Post by safaiax on May 31, 2008 12:31:31 GMT -5
This was a letter I wrote for a couple that I love dearly. It's intended for people who don't believe in God, or doubt God's existence because of all the suffering in the world.
By the way, I couldn't figure out how to put tabs in. Sorry if it's hard to read. Could anyone tell me how?
In the beginning, God created the universe. God called His creation"very good". He created man to be uniquely in His own image. He loved them very much. He loved them so much that He gave them free will, to love or reject Him. If He didn’t give them free will, it would not have been love at all. It would have been force. Forced love is not love. So, He gave them free will, but they chose to reject Him by disobeying Him. This is when sin and death came into the world. Throughout the entire course of human history, sin and death have always been a part of it. God gave us laws called the Ten Commandments. When looking at these laws, humans can easily recognize that they are sinners.
God is perfect. He is righteous, holy, just, loving, merciful, all knowing, all seeing, infinite, eternal, etc. Because He is perfectly righteous, we were separated from God when we first sinned. God hates sin. Since He is just, and we sinned, we deserve punishment. But He still loves us and He chose to be merciful to us. How has He been merciful to us? You might have heard this story, but let’s review it. God sent His only Son, in the form of a man, to earth. He was born of a virgin, Mary, He lived a sinless life as a carpenter's son, He performed many miracles, He claimed to be God many times, He was mocked even during His life, and then at age 33, He died for us on a cross. Three days later, He was resurrected to prove that He was not only a man, but also God in flesh. Let’s look at the story of His death from a few points of views.
Imagine how Jesus felt. If He was truly God in flesh, as He claimed to be, what would that have meant? Jesus gave up His infinite self and came down as a finite man. He willingly set Himself under the authority of His Father in heaven. He has even prayed and asked His Father to not let the coming events happen, if that was His Father's will. But, did that prayer get answered? No. He was arrested and soon sentenced to be crucified. He was whipped, mocked, spit on, hated, and rejected by nearly everyone. Jesus had twelve disciples. One of them betrayed Him. Another one denied that he even knew Jesus. Soon, Jesus was nailed to a cross. The majority of His own people, the Jews, hated Him. His own Father in heaven even turned His face from Jesus. The Bible says that the sins of the world, including past, present, and future, were laid on Jesus while He was on the cross. His Father poured out His entire wrath on Jesus. Should Jesus have been mad at His Father for doing this? Should He have blamed His Father for allowing Him to be murdered, even though He was innocent? Should He have stopped believing in His Father simply because He was experiencing major suffering? Of course not!
Soon after His death on the cross, He was put in a tomb. Three days after He died, He was resurrected. He actually defeated death! He not only claimed to be God in flesh, but He proved it too!
Imagine how Mary felt. Mary and her husband Joseph (who was not Jesus’ blood father) knew that He was God in flesh. They both knew that Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit. They had to raise this child. If you are a mother or father, you know how it feels to have a child and you probably have a pretty good idea how you would feel if you lost your child. Now, take a step in Mary's shoes for a minute, while Jesus is a baby. You know your child is the God of the universe in the form of a baby. Would you be extra careful with Him? Would you be extra protective of Him? Now imagine you are in her shoes 33 years later, seeing Jesus’ dying on the cross. What would you feel then? You not only have that natural love for your child, but wouldn’t you also feel confusion and sorrow? Step out of Mary's shoes now.
Should she have blamed God for allowing Jesus to be murdered, even though He was innocent? Should she have stopped believing in God simply because He was experiencing major suffering? Of course not! Whether she knew she would be seeing Jesus alive again or not, I don’t know. But we know from history and the Bible that He came back to life. Therefore, just because her son suffered and died an unimaginable death doesn’t mean that God didn’t have it all in His hands. He knew the plan. She didn't.
Let's look at the disciples now. The twelve disciples had been followers of Jesus for three years. They walked and talked with Him all the time. Wouldn’t it seem like they developed a deep friendship with Him? There are a few other things we should take into consideration though. One is that they had seen Jesus' miracles many times. They had seen Him heal countless people. They saw Him raise people from the dead. They were with Him when He fed thousands of people with only a few pieces of bread and fish (with baskets-full left over). They had seen Him change water into wine. They knew there was something different about this man. Another thing is that they had it in their mind that He was going to establish a kingdom on earth. They thought He would be the King. You can see that in the Bible when they ask Him if they can rule with Him in His kingdom. Now imagine how they feel when they see Him dying on that cross. Wouldn’t you think they would have been extremely disappointed? They had dedicated their lives to following this man and now they see His pitiful body hanging on a cross.
