Then they keep talking and say, "I love that the community and the culture is about helping others and doing good things and having a good time together, not necessarily about the religious teachings. Man, I get SO uncomfortable when the [pastor, priest, rabbi, etc] starts talking. It makes me feel so good to do good things for people and be a good person and not have to worry about cleansing and praying and hoping you go to Heaven, but still having the fear you might get sent to Hell," And then my heart, which is already at the bottom of the ocean, gets eaten by a shark.
Then they look at me and see how uncomfortable I am, and realize they've known me for more than 2 years and how much I have blossomed in the realization that my faith is no longer my parents' faith, but it is now MY faith. And they remember that I am a totally different and more confident and happy person than I was before, yet they don't realize my transformation is because of Christ, and they say, "But, you know, I'm happy that you have your faith. It's a journey everybody has to take on their own. And this is all really good for you, but I guess it's not for everyone." And thats when my heart, that has just been swallowed by a shark at the bottom of the ocean, starts to get digested and burned with stomach acid.
These conversations tend to happen in the car. When I'm driving. And I want to just pull over and fall apart. On the ground. Not for the purpose of making a big show. But because I am saddened that this really great friend is deliberately choosing to live without Christ. And that if Jesus would return tomorrow, that they wouldn't be with me in Heaven.
Don't they understand? Yes, sometimes religion can be stupid. But faith is the most important thing! Faith truly is foundation! Religion and good deeds and "communities" are clothes. Faith is the body. Without a body, what good are clothes? Without faith, what good is religion, good deeds, and a community? When you think of community, think of culture. I find them synonymous. When I was in school (k-12), Culture was taught as a group of people's 1) religion 2) language 3) lifestyle. it's only been 5 years that I've been out of high school, but if you look up the definition, this is what you'll find.
Not once is religion mentioned.
Not to mention the whole "Man is not saved by works alone" bit in Ephesians 2:8. This is not to say that we shouldn't do good deeds. Good deeds are nice. Good deeds are implied by "Love thy neighbor". But it's not the good deeds that will get you to Heaven. And grace will only get you to Heaven if you accept the grace and apply it to your life.
Imagine giving $5 to a homeless guy on the freeway offramp. You hope he will walk across the street to the McDonald's and buy a couple burgers to last him a couple days. You hope he will pick up some water. You hope you are helping him. But then an hour later, you drive past another intersection and find he's trading his collected $5 from 10 different people for cocaine. That free gift you gave was squandered away.
Imagine how God feels. This free gift called "grace" is for all people. He gives it out to anyone who asks for it. Anyone. No matter their past. No matter their present. In order to save their future. He hopes we will use this free gift to brighten our lives, to lead others to know about the free gift, and to join Him in the utopia that He intended for us. What do people do instead? They receive this free gift and are socially accepted into Christianity, Catholicism, or Judaism, and then they squander their gift by going back to their old ways, playing the "God will forgive me" card.
But that's what Satan is doing. He's not only influencing the lost and the religious-less and the ones with false religion, but he's infecting the ones who are part of God's kingdom. He's infecting the minds of the people in the Jewish and Christian community so that they will rob the righteous of their faith. Satan is betting on his ability to influence and infect the ones in the faith, so that they will speak lies and turn people away from the truth.
My biggest prayer for this blog is that I can just reach one. Like Abraham when he pleaded for the salvation of Sodom. God told Abraham he would destroy Sodom because they were unrighteous. They were idol-worshippers and they had completely abandoned God. But Abraham begged God. "If I can find 50 righteous people, will you spare the city?" God said yes.
Then Abraham kept lowering his number. "What if I only find 40?" God said yes. "What if I only find 25?" God said yes. "What if I only find 10?" God still said yes. There was no one righteous in the city. God allowed Lot and his daughters to run to safety, but God destroyed both cities, Sodom and Gomorrah.
In the society we live in today, the whole world is like Sodom and Gomorrah. No matter where you live. There are the Godless, the sinners, the corrupted. Heck, I'm a sinner. We deserve to be slaughtered like Sodom and Gomorrah. We deserve another great flood to wipe out the unclean nations. Yes, there are massive natural disasters, but God promised he would never again destroy all life until the day when his plan is fulfilled.
But look, now I'm tangenting.
I hate that I get so discouraged. Actually, no. I appreciate that God gave me a compassionate heart. But I hate that because of sin, I become discouraged. I hate that there is a reason for discouragement. I hate that the emotion of discouragement had a need to be invented.
Why am I a Christian? Because God has transformed my life. Because He brings me joy.
Why do I write this blog? Because God has called me to be a light in this dark world. Because I want to help as many people as I can so they can get this free gift of grace.
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