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Posts Tagged ‘John 3:17’

ABUSER OR LIFE-GIVER?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2022| 4 Comments »

It’s been said that you can twist the Christian Bible to support almost any position. The paraphrases in this atheist meme certainly prove that.

The point is easy to see: the creator and master of time, space and the universe is an emotional abuser, constantly tearing down anyone who claims to love Him. Maybe you even feel that way.

There are too many paraphrases to discuss each one, but let me tell you right now: if I ever, for even a minute, thought God was an emotional abuser, I never would have decided to follow Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is His Son. I would not have married a Jesus follower and I’d never even think of entering a church.

So why don’t I agree with this meme? Because the cherry-picked paraphrases (most are not word-for-word quotes) are diametrically opposed to the entire over-arching theme of the Christian Bible. That theme is: God created us, we rejected Him, the world is a mess as a result, and He is constantly inviting to return home to Him.

In fact, this theme is the point of one of Jesus’s most famous stories, about the prodigal son. In that “parable,” the son tells his rich father he wants to get his slice of the family inheritance and leave home. The father sadly agrees, then the son goes out and blows his inheritance through partying, drugs, alcohol, sex and any other way of rock star living that our culture offers us.

Now in poverty, the son is reduced to taking whatever degrading job he can find until he realizes that any kind of life back home is better than what he has now. So he returns home, fully intending to apologize, throw himself on the mercy of his father and hope he can at least get a job as a labourer.

But even before he arrives, the father sees him, runs to him, embraces him in a tearful bear hug and orders his staff to put on a big celebration. The son’s awful behaviour is forgiven because he’s home again. Home!

That’s the overarching theme of the Bible. And the forgiveness the son receives is because of the sacrifice of Jesus. When Roman officials crucified Jesus on trumped up charges, His death wiped out all the wrong things His followers (like me) committed, and all the right things we’ve failed to do. Now, when this life ends, we are welcomed into Heaven because God sees us like He sees Jesus: perfect in every way.

Just one Bible quote makes this clear: This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger. He came to help, to put the world right again.

So what do you think? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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GOD: FROM SMITING TO LOVING

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 27, 2019| 2 Comments »

I imagine there are lots of people who saw this newspaper comic, instantly agreed with the sentiment, then moved on with their lives.

That kind of reaction isn’t surprising. North American culture strongly discourages thinking about anything connected with spirituality and most of us obey that directive.

But I’m hoping you’re reading this because you’re not one of those people. And maybe you’re wondering if Close To Home cartoonist John McPherson is being a little too stereotypical. You would be right.

It’s easy to follow the masses and believe the creator of time, space and the universe loves to punish “sinners”. But it’s simply not true, at least in my spiritual world.

Consider this quote from an ancient Hebrew writer: God is being patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change their ways and stop sinning.

Here’s another quote, pointing in the same direction, from a Hebrew writer called John: God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son [Jesus of Nazareth] merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

These quotes portray God as doing everything He can to NOT “smite” any sinners. In fact, He wants to rescue people like me (and you) from the bad things we’ve done and the good things we’ve failed to do.

It’s no secret that we are incapable of perfect living. Even agreeing on a universal definition of perfect behaviour is beyond humanity.

So, as John hints at, God sent Jesus to show us what God is like: compassionate, forgiving, encouraging, strengthening, consoling, healing, absolutely consistent and all powerful. In fact, look at Jesus and you’re looking at God.

There’s one other characteristic of God that I saved for last, because it’s problematic for us sinful people: perfection. God is perfect and that’s His criteria for judging his creations.

How can we achieve this impossible standard? This is an important question because after this life ends, only the people judged to be perfect will spend eternity in Heaven with God and His Son.

Thankfully, this absolutely does NOT mean we’re all doomed. As the quote from John indicates, God sent Jesus to “put the world right”. This means that for those of us who believe in Him and follow Him, Jesus sacrificed His life to pay the cost for ALL the wrong things we’ve done and ALL the right things we’ve failed to do.

Then, three days after His death, Jesus came back to life and appeared to hundreds of people (it’s stated plainly by one of the people Jesus trained to follow Him). That proves He was — and is — God’s Divine Son with the power to wipe sin off the books. As a result, when God looks at Christ followers, all He sees is His Son’s perfection.

This is glorious news and a universe away from the “smiting” God portrayed in Close To Home. Do you agree? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE AFTERLIFE PUZZLE

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Well, this seems confusing.

Canada’s National Post newspaper has published a new survey that might leave you scratching your head. Or maybe not.

The survey suggests millennials (people born between 1982 and 2002) are:

  • Vastly more likely to believe in an afterlife than older generations. Seventy percent of millennials have this belief, compared to 66 percent of generation Xers and less than 60 percent of people 70 and older.
  • Less likely than older folks to belief in God or a higher power. The percentage stands at 66 for millennials, compared to 80 for pre-baby boomers.

Perhaps this makes sense to you. If that’s the case, let me ask two questions: On what do you base your afterlife belief – the prevailing culture or a favourite TV show or Oprah Winfrey’s philosophies? And If you believe there is no creator, then how is it possible for an afterlife to exist?

This challenge is worth tackling because as the years go by, you’re probably going to place more and more of your trust in your afterlife beliefs. It make sense to base that trust on something solid and unchanging.

I believe there’s far more to our existence than 70 or 80 years of eating, sleeping, working, vacationing and going to the bathroom. I base this on something many people think is radical and even ridiculous: a living, breathing, eternal relationship with God, established through faith in Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son.)

I didn’t get this belief from being raised by spiritual parents or by trusting in a bestselling author or a pop culture star. This belief came from an open-minded investigation of Jesus’s claims. I debated people from a variety of perspectives, read many books and thought deeply about all the viewpoints out there.

After that, I decided at age 42 to trust Jesus with this life and the life to come. I did that because, after my investigations, I believe that:

  1. God is perfect and that’s His standard for judging humanity.
  2. Through the bad things we’ve done and the good things we’ve failed to do, every person on this planet has fallen far short of God’s standard.
  3. Human history – and our own life stories – indicates we can’t achieve God’s standard on our own.
  4. Rather than condemn us all, God sent Jesus Christ to this earth to teach us how to live, then to pay the penalty for our “sins” through his sacrificial death and astounding resurrection three days later.

How do I know all this? A primary-source biography of Jesus says “God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.”

Could there be any better news than this? And for those who trust in Jesus, when this life is over, God won’t see any of your flaws. He’ll just see His Son’s perfection.

Interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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