My daughter Meredith was in kindergarten in 2008, the same year of the presidential election.  She came home from school one day in early November, very excited.  "Daddy, we voted for the president!", she exclaimed.  Her school had held a mock election, to give the kids a fun and practical civics lesson. 

I asked Meredith who she voted for.  She replied, "Marack Obana," which I thought was a pretty good facsimile of the candidate's name for a six-year old.  I then asked why she voted for him.   I'm not sure what I was expecting.  I know it wasn't, "Because his economic policies will ensure future economic security," or "I really like his stance on Afghanistan."  But her answer still caught me off guard.  In her sweet little voice, she declared very seriously, "He had the best smile."  I thought about it for a minute and had to agree with her.  If the choice of presidents was based upon the relative smiles of the candidates, Obama would be pretty hard to beat.  The guy had a great smile.

And as I thought about it, I realized that her comment was actually pretty insightful.   A lot of people would likely vote for Obama because he was more youthful, better-looking and simply projected better than his rival.  In America, many people consistently vote based upon what is referred to as the "party line."  If we view ourselves as Republicans, we tend to vote for Republicans.  And we tend to forumulate our opinions about things based upon what the news folks tell us, good or bad and depending upon how our political views jive with theirs.  In other words, we make decisions based upon someone else's opinion, rather than digging in and doing the research ourselves.  We vote, a very important decision, based upon unmeaningful criteria.

If you voted in the 2008 election, think about it.  Did you research either candidate's congressional records?  Did you review any of their writings, speeches or other materials which could reveal their consistency on issues?  Did you develop your opinion based upon any firsthand, direct information?  I'll confess that I didn't.  I'll further confess that my mind was pretty much made up long before the election, simply based upon my own preconceived notions.

And of course, we know what happens when we make decisions this way.  We can make bad decisions.  We shortchange ourselves.  And often, we later regret those decisions.

Which brings me to the point.  And it's an entirely different point, but it stems from making a decision without having all the facts.  Or making a decision, based upon someone else's opinion.  I'm talking about making a decision about God.

Certainly, you may not at this moment feel compelled to make any decision about God.  Your life is pretty good.  You don't see anything problematic on the horizon.  So, why not just keep cruising along in life as you are?  The issue is that, sooner or later, we are all faced with either a crisis in this life that cannot be resolved by natural means.  Maybe it's that call from the doctor's office with the biopsy results.  Maybe it's the loss of a job, or worse, a loved one.  But eventually, something will happen to you that will force you to face the fact that you only have so many years on this planet.  And once you do, you have to decide whether there is anything after.  Do you simply die and that's it?  Or does something else happen.

A decision not to decide is a decision in and of itself.  And a lot of people make a default decision about God.  They decide by default that God isn't really in control of things.  They come to believe that God didn't really create the heavens, the earth or mankind.  They aren't really athiests, but they don't really want to believe in the God of the Bible.

The problem is that they make this decision without really understanding the source document itself.  The make a decision, based upon what they've heard from others. Sort of like Meredith, they voted based upon a criteria that at least to an adult, didn't mean very much.  And like many adults, they decided without digging in and formulating their own opinion.  They didn't actually read the Book itself.

The Bible puts forth God's story.  For now, if it makes you feel better, let's refer to it a "theory" of who God is and what He wants from us.  There are several central components to this theory.  The first component is that God created everything.  The second is that God created mankind as a loving act.  The third is that He sought to have a relationship with mankind, but mankind rebelled against its Creator.  And the final chapter describes how God remedied this rift once and for all.  It's a pretty fantastic finale- God sends His Son, in human form, to teach mankind about Him and ultimately to pay a price so that mankind could have a relationship with Him forever.

If you've made a reasonable effort to read the Bible and compared it's characterization of God with your own life, and concluded that it is a book of fables, then so be it (I'm talking about beginning with Genesis and reading it all the way through to Revelations).  I applaud your initiative and respect your conclusion.  You came to this conclusion based upon the facts and derived your opinion about the Bible's validity based upon those facts.  You are entitled to your opinion.

But if you have come to a conclusion about God without an earnest effort to read the Bible, I would respectfully suggest that you reconsider.  If the Bible is accurate, it describes an eternal and everlasting consequence of your conclusion.  For that reason alone, it's worth careful consideration.  And if the Bible isn't accurate, then the most you've lost is your investment of time to read it. 

I have to agree that "Marack" has a great smile.  And if I were six, I'd likely vote for him on that basis alone.  But I'm not six and I owe it to myself, my family and my country to vote for him, or someone else, for reasons beyond his apparently excellent dental hygiene.  Instead, I need make an informed decision.  Similarly, when it comes to deciding who God is, my decision should be based upon more than a superficial understanding, without having invested any time in the literature that purports to explain it.

