It saddens me that I won’t see you again.
Whenever I hear someone like you who is an atheist, I get disappointed. I can’t help it. I know I don’t know you but maybe I want to. Acquaintances by definition are not friends but sometimes I wish they were. For the people that I know believe in God, I feel glad because I know I will see them again. It’s like they’re stashed away in a safe and I have the peace of mind that maybe we can grow closer when we're in paradise away from all the evil. Wouldn’t it be nice to hang out with all your comrades you met during your life? To have that family like feel with people who aren’t really family? Cause that’s exactly what its going to be like in heaven because everyone will be united in the body of Christ. Hanging out with friends at school or wherever is fun, but isn't is more fun to hang out with them at an amusement park or when you're on vacation? Well, this is what it's going to be like once you're in heaven; hanging out in a paradise that is beautiful beyond measure, in a place where everyday is 1000x better than your happiest day on earth. It just saddens me that you will be missing out on this.
I don’t expect to change your mind but please understand that I’m not just gonna sit and forever hold my peace about it. No, I’m gonna try to get through to you and do everything I can. Before, you start your argument for why I shouldn’t do this, let me ask you: wouldn’t you do the same? If you knew someone was in danger wouldn’t you try to lead them away from it? Wouldn’t you do everything you could to convince them?
Pretend that you are sitting by a swimming pool on a hot summer’s day. It’s hot, really hot. So hot that you could fry an egg on the concrete and you can practily hear the Heat Miser singing his little song. As you are sitting soaking up some rays, a strange looking truck pulls up and these weird guys jump out and start to drain the pool. They only empty the pool halfway upon which they start to fill it back up with water. Right before they leave, one of them throws a stick in the pool and it disintegrates in a matter of minutes. To your horror, you realize that it was not water that they filled the pool with, it was acid. Just as the panic feeling inside you is beginning to reach its peak, you see a bunch of kids running toward the pool. You tell them to not go in the pool because it’s dangerous. They don’t believe you. It’s a record heat wave and they want to go swimming. You plead with them to listen with you. You even tell them that there’s acid in there. The problem is that they don’t believe you because the pool looks like it always does: clear and refreshing. You're certainly not going to stand in their way with your outrageous claims. Desperation turns into despair as you realize that there’s nothing else that you can do. You know their fate if they jump into that pool; if only they believed you before it was too late.
If only you believed me when I told you that God is the only way to life. Before you left this world for an eternity of prison, torture, isolation, fear, and regret. It's only now that you understand: everyone believes in God when they die. Everyone. Why didn’t you listen? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BE SO STUBBORN? HOW COME YOU NEVER SERIOUSLY QUESTIONED WHETHER YOUR BELIEFS WERE RIGHT? Sorry, I’m letting my anger get the best of me. But can you blame me?
Oh and yes, to answer your question: I have questioned my own belief in God. If you have questioned your beliefs, then i guess there is nothing else i can do but sit next to the pool and hope for the best.
Personally, I think you have to be really stubborn to not believe in peoples testimonies. Not everyone is off their rockers; some people have genuine experiences with God- from near death experiences to seeing angels, or just being overwhelmed with the presence of God’s love. For those who don’t believe in this “God stuff”, well I wouldn’t be so quick to brush it off.
At least consider what they're telling you, cause it's not always easy to tell people things that you know they don't want to hear.
Maybe that person was sent to cross your path for a reason.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
How I Know God Exists
Some people find it hard to believe that a higher being could have created mankind. They demand “proof” in order to accept your “outrageous” claims. You try to tell them that there is no direct proof-at least not the kind they seek, because it’s based on faith. Faith, that’s another thing they shoot down. Frankly, I don’t see how people cannot believe in God. It’s just something I feel and know to be true.
There’s lots of things that prove God exists: 1) you have the distinction between right and wrong, 2) you observe God’s creation your whole life, 3) The Bible
1. Yeah, there might be some exceptions here like psychopaths but c’mon don’t deny at what I’m getting at. Everyone knows right from wrong. It just didn’t develop in us for no reason.
2. Do you honestly think that a bunch of chemical accidents + biological mutations = life as we know it today? That’s just a tough pill for me to swallow. Look at it this way, what if you were walking in a forest and see a watch lying on the ground. How did that watch get there? Someone had to of built it, right? It’s too complex to just assemble itself. Well, the human body is much more complex than a watch yet some people don’t believe that is was built and designed. They think all that stuff you learn about in cellular biology and physiology just evolved to work together and in sync? Yeah, and believing in God is so much more of a stretch…
3. The bible has lasted all this time for a reason. Don’t get me wrong, there are some parts in the bible that aren’t supposed to be in there and God allows it because he wants to test His people for faithfulness to go to him directly. Regardless of this though, the bible gives you everything you need to know for this life. It’s one of your ways of reaching God.
