ambassadors in a hurting world.
Does this make sense? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
Frank's Cottage 
Left to our own devices, we are cannot fix ourselves. I thank God every day for the redemptive work He is doing in me and through me.
Great post, as always, Frank!
Blessings!
We’re thanking Him together, Martha. Thanks! 🙂
I totally agree. I never realized how flawed I was before asking God to show me my true self. Most atheists I know (not saying all of them, but most) are completely self unaware.
Sadly, you’re right, Tricia. I’ve encountered many atheists on the internet who declare there’s no such thing as “sin”. 😦
“The horrors of human history make it plain God has never wanted humanity to be a race of goose-stepping robots.”
Speculation of God’s intent. Also, it can be argued from this statement that God doesn’t care, which is more likely than God not wanting human robots. The statement is also very consistent with no God existing. That explains the human history accurately. No god needed.
“But when we accept the gift of Jesus and believe that He died for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do, then we welcome Him into our lives to start the repair work.”
Jesus was concious after death, according to what the nuns taught me. Then he comes back in around 2 days, according to the gospels.
It’s a short vacation. I don’t see “a gift”, even if true. What convinced you that the gospels are true and that a God exists?
Thanks for your response: My “speculation” is based on the life and testimony of Jesus of Nazareth, who made it crystal clear that God created humanity to have a real relationship with us, no matter what the cost.
As for what some people are taught, there is absolutely NO evidence of any kind that suggests Jesus was conscious after death. I’m not even sure what that statement means….
Finally, please note that while everyone is welcome here, the content of Frank’s Cottage is written for people who are open to spirituality. Sadly, I don’t sense that’s the case here. 😦