What if Heaven was like a hospital?  The hospital is filled will all kinds of sick people.  Some of the patients are seriously ill.  These people have cancer.  The hospital does all that it can to treat them.  Doctors administer chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  In some cases, radical surgery is necessary.   Organs are removed in order to give these victims a chance at life.  But nothing seems to be working.  The cancer simply and relentlessly keeps coming back. 

Eventually, the patients grow weary of the exhausting and debilitating treatments.  They begin to give up hope.  For them, life ibecomes a constant state of dread, sadness and worry.

But one day, something miraculous happens.  On that day, every single patient is cured of cancer.  Through testing, the doctors confirm it.  Each one of the doomed people is now somehow and inexplicably cancer-free.

Imagine how these formerly terminal patients would feel.  They have been given new lives.  Hopelessness is replaced with an incredible sense of joy and wonder.  Now think about their problems.  They probably still have mortgages and car payments.   People still cut them off in traffic and conversations.  There lives are, in a way, exactly the same as they were before their illness.  They still have problems, worry and fears.

But something has changed.  Their problems just don't seem the same as they did before, in comparison with what they were facing when they were sick. They find themselves willing to forgive others more readily.  In a way, they won a lottery of sorts and everything else pales in comparision.  They didn't do anything to earn their healing.  It was a miraculous free gift.

What if you were suddenly given a similar gift?  But instead of being a gift of life, it was a gift of eternal life.   What if Someone gave you a free ticket to an eternal life of happiness, comfort and peace in an almost indescribably wonderful setting?

Chances are, the things of this life would concern you less.  You would probably realize that, relatively speaking, you would have only a few years left here on Earth.  You would most likely begin to anticipate your afterlife.  When people cut you off in traffic, or in the middle of a sentence, you wouldn't mind as much.  You would probably put it all into an eternal perspective.  Knowing that your eternal destiny was assured, you wouldn't sweat the small stuff, or much of anything else for that matter.

One other thing:  if this happened to you, you probably wouldn't be able to contain yourself.  You would feel compelled to share this almost too good to be true news with others. You'd  want them to take advantage of this free gift..

What if?

What if Heaven was like a train station?  All day long, passengers come and go.  Conductors announce departures and people scurry to get onboard.   Everyone is so caught up in the events of the moment, that they get on and off trains without even thinking about it.

As the day draws to a close, there are some passengers remaining.  They aren't in any rush to catch their trains because they think that they have plenty of time.  If they miss one, there will be several more later.  Some people are busy with important telephone conversations.  Others are napping before their departure, with the confidence of knowing that their trains won't leave for hours.  Still others are grabbing a bite of dinner at the concession or a cocktail at the bar.

And suddenly, it's midnight.  It happens without any warning.  The remaining passengers look around and realize that they are the only ones left in the station.  It seems so much larger, now that most of the people have gone.  One of the napping passengers wakes with a start and looks around.  The station has changed, in what seemed like an instant.  Once hustling and bustling with activity, now it seems empty and foreboding. 

The passengers make their way to the departure platform.  Every destination on the board is now black.  There aren't any more trains leaving.  The passengers look around helplessly.  The hadn't expected this.  There are no more trains.

Ever since the very beginning, God has beckoned mankind to join Him.  He did it throughout the Old Testament.  And in the New Testament, He paid mankind a personal visit, in the form of a Man.  He fed people.  And He healed them.  He had friends.  And he told them that eventually, He would have to die in order to fulfill all righteousness.  He would be sacrificed for the sins of all mankind.  It was His gift.  For the first time, mankind would have a choice.  Rather than slaughtering animals in vain efforts to somehow make themselves right with God, man could simply accept the gift through faith in Him.

What will happen to you if the train leaves next month?  What if it happens tonight?  Do you plan to be with Him?  Do you know how?

I would think the lonliest feeling imaginable would be to wake up in the train station and realize that there would be no more trains.  Ever.   And any chance you had of getting home is gone forever.

If you don't know how to make that trip, there are plenty of people who can tell you how.  Churches are filled with them.  And I'd be happy to explain it to you as well.  Just send me a message through the contact form on this website.

Christian preachers and teachers, in their zeal to follow Jesus’ command to share the gospel[1], can seem at times to value conversion quantity over quality.   They
measure their spiritual wealth by their converts.  But these folks can become so focused on winning souls for Christ that they inadvertently may omit the spiritual fine
print.  They don’t tell you that you have to work at your faith.[2]  Their focus is entirely on convincing non-believers to accept Jesus and get saved.  