Should the disciples have been mad at God for allowing this? Should they have blamed God for allowing Jesus to be murdered, even though He was innocent? Should they have stopped believing in God simply because He was experiencing major suffering? Of course not! I’m sure they did go through these thoughts, but we know that they had no reason to! He would be resurrected three days later. Jesus wasn’t done with teaching His disciples. Jesus predicted His own death prior to this. They should have just trusted in their master.
Lastly, let's look through the point of view of one of Jesus' modern-day followers, not about Jesus death, but about suffering in the world. I cannot think of anyone better to explain than Corrie Ten Boom. Maybe you've heard of her. She was a surviving Christian from the holocaust. She was a watchmaker and lived for over 50 years with her sister and father. Her mother and aunts had died in her younger years. As WWII came around, she and her family hid many Jews in their house. One day, she and her family were arrested. She was ripped from her home and forced to travel to Germany. After many hardships which she probably didn’t understand, her father died in prison, one of her sisters whom she had gone through some of the concentration camps with ended up being murdered because her health was bad. Corrie went through numerous hardships in her life. She didn’t understand many of them. When she was finally released, she went back to her home in the Netherlands. What did she do? What happened to her faith in God? It turns out, that she traveled around the world, including in the U.S and spoke about what she learned in those concentration camps, along with the love of God. How, though? Wouldn’t she be angry with God? Almost her entire family had died, unjustly! One day when she was speaking at a church, she saw an S.S. man that persecuted her in one of the concentration camps. Do you know what she did? She was angry, but she asked God to help her forgive him. Suddenly she saw her hand reaching up to shake the man’s hand. She had forgiven him by no power of her own!
This woman went through many of the same experiences as other survivors of the holocaust. The difference between them is that she turned to Jesus in her times of darkness and despair. Did she always understand why it was all happening to her or what the big picture was? Of course not! Did she trust Him? Well, it was hard sometimes, but her faith grew stronger throughout her sufferings.
My purpose in writing all of this is that suffering happens. Many times it’s a result of sin, either ours or other people's. You don’t always know why it's happening. Sometimes it’s natural, but sometimes it’s part of a bigger picture. In the case of the cross,
God’s plan was that through the death of Jesus Christ, the sins of the world could be forgiven. Speaking of sins, remember when I brought up the Ten Commandments, and how they are for us to look into so we realize our sin? Let’s look at a few. See if you have ever broken these laws. Listen to your conscience and don’t be afraid of being brutally honest!
Do not lie (even little white lies are lies)
Do not hate (which is the same as murder, according to Jesus!)
Do not use the Lord’s name in vain (if you’ve ever used ‘God’ or ‘Jesus’ disrespectfully, you’ve broken this one)
Do not look at someone with lust (It’s the same as committing adultery with someone in your heart according to Jesus!)
Have you ever broken these, even once? The Bible says that if you break one law, it’s the same as breaking them all! This is serious! According to God, if you sin, you deserve death. The Bible says that all liars, thieves, murderers, etc. will have their place in the lake of fire! Remember when I said God hates sin, but loves us? He is perfectly just, yet very merciful. The death of Jesus was a sacrifice so that we could go to heaven and have a relationship with Him! It’s like this. Imagine you broke a serious law and had to go to court. Your fine is so much that you can’t pay it; therefore you face life in prison. The judge won’t let you free, even if you’re sorry and say you’ll never do it again, because he is just. Suddenly, someone who you don’t even know steps in with all the money. He sold everything he owns so you could be set free! Will you take his offer or reject it? That’s why Jesus died on the cross, so we could have an offer to accept. He also doesn’t force us to accept it. We still have our free will.
I encourage you to think about this! Where do you think you’ll be in 100 years? Did you know that George Washington died over 200 years ago and he’s still dead? Eternity will be along time! You’d better be sure you know where you'll be spending it before tomorrow, because tomorrow is not a promise, it’s a chance! How many people have set their head on their pillow for one last time? How many people have woken up one morning, thinking they have a thousand more mornings left, but they were wrong? Please be sure before it's too late! I care so much about your eternal well-being!
