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Posts Tagged ‘did Jesus overcome death?’

GOD, BONE CANCER AND BEAUTY

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 9, 2024| 4 Comments »

As you read the meme above, are you nodding your head in agreement? It wouldn’t surprise me in the least. We all know that this world is awash in beauty and pain, love and grief, anger and joy.

The question that occurs to me is: why does British actor/writer/narrator/director/atheist Stephen Fry somehow conclude that this world’s enormous contrasts deny the existence of a creator? And does it lead you in the same direction?

My pastor friend Ross Carkner, who I showed the meme to, agrees that “beauty alone is not a testament to God’s existence.” But then he points out something that I believe is equally true: “God exists in the midst of the beauty and the ugliness.”

Here’s the thing: Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God, never promised us a life free of bone cancer or acne or leukemia or bunions or even rap music (sorry; this old guy’s gotta have a moment of fun).

In fact, He told anyone willing to listen that “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows; but cheer up, for I have overcome the world.”

I’m sure you’re asking, just as I did when I first read this quote — from one of the four original-source biographies of Jesus’ physical life on Earth — what ‘overcoming the world’ means.

The website GotQuestions.org notes it’s multifaceted:

  • Jesus gives His followers peace to overcome our troubled hearts.
  • He gives His followers strength to turn away from the wrong things we’ve done and right things we’ve failed to do.
  • Jesus gives His followers ultimate victory over the evil spiritual forces that haunt this world and inspire wars, pandemics, pedophilia and so many other ills that plague humanity
  • He gives His followers a share in His victory over death, because after being crucified on false charges, He rose from the dead several days later (Please check out the ‘links to other sites’ tab to read all the evidence supporting Jesus’ resurrection).

All this gives me, and other Jesus followers, tremendous relief and endurance as we deal with life on this planet. In fact, I’ll go so far as to claim this God-fueled relief and endurance gives Jesus followers a source of power that the rest of the world doesn’t have.

If you’re not following Jesus, then do you have any hope to overcome the challenges of life? And if you’re not following Jesus, do you have any hope of life beyond 70+ years of eating, breathing, working and finally expiring?

I have that hope. I’ll go further and tell you I have supreme confidence, that Jesus gives to all His followers, for a good and joyous life beyond this existence — a life that leaves behind all the pain and exhaustion of what we so often experience now.

Do you want in on this blessing? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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IS IT REALLY ABOUT FEAR?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 28, 2014| 9 Comments »

is it really about fear?When I saw this graphic in an internet atheism community, my first thought was this: is it really about fear?

First of all, the reality is almost all of us have been taught to fear death. It’s certainly an effective way for parents to do all they can to make sure their children don’t consider suicide, no matter how troubled they might be.

Secondly, most of us fear death because we can’t be certain what, if anything, lies beyond it. Will we vanish into nothingness? Return as an aardvark? Become a ghost and haunt annoying relatives?

Because of these two points, many people, especially angry agnostics or atheists, make declarations like Ann Druyan (an agnostic author and TV documentary producer).

From my faith perspective (I follow Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s Son), there is no need to fear death. Serious Jesus followers read quotes like these:

We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him. (from one of Jesus’s earliest followers)

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life. (From one of the original source documents  of Jesus’ life)

Let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed … When this happens, the Scriptures will be made true: “Death is swallowed in victory. O death, where is your victory? Where is your power to hurt?” (from one of Jesus’s earliest followers)

So I return to my original question: is this this graphic really about fear? I suggest it’s about something else: obeying what our culture decrees about faith and ignoring everything else.

  • Our culture says whoever has the most toys when he/she dies wins.
  • Our culture says don’t think about anything spiritual – go shopping.
  • Our culture says regard with suspicion anyone who has a real faith in God.
  • Our culture says get a face lift, get botox treatments, dye your hair, wear tons of makeup – whatever it take to look young and immortal.

Meanwhile, people who truly follow Jesus say:

  1. He died on a cross to make up for all the bad things I’ve done and the good things I’ve failed to do.
  2. He rose from the dead after three days, thereby wiping out the permanence of death.
  3. These gifts are offered to every person on this planet, no matter who they are, where they live or what they’ve done. All we need to to is accept the gifts.

Does this make sense to you? Do you see what Jesus did as a gift that takes away the fear of death? Yes or no, type your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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