These evangelists characterize the Christian experience as a miraculous
transformation.  Typically, at the end of their message, they issue an invitation to their audience to pray a prayer and ask Jesus to come into their hearts. And to be fair, in many cases, that’s all it takes.  A person prays the prayer and their life is instantaneously, permanently and irreversibly changed.

 But some new believers expecting the process to be instantaneous are disappointed.  For these people, the change seems to be only temporary.  They still have problems.  They still struggle with sin.  They begin to question the validity of their conversion.   Things haven’t worked out as promised so they blame God.   But they were rushed into making a commitment that they really hadn’t  thought about.  They didn’t really  understand the prayer that they prayed.  
 
Their conversion was more akin to a  fast-food experience.   They  were told, “Pray the prayer, God comes into your life and all your problems go  out the window.  Pray the prayer  and God will do the rest.”  In a  sort of a get rich quick spiritual scheme, these new Christians are told to sit  back, enjoy the ride and be blessed by God
beyond comprehension.  But when life’s troubles arise as they inevitably do (and are scripturally  predicted), these people are disappointed, and perhaps embittered. 
Eventually they may fall away from their faith.   And they blame it on a god that failed
them.

 I believe that Christian conversion is absolutely miraculous. And I believe that it can be, but does not have to be,  instantaneous.  Or at least, the effects of the conversion may not be instantaneously visible.   And I also believe that we are saved by God’s grace which we receive through faith.[3]  

But Christian growth is a process.   You ask Jesus to come into your  heart, declare yourself to be a Christian and promise to follow Him.   The entire act of becoming a Christian takes a few seconds, at most.  But you spend the rest of your life  developing this relationship through a daily, if not hourly, step-by-step faith  walk.  You learn to give every  single aspect of your life to Him.   You stumble. And you begin  the process again. This is the  Christian growth process.

 To be fair, anytime that the Creator of the  Universe reaches out to mankind, then by definition a miracle has occurred.  Having a relationship with the Creator  of the universe is nothing short of miraculous. But an authentic Christian experience  is, in reality, also lot of work.   This is not to say that Christian salvation is based on our works.  It’s not.   We are saved by God’s grace; a free gift in the form of Jesus.  But faith that doesn’t turn into action  isn’t really faith.[4]  

God is ultimately responsible for the change that occurs in true  Christians.  But we have to  cooperate and at times simply get out of His way.   And letting God truly run our lives, giving it all completely to Him, is  a daily, if not hourly challenge.  
 
Humans want to control things.   Giving your life to God means surrendering all control over it, and it  goes against our nature.[5]  But the sooner you surrender, the sooner God can begin to change you into  a new creature- less worry, less fear, less temptation, less anger, angst and  all of the rest of the bad psyche stuff.[6]  
 
Christianity is a lifelong process of growth that occurs through the relinquishment of self to God.    Some Christian proselytizers avoid this fine print.   When their new converts realize that they still have problems, they may  simply give up and move on to the next thing.   The truth is that these folks  intended to lead others to Christ,  but led them only in the general vicinity of Christ.    This is not to say that  these new converts are not Christians and were not miraculously  transformed.  They were.  They were transformed by God into new  creatures as a result of their faith in Jesus.[7]   But as long as these new believers wait on a miraculous tangible experience, they will delay the heavy lifting and hard work that comes with the Christian process. Worse, they may  even give up hope waiting for that miracle and eventually abandon their faith.  
 
Jesus himself explained a long time ago that this would happen through his parable of the sower and the seed.[8]   People can hear about Jesus, but things in this life get in the way of a  truly fulfilling spiritual experience.   The truth is, you have to work at being a Christian.   You have to work at your faith.
 
 
[1]Mark 16.
 
[2]James 1-5.
 
[3]Ephesians 2.

 [4]James 2:14-26.
 
[5]Deuteronomy 10:12-22.

 [6]2 Corinthians 5.
 
[7]Id.
 
[8]Matthew 13:1-23

I was walking to the office water cooler recently and ran into one of my company's senior executives.  We smiled at each other.  We exchanged the expected formalities, "Hey, how are you?" and "Great, how about you?" and so on.   But as we were leaving, I caught, or thought I caught, a strange look from him. 

I quickly went through a mental checklist- did I owe him something?  Or had I done anything that could have offended him.  I didn't think so, but then again, I had seen "the look".  What had I done?  What is he saying about me behind my back?

I hate "the look".  It drives me crazy.  Some people are oblivious to it.  But us sensitive types perceive it and proceed to dwell on it all day.  We ask ourselves whether we have somehow offended the person giving "the look".  We can drive ourselves crazy.  On the other hand, oblivious types never even discern "the look."  They cruise through life, perhaps offending people and perhaps not.  But in either case, they are completely unaware.

