My message tonight will be relatively brief, but I hope you will benefit just as deeply from it as you would a longer posting. This is a bit of wisdom handed down to me by my neighbor, John- my dear friend and mentor, and the one who brought me to Christ- that I implore each of you to ponder in your hearts, so as to be better equipped to handle those who deny Christ.
First, I would like share a quote from the author C. S. Lewis, who said:
"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell."
And I want to witness to you that we will meet our wonderful, glorious Father in Heaven again someday! There is a Heaven, and if you want to learn more about it, just check your scriptures! The Bible talks about Heaven and Hell, and the Second Coming, and the Resurrection of Souls, and everything that is to come. This time on earth may seem all-important to us now, but it's really just a blip on the eternal radar of our existence. And that's why this life on earth isn't in vain. There is so much more to come!
We as Christians know this is all true. We know it in the deepest parts of our souls. And yet, when we encounter people who wish to challenge our faith, it can be so frustrating! While it may be tempting to yell, scream, lose our tempers, or cry when someone attacks something so sacred and vital to our being, you cannot behave that way unless you wish to prove their point. Instead, be rational and level-headed. For example, consider this:
Okay, so let's say we die. What's next? Yes, we know Heaven and Hell exist, but for the sake of argument, let's say we're not sure. So there are four possible outcomes:
NUMBER ONE:
You're a Christian, and the Christians were right.
Okay, so you lived a good life, obeyed God's commandments, and for the most part did what you were supposed to as a Christian. Maybe you didn't live a stellar life, but you did your best always to follow Christ. You get to live forever in Heaven with your loved ones and with God.
NUMBER TWO:
You're a Christian, and the atheists were right.
Again, you lived a good Christian life, same as above, but let's just say for the sake of argument that you just die, and that's all there is to it; you're gone. But look at what you left behind on earth: a family you helped to strengthen in Christ, people you helped convert or recommit to the faith, a community which is better off now because of your contributions... in other words, you made the world a happier place for the people you left behind. Not bad, right?
NUMBER THREE:
You're an atheist, and the atheists were right.
You rejected Christ your whole life, and therefore never found the peace, joy, and love He brings to Christian hearts. You may or may not have lived a good life by earthly standards, but chances are, you could have done a lot better if you had accepted the Lord in your life. So, you just die and there's nothing afterward, but did you really leave a good legacy? Is the world really a better place because of you, or did you just kind of putter through this world for x amount of time and then die?
NUMBER FOUR:
You're an atheist, and the Christians were right.
You're really, really sorry-outta-luck now. You rejected Christ and maybe led an okay earthly existence, but you never once let the Lord into your heart. And as it turns out, all those bible-thumping crazies you couldn't stand were right after all. You're doomed to spend eternity, as John eloquently put it, "jumpin' from one hot rock to the next". Yeah, um, have fun with that.
And the fact is, my Brothers and Sisters, two and three aren't viable possibilities, because we ARE right! So in our lives, we have two options: follow God, or not? Or in other words, number one, or number four? Eternal glory, or one hot rock to the next? You decide, my fellow Christians. (And if I were you, I'd pick number one! Salvation sounds way better to me than third degree burns.)
Dear brothers and sisters in the faith, I urge you to remember that the scriptures bear witness of both Heaven and Hell, of both salvation and the hot rocks, and that it is up to you to decide every day which path you are on. God bless you all.
~BYR