By the way, I couldn't figure out how to put tabs in. Sorry if it's hard to read. Could anyone tell me how?
In the beginning, God created the universe. God called His creation"very good". He created man to be uniquely in His own image. He loved them very much. He loved them so much that He gave them free will, to love or reject Him. If He didn’t give them free will, it would not have been love at all. It would have been force. Forced love is not love. So, He gave them free will, but they chose to reject Him by disobeying Him. This is when sin and death came into the world. Throughout the entire course of human history, sin and death have always been a part of it. God gave us laws called the Ten Commandments. When looking at these laws, humans can easily recognize that they are sinners.
God is perfect. He is righteous, holy, just, loving, merciful, all knowing, all seeing, infinite, eternal, etc. Because He is perfectly righteous, we were separated from God when we first sinned. God hates sin. Since He is just, and we sinned, we deserve punishment. But He still loves us and He chose to be merciful to us. How has He been merciful to us? You might have heard this story, but let’s review it. God sent His only Son, in the form of a man, to earth. He was born of a virgin, Mary, He lived a sinless life as a carpenter's son, He performed many miracles, He claimed to be God many times, He was mocked even during His life, and then at age 33, He died for us on a cross. Three days later, He was resurrected to prove that He was not only a man, but also God in flesh. Let’s look at the story of His death from a few points of views.
Imagine how Jesus felt. If He was truly God in flesh, as He claimed to be, what would that have meant? Jesus gave up His infinite self and came down as a finite man. He willingly set Himself under the authority of His Father in heaven. He has even prayed and asked His Father to not let the coming events happen, if that was His Father's will. But, did that prayer get answered? No. He was arrested and soon sentenced to be crucified. He was whipped, mocked, spit on, hated, and rejected by nearly everyone. Jesus had twelve disciples. One of them betrayed Him. Another one denied that he even knew Jesus. Soon, Jesus was nailed to a cross. The majority of His own people, the Jews, hated Him. His own Father in heaven even turned His face from Jesus. The Bible says that the sins of the world, including past, present, and future, were laid on Jesus while He was on the cross. His Father poured out His entire wrath on Jesus. Should Jesus have been mad at His Father for doing this? Should He have blamed His Father for allowing Him to be murdered, even though He was innocent? Should He have stopped believing in His Father simply because He was experiencing major suffering? Of course not!
Soon after His death on the cross, He was put in a tomb. Three days after He died, He was resurrected. He actually defeated death! He not only claimed to be God in flesh, but He proved it too!
Imagine how Mary felt. Mary and her husband Joseph (who was not Jesus’ blood father) knew that He was God in flesh. They both knew that Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit. They had to raise this child. If you are a mother or father, you know how it feels to have a child and you probably have a pretty good idea how you would feel if you lost your child. Now, take a step in Mary's shoes for a minute, while Jesus is a baby. You know your child is the God of the universe in the form of a baby. Would you be extra careful with Him? Would you be extra protective of Him? Now imagine you are in her shoes 33 years later, seeing Jesus’ dying on the cross. What would you feel then? You not only have that natural love for your child, but wouldn’t you also feel confusion and sorrow? Step out of Mary's shoes now.
Should she have blamed God for allowing Jesus to be murdered, even though He was innocent? Should she have stopped believing in God simply because He was experiencing major suffering? Of course not! Whether she knew she would be seeing Jesus alive again or not, I don’t know. But we know from history and the Bible that He came back to life. Therefore, just because her son suffered and died an unimaginable death doesn’t mean that God didn’t have it all in His hands. He knew the plan. She didn't.
Let's look at the disciples now. The twelve disciples had been followers of Jesus for three years. They walked and talked with Him all the time. Wouldn’t it seem like they developed a deep friendship with Him? There are a few other things we should take into consideration though. One is that they had seen Jesus' miracles many times. They had seen Him heal countless people. They saw Him raise people from the dead. They were with Him when He fed thousands of people with only a few pieces of bread and fish (with baskets-full left over). They had seen Him change water into wine. They knew there was something different about this man. Another thing is that they had it in their mind that He was going to establish a kingdom on earth. They thought He would be the King. You can see that in the Bible when they ask Him if they can rule with Him in His kingdom. Now imagine how they feel when they see Him dying on that cross. Wouldn’t you think they would have been extremely disappointed? They had dedicated their lives to following this man and now they see His pitiful body hanging on a cross.