Okay, so I think the three reasons above are good indicators that God exists but the fourth one is my trump card.
4. Feeling God’s love, literally
It started by reading this article online about developing a relationship with God. It went on to say that in the bible it says that all of His sheep hear His voice. It’s just a matter of building a relationship with God and walking through the wilderness. The wilderness is a place where you give up everything you learned and you go to Him directly for the truth in all things. This process takes time but you will build a real relationship with God. It’s the same way God lead Israel through the wilderness; it didn’t happen overnight, it took 40 years. The important thing is that you just have to be patient and ask for truth and guidance. God loves you and He wants to know His people.
Well, that’s basically what the article was about. Shortly after I got done reading it, I drifted over and digested the contents of the article again as I was riding in the car on the way to get groceries. While I was thinking about the article a feeling suddenly came over me. I was really happy. This happiness quickly changed into love. It was a strong feeling and I instantly knew it was from God. There’s NO mistaking it. You simply cannot mistake something of this magnitude from being anything other than God. It was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I don’t know if you can even feel it on this earth because it was a love of the purest kind. It wasn’t based on quality or some quirky characteristic that you often love a person. No, you were loved for just being alive; for just being you. It was truly an unconditional type of love. In fact, it was so strong it brought tears to my eyes. I was just sitting there silently crying in the back seat because i was so overwhelmed with it. It was truly a touching experience. And then as quickly as it came, it went away. In the moments afterward, I couldn’t help to think how much better off the world would be if everyone had this love toward each other. It would be such a nicer, more beautiful place.
So that’s how I know, without an ounce of doubt that God exists. It was just extra confirmation to me at that point. I guess those of you who know the Lord, you will someday know the extent of what I’m describing here. As for the others, you will also know cause you’ll no doubt discover God’s love, it’s just that it won’t be as pleasant cause you will find out how horrible it is to not have it.
There’s lots of things that prove God exists: 1) you have the distinction between right and wrong, 2) you observe God’s creation your whole life, 3) The Bible
1. Yeah, there might be some exceptions here like psychopaths but c’mon don’t deny at what I’m getting at. Everyone knows right from wrong. It just didn’t develop in us for no reason.
2. Do you honestly think that a bunch of chemical accidents + biological mutations = life as we know it today? That’s just a tough pill for me to swallow. Look at it this way, what if you were walking in a forest and see a watch lying on the ground. How did that watch get there? Someone had to of built it, right? It’s too complex to just assemble itself. Well, the human body is much more complex than a watch yet some people don’t believe that is was built and designed. They think all that stuff you learn about in cellular biology and physiology just evolved to work together and in sync? Yeah, and believing in God is so much more of a stretch…
3. The bible has lasted all this time for a reason. Don’t get me wrong, there are some parts in the bible that aren’t supposed to be in there and God allows it because he wants to test His people for faithfulness to go to him directly. Regardless of this though, the bible gives you everything you need to know for this life. It’s one of your ways of reaching God.
Okay, so I think the three reasons above are good indicators that God exists but the fourth one is my trump card.
4. Feeling God’s love, literally
It started by reading this article online about developing a relationship with God. It went on to say that in the bible it says that all of His sheep hear His voice. It’s just a matter of building a relationship with God and walking through the wilderness. The wilderness is a place where you give up everything you learned and you go to Him directly for the truth in all things. This process takes time but you will build a real relationship with God. It’s the same way God lead Israel through the wilderness; it didn’t happen overnight, it took 40 years. The important thing is that you just have to be patient and ask for truth and guidance. God loves you and He wants to know His people.
Well, that’s basically what the article was about. Shortly after I got done reading it, I drifted over and digested the contents of the article again as I was riding in the car on the way to get groceries. While I was thinking about the article a feeling suddenly came over me. I was really happy. This happiness quickly changed into love. It was a strong feeling and I instantly knew it was from God. There’s NO mistaking it. You simply cannot mistake something of this magnitude from being anything other than God. It was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I don’t know if you can even feel it on this earth because it was a love of the purest kind. It wasn’t based on quality or some quirky characteristic that you often love a person. No, you were loved for just being alive; for just being you. It was truly an unconditional type of love. In fact, it was so strong it brought tears to my eyes. I was just sitting there silently crying in the back seat because i was so overwhelmed with it. It was truly a touching experience. And then as quickly as it came, it went away. In the moments afterward, I couldn’t help to think how much better off the world would be if everyone had this love toward each other. It would be such a nicer, more beautiful place.
So that’s how I know, without an ounce of doubt that God exists. It was just extra confirmation to me at that point. I guess those of you who know the Lord, you will someday know the extent of what I’m describing here. As for the others, you will also know cause you’ll no doubt discover God’s love, it’s just that it won’t be as pleasant cause you will find out how horrible it is to not have it.
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