The first thing I did when I saw this cartoon in the newspaper was whip out my iPhone and make a photo. I knew it would be the inspiration to reveal the truth about God. And it is.
No doubt about it, our culture portrays God as “damning” souls to Hell. It’s the easiest and fastest way to figure out “religion” (especially Christianity) and requires the least amount of thought.
But is it the truth?
Consider these facts about the God that Jesus of Nazareth believed in and followed:
1. God is perfect. Many, many people will disagree with this, but that doesn’t change the truth. And that perfection is exemplified through Jesus, who many people believe is God’s Son.
One ancient document states it this simply & clearly: “God’s way is perfect”. In one of the original source documents of Jesus’ physical life on earth, He tells his followers, “What I am saying is that you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
Jesus’ exemplifies that perfection. Here are quotes, from two of His earliest followers, that serve as illustrations: “He [Jesus] never sinned, and he never told a lie” and “There is no sin in Christ”.
2. God’s standard for all humanity is perfection. One of the men that Jesus personally trained to follower after Him that backs up that statement: “Be holy in everything you do, just as God is holy. He is the one who chose you. In the Scriptures God says, ‘Be holy, because I am holy’”.
3. We cannot achieve God’s standard and get into Heaven on our own. I don’t think a single quote from Jesus is needed to prove that point.
4. In the end, we don’t have to be perfect. When we become followers of Jesus — His teachings, His sacrificial death (to make up for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do) and glorious resurrection, God no longer sees our sins. He sees only His Son’s perfection.
This is a gift, offered to every person on this planet. It doesn’t matter what they’ve done (or not done). Their gender and age don’t matter. Their skin colour doesn’t matter. Their status in society doesn’t matter.
The gift is offered to EVERYONE, with no strings attached. And in my mind, this shows how much God loves me, YOU and every other human being.
So, who does the damning? Maybe it’s everybody who rejects that gift. They declare there is no God, there is no Jesus and there is no gift. By doing this, they can continue living the way they please with no thought to any consequences.
The result is pretty obvious. When this life is done, you come before God — with every single wrong thing you’ve done and every single right thing you’ve failed to do — utterly exposed. And as a result, you fall far, far short of God’s qualification for spending eternity in His presence.
Is this you? Are you choosing to damn yourself by declaring there’s no God and no gift? Maybe that’s how all your friends and loved ones think. But look beyond them; is this really what you want to do?
Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
Frank's Cottage 