Should the disciples have been mad at God for allowing this? Should they have blamed God for allowing Jesus to be murdered, even though He was innocent? Should they have stopped believing in God simply because He was experiencing major suffering? Of course not! I’m sure they did go through these thoughts, but we know that they had no reason to! He would be resurrected three days later. Jesus wasn’t done with teaching His disciples. Jesus predicted His own death prior to this. They should have just trusted in their master.
Lastly, let's look through the point of view of one of Jesus' modern-day followers, not about Jesus death, but about suffering in the world. I cannot think of anyone better to explain than Corrie Ten Boom. Maybe you've heard of her. She was a surviving Christian from the holocaust. She was a watchmaker and lived for over 50 years with her sister and father. Her mother and aunts had died in her younger years. As WWII came around, she and her family hid many Jews in their house. One day, she and her family were arrested. She was ripped from her home and forced to travel to Germany. After many hardships which she probably didn’t understand, her father died in prison, one of her sisters whom she had gone through some of the concentration camps with ended up being murdered because her health was bad. Corrie went through numerous hardships in her life. She didn’t understand many of them. When she was finally released, she went back to her home in the Netherlands. What did she do? What happened to her faith in God? It turns out, that she traveled around the world, including in the U.S and spoke about what she learned in those concentration camps, along with the love of God. How, though? Wouldn’t she be angry with God? Almost her entire family had died, unjustly! One day when she was speaking at a church, she saw an S.S. man that persecuted her in one of the concentration camps. Do you know what she did? She was angry, but she asked God to help her forgive him. Suddenly she saw her hand reaching up to shake the man’s hand. She had forgiven him by no power of her own!
This woman went through many of the same experiences as other survivors of the holocaust. The difference between them is that she turned to Jesus in her times of darkness and despair. Did she always understand why it was all happening to her or what the big picture was? Of course not! Did she trust Him? Well, it was hard sometimes, but her faith grew stronger throughout her sufferings.
My purpose in writing all of this is that suffering happens. Many times it’s a result of sin, either ours or other people's. You don’t always know why it's happening. Sometimes it’s natural, but sometimes it’s part of a bigger picture. In the case of the cross,
God’s plan was that through the death of Jesus Christ, the sins of the world could be forgiven. Speaking of sins, remember when I brought up the Ten Commandments, and how they are for us to look into so we realize our sin? Let’s look at a few. See if you have ever broken these laws. Listen to your conscience and don’t be afraid of being brutally honest!
Do not lie (even little white lies are lies)
Do not hate (which is the same as murder, according to Jesus!)
Do not use the Lord’s name in vain (if you’ve ever used ‘God’ or ‘Jesus’ disrespectfully, you’ve broken this one)
Do not look at someone with lust (It’s the same as committing adultery with someone in your heart according to Jesus!)
Have you ever broken these, even once? The Bible says that if you break one law, it’s the same as breaking them all! This is serious! According to God, if you sin, you deserve death. The Bible says that all liars, thieves, murderers, etc. will have their place in the lake of fire! Remember when I said God hates sin, but loves us? He is perfectly just, yet very merciful. The death of Jesus was a sacrifice so that we could go to heaven and have a relationship with Him! It’s like this. Imagine you broke a serious law and had to go to court. Your fine is so much that you can’t pay it; therefore you face life in prison. The judge won’t let you free, even if you’re sorry and say you’ll never do it again, because he is just. Suddenly, someone who you don’t even know steps in with all the money. He sold everything he owns so you could be set free! Will you take his offer or reject it? That’s why Jesus died on the cross, so we could have an offer to accept. He also doesn’t force us to accept it. We still have our free will.
I encourage you to think about this! Where do you think you’ll be in 100 years? Did you know that George Washington died over 200 years ago and he’s still dead? Eternity will be along time! You’d better be sure you know where you'll be spending it before tomorrow, because tomorrow is not a promise, it’s a chance! How many people have set their head on their pillow for one last time? How many people have woken up one morning, thinking they have a thousand more mornings left, but they were wrong? Please be sure before it's too late! I care so much about your eternal well-being!