Maybe you’ve encountered some “religious” Christians who left you with a bad taste in your mouth because they insisted all they need to know can be found in the Bible.
I’m with you on this. In fact, this is just one more reason why I want nothing to do with “religion” (a few more reasons can be found here: https://frankscottage.blog/2018/06/30/the-unniceness-of-religion/).
I’m a man of faith who follows Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God), but I absolutely DO NOT know everything. In fact, since deciding to follow Jesus more than 20 years ago, I’ve yet to meet a single person who fits the stereotype of the atheist meme that sparked this blog.
So let’s clear up the misconceptions. For a start, I have approximately 1,000 fiction, non-fiction, photography, humour, history and spirituality books. Now I’d never claim that other Jesus followers are similar reading enthusiasts, but a majority read at least a few books now and then. Just like most other North Americans.
What about Jesus-following scientists (I wrote about a few of them here: https://wp.me/p2wzRb-e9)? I feel quite safe in writing that most of these folks have entire walls of books. And I can’t imagine even one of them claiming to “know everything” from the Bible.
So what do we know? Based on philosophy, archaeology, science and ancient documents that have never been disproven, we know this:
- There’s a creator behind the universe, this planet, the air you’re breathing and YOU.
- This creator is without fault, blemish or stain. I know this because Jesus said His Father is absolutely holy.
- This creator knows ALL of His creations, including YOU. In fact, He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows we fall far, far short of being holy.
- This creator promises us that there’s much more to life that just 75 years of eating, sleeping, working and watching bad reality TV. This life is just the opening page to the book of all eternity.
- This creator’s standard for spending that eternity with Him is perfection. I know this because Jesus told anyone willing to listen that “You must be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”
- Since no one has any hope of reaching that standard on their own, God provided a way: His Son’s undeserved death and extraordinary resurrection three days later. Jesus himself said He “came to serve others and to give [my] life to save many people“.
Why not to save ALL people? Because being saved — to qualify for eternity in Heaven — requires declaring Jesus to be Lord, Saviour and best friend. When this happens, God no longer sees all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do. He only sees His Son’s perfection.
If all that seems far away and, therefore, irrelevant, consider this: Jesus told His followers that He would leave them a spiritual guide to help them become the people God created them to be. In other words, trusting in Jesus can make a positive, life-changing difference NOW.
Interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
Frank's Cottage 