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Life 1.0: God and our reasons why
Posted on Tuesday, July 15 @ 17:32:36 CDT by davidjo
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Is God for me?
About four years ago I was challenged as I reflected on the
lack of knowledge I had about what I really believed in. I would talk to people about God and at a
certain point I would hit walls in my conversations because I did not know the
answers to the questions that popped up from my conversations. I still do not have all of the answers and I
know that I am still growing daily but I can say with certainty that most of
the core questions on my own faith have been investigated and answered. I can’t say that these answers were an answer
to the question of my faith, but rather that it clarified and affirmed what was
already placed in my heart by the Holy Spirit.
I have talked to many people who have become hardened by the
adversities of life. Whether these
tribulations have come forth from bad decisions they have made in the past or
from very difficult circumstances of life, they have become, nevertheless, very
opinionated about the Gospel. I have
heard several people cite their reason for a non-active relationship with
Christ because of unanswered prayer. Common
conclusions include answers like God does not exist, or does not love them or
what the church preaches about God is not completely true.
When the subject of God comes forth, many people either want
to avoid the topic or they politely say, “That’s not for me.” These people do not get excited about this
topic on an objective level. On many
occasions, however, I have seen many people get excited when they feel like
there is proof that the Gospel message is not completely true or there is an
argument that there really is no clear “one right answer”.
In one situation, when the topic of God came up, one friend
began to argue that there are too many unanswered questions about the faith and
God that is holding him back from a committed Christian life.
I told him that it was not the unanswered questions, but
that he did not want to give up his lifestyle.
So he proceeded with the questions and I answered them to his
satisfaction. I asked him if my answers
were satisfactory. He told me yes. I asked him if he was ready to be more
committed to Christ. He told me no. He told me that I was right, and he was not
ready to give up his lifestyle.
Beneath all of the fluff that we put forth it boils down to
original sin. Satan highlights the
desire to live for ourselves and in turn distance ourselves from Christ. The purpose to live for God’s will diminishes
and the “need” to follow the plans of this earth for the pursuit of happiness
becomes top priority. The clutch can be
past pain, unanswered prayer, or unanswered questions but it boils down to “self
focus” versus a “God focused” life.
Satan’s attacks come in many forms but at its core you will
usually find an unhealthy heightened sense of lack, need or desire for
you. He will paint God as one who either
doesn’t care about you or has rejected you or doesn’t exist at all. In some cases, God will be a vague notion
that no one can be certain about. Your
decisions will be more determined by pain avoidance, fear, self satisfaction,
unhealthy fulfillment and chasing dreams as a source of happiness. As time passes, your responses to situations
will be phrases that consistently reaffirm the hardening of your heart. Phrases like “I don’t care” or “it doesn’t
matter to me”.
Whether we know it or not, the spiritual battles are
constantly going on. We need to choose
day to day who we will live for, God or Me.
This battle will last as long as we are here on this earth. Even the greatest of saints cannot escape
this as we are all cursed with original sin.
This battle will go on until we die, but thank God for the redemption
and hope we find in Christ. Christ is
the source of true life and fulfillment.
Christ is the answer. Investigate
it objectively and you will see.
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