Janel's Place

Well somebody caught me in the lab while I was googling Mormon undergarments. Google them yourself if you think I've suddenly become hopelessly evil. They are really sacred things that I had to find out about. But anyway, today's topic is "Christian reality checks," etc.

Is it slightly hypocritical for Christians to build themselves multi-million dollar church buildings while the homeless remain in the streets and people starve? Yes, I think it is. Is it possible that aliens created the universe? Yes it is. Is it also possible that despite the sureness I have that the Bible is absolutely true, I can defend it so pathetically that any sensible person goes away from the conversation feeling sorry for me and my sad delusions? Yes, that is possible. Is it fair that 500 people saw Jesus and were thus easily able to believe in Him while we must believe without seeing? No. Wouldn't the best demonstration of God's care for a person be to show up personally next to that person in a chair and thus prove His own existance? Maybe.

But here come my buts.

Whether or not all Christians are hypocrites does not have any impact on the real issue: is God real and does the Bible contain His Words of truth about the past, present and future of every human being? It's soooooo easy to judge other people, I do it myself, but the place to stick your mind is at the judgement seat of Christ where they answer for their hypocritical actions and you answer for your disbelief. You will probably have a chance to say "it's their fault that I did not seek You," but what happens after that, I don't know. In the Bible the examples given are ones of men who were beaten, stoned and nearly all killed defending their belief in Christ, why not take them as your example instead of the wayward human beings you despise?

Aliens could have created the universe. Really smart ones that wrote the Bible or invented (or maybe even WERE) Jesus and maybe even staged a lot of miracles and they are now up on planet Serpo enjoying the show. This takes a lot of faith in the unseen to truly believe in, in fact far more faith than I have. A bit of that openmindedness is really good though, because in fact God is an alien Being stretching beyond any human's ability to understand fully. He is a Spirit, and nobody really knows what that is. He created time, and we don't know how to think outside of time. There is a force of evil and we don't know where it came from or why we have been allowed to be caught in the middle of it. We don't know why blood atones for sin. Anyone who claims to know everything about God is definitely selling something. But the evidences we have in this world point us to Him, and there is no theory, no religion, no naturalistic explanation that more clearly ties ALL available evidence than that presented in the 66 books of the Bible. Jesus was a lunatic, or Jesus told the truth. That's it. As Digory said in the Chronicles of Narnia, "you have only to see her and to look at her to know she is not lying, therefore we must conclude that she is telling the truth!" ... you have only to read His words and the words of his followers to know that they are not lying.

My defense of the Bible is indeed still pathetic, I think. My own testimony of my faith is still weak. Although Jesus died in my place I still cringe to stand for Him sometimes when so many in this era consider it foolishness and weakness. I still argue with God's methods and want Him appear at my side to make me right and them wrong! So shortsighted, and so backward from His instruction to me. Rather than pray for them I would argue with them to justify myself, relying on my words rather than the power of God to break through barriers and reach their souls with understanding of His love for them.

500 people saw Jesus and their lives changed forever. Fishermen left their homes and travelled for decades sharing what they had seen, dying in the end as no person could force them to renounce their belief. They died rejoicing that they had been chosen as worthy to die for Him! One, who thought himself righteous for killing an imposter claiming to be the Son of God and then pursuing and killing all those who spread the lie that He had risen from the dead, saw Jesus himself and spent the remainder of his life proclaiming the truth to the highest ranks of the Roman Empire. He also was killed for his belief. Peter deserted Jesus the night He was taken away, fearful that Jesus was in fact not the Son of God. He denied even knowing Him, and went into hiding after Jesus was killed. Three days later this man was preaching in the streets before thousands, proclaiming Jesus to be the Saviour of the world. He preached continuously for decades until he also was killed.
These people were priveledged to see Jesus in their lifetime, but with their testimonials we know that we will see Jesus. It's not completely satisfying, but it's not supposed to be. There's work to do on this earth for as long as God tarries. Blessed are those who have not seen, yet have believed.

So wouldn't it be the best demonstration of God's love if He showed up in person and proved His existence to you? Well, He did. It was 2000 years ago, but He did prove His existence. Why He chooses not to do it again for your benefit today I don't know. He did promise that He would be found by those who seek Him. Have you sought Him? He loves you enough that you are alive right now and a step away from finding Him. You know what's hard? Really hard for the human mind? Letting Him be the God He is, not the God we think He should be. We can't change Him because we were created by Him, and He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Yet He wants us to know Him and the world keeps turning as more and more turn to Him. He doesn't have to let another day go by with our cursing and ignorance of Him, but He does. That is grace.