We live in the era of
"COEXIST",
where the word is cleverly written in seven symbols representing seven major
religions. Accepting the concept that word describes – coexisting with
other beliefs – is a no-brainer for Christians: we are taught to love not just our allies but our enemies as well. But
the implication of the meme is something completely different: we are
told to accept others’ beliefs as just as legitimate as ours.
On
a cursory reading that might sound similar, but in reality it’s no different
than saying that just because you don’t believe in “fill-in-the-fact” doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help you discover the truth.
You may not believe that standing in the middle of a highway could get
you killed, but it WILL, and more
than that, it’s our responsibility as caring individuals to try to save you
from both the erroneous notion and its lethal consequences. You may not believe
in the law of gravity, but it exists, and it will be the instrument of
your death if you step off a five-hundred foot cliff whether you believe in it or not. So,
isn’t it our responsibility to help those who believe in erroneous world-views
to learn the truth? Especially if we know the dire consequences of their
mistake?
Which
of those religions is the “truth”, though? At the risk of giving away the plot
of this essay, I suspect you already know my answer:
Only one religion provides tangible
proof of its veracity.
Only
one religion has as its holy text a book which is not only filled with
prophecy, but is filled with prophecy fulfilled: the entire campaign and
reign of Alexander the Great and his immediate descendants, described in such
detail in Daniel chapter 11 that skeptics tried (and failed) to prove it couldn’t have been written five hundred
years before the events it described…the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of Rome
in 70 AD, foretold by Christ in Matthew 24…the re-establishment of both the
nation of Israel and the language of Hebrew, more than eighteen hundred years
after their elimination by Rome, in Ezekiel 36 and 37…and most significantly, the
raising from the dead of its founder, which he himself predicted
multiple times during his life and which was predicted in the Psalms and in the
book of Isaiah hundreds of years earlier as well.
And
it is this very resurrection of Jesus Christ, not only predicted ahead of time
and presented in advance as proof of
his deity, not only written about in the gospels but witnessed by
literally thousands of people in and
around Jerusalem in 30 AD, not only celebrated by his believers but
admitted to by foes and never denied by any of his enemies
despite the obvious huge advantage of doing so…it is this very resurrection
that has never been duplicated by any
religion’s prophets or leaders or revered figures. This is the proof of
deity that all other religions lack. This is the proof of truth
which all other religions wish they had.
Christianity is the
only proven truth.
And
Christianity is very clear: there is
a Heaven, and there is a Hell. The only
way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ, and not because God wants to send
us to Hell: we are ALL sinners, even
the best of you (and certainly me!), and because God is without sin He
cannot have us clothed in sin and with Him in eternity. So He sent His Son
Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, to live a sinless life and then be
punished not for HIS sins but for OURS, so that we have complete repentance for
our sinful lives and can be accepted into eternal life with God.
In
order to HAVE that acceptance, though, we have to do ONE SIMPLE THING: we must accept
the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. When we do so, we’re
essentially admitting that yes, we are
sinners, and we need this gift to get into Heaven when we die. If
you aren’t ready to accept that, you have that choice. God gave us free-will.
The Bible tells us that in the end, “every knee will bow and every
tongue will confess” that Jesus is Lord, but until then, you are allowed to choose your path…even if that
path is in the middle of the highway or off the edge of the five-hundred foot
cliff.
But, forgive me if I
refuse to translate COEXIST as CO-DEPEND.
Because
God WON’T forgive me for the converse.
Just
because you insist on believing something that’s not the truth doesn’t mean
that I’m not going to try to keep you from stepping off that cliff or walking
on that highway.
Don’t get mad at me for
wanting to save you from the consequences of your decision, as someone else
saved me from the consequences of my prior ignorance.
As
Christians, we are taught to COEXIST, and God really DOES love you no matter
what you believe. In fact, God loves you more than you think He does – He loves
you far too much to “coexist”, or to let His people be your “co-dependents”. He
– and we – are going to do whatever
we can to keep you from walking into traffic.
BUT…
He
gave you free will. In the
end, it’s your choice whether to believe in the truth or not.
That
cliff will still be there, if you insist.
No comments:
Post a Comment