Psychologists tell us that there are two basic types of people- those who are motivated primarily by external stimuli, and those who are motivated by stimuli from within.  The first type carried to an extreme is  the "people pleasers"; those unfortunate folks who invest countless energy trying to please everyone.  The second type in its extreme form is the sociopath; the "I'm right and everyone else is wrong" person.  And of course, there is an entire range of people falling between these two extremes.

Psychologists generally don't discuss the possibility of a third type.  These people don't always do what they think others want them to do.  And they aren't solely concerned with self-interest either.   These people do what they believe God wants them to do. 

You might wonder how someone can know what God wants them to do.  Actually, it's pretty simple.  As with any analysis, you have to start with some assumptions.  In this case, you start with the assumption there is a God.  And you assume that He is accurately depicted in the Bible; futher, that the Bible is actually His inspired Word.  Once you make these assumptions, knowing God's will becomes fairly simple. 

The Bible teaches us with a great deal of precision what He wants us to do.  You have to read it, digest it and understand it, of course.  But that's no different than mastering any subject.  If you want to understand the law, you have to read the statute, or perhaps a judge's opinion.  If you want to understand your finances, you have to plow through bank statements, retirement plans and the like.

There's one other point.  The Bible also teaches us that God will reveal His will to us through His Holy Spirit.  The Old Testament prophets talked about it.  Jesus talked about it.  The apostles talked about it.  And the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit occupies the hearts and minds of Christians.  We may have a hard time hearing Him, with all of the static and interference of our daily lives.  But, like a faithful Friend, He's always there, just waiting for us to commune with Him.

So, I can worry what people are saying about me behind my back. And I can do everything possible not to offend anyone.  Or, I can have the attitude that I will be true to my own principles, and not worry about what anyone thinks about me.  But there's a third alternative.  I can  allow God to guide me, through His Word, and through His Holy Spirit.  I can have faith in His Son.  And I can do everything possible to please Him.  And rest in the confidence that He has already provided restitution for my bad acts, about two thousand years before I was born.

And the next time I get "the look", who knows?  Maybe his contacts are bothering him.

You may already be familiar with the story about the rich young man as described by Matthew in the nineteenth chapter of his gospel account.   A rich young man approached Jesus and asked Him what he must do to live forever.  This story’s presentation is a bit misleading because it occurs so matter-of-factly, without a great deal of fanfare.  But the issue presented-  mortality versus immortality- is undoubtedly the most important issue any human can face.  

What, if anything, happens after we die?  Do we simply die and that’s the end of it?  Or is there something else that happens after death?  It’s so easy to get so caught up in our daily lives that we tend to forget about it.  Or perhaps we simply avoid it.  If you think about it for any length of time, it’s bound to make you uncomfortable.   If your conclusion is that this life is it and that there is nothing after, it gets pretty depressing.  But if you believe that there is something after death, and that you can affect the outcome by your actions while here on Earth, then the stakes escalate.  For example, if you believe in a Heaven, then you will likely want to do whatever is necessary to get there.   On the other hand, if you believe in Hell, you will probably want to do whatever is necessary to avoid it.

I know there are all kinds of potential variations on this theme.  Some people believe in Heaven, but don’t believe in Hell.  But even among the people who believe in Heaven, there are differences as to exactly what Heaven is like- everything from pearly gates, to gold-paved streets; variations on the theme, if you will.  Some people believe in reincarnation-  you keep coming back to Earth after you die, in a form that is roughly related to your performance in the previous life. 

In the young man’s case, he believed that there was at least the possibility that there was life after death.   A lot of people followed Jesus because they thought he was a wise teacher.  Perhaps the rich young man admired and respected Jesus.  Presumably, the young man was well-educated.  Perhaps he enjoyed lofty spiritual debate.  It’s hard to tell from the dialogue.  But he thought enough of Jesus to ask Him what it would take to live forever.

Jesus’s response was simple.  He told the young man that he should obey God’s commands.  Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it?  Do what God wants you to do and you will live forever.  Of course, the execution of it becomes infinitely more difficult. 

This is why the rich young man asked the next question.  He asked, “Which commands?”  He intuitively knew that there was no way that he could obey every single command.  It isn’t humanly possible.  In a way, he was challenging Jesus’ advice.  He was, in effect, saying “Come on Jesus, you and I both know that it isn’t possible.  Get real.  Tell me which commands are really important.”

But here’s the thing.  Jesus knew it was possible to live a completely sinless life; He was living proof of it.  Nonetheless, He went with the question.  He said that if the young man just obeyed what were in essence the Ten Commandments, he would live forever.   

But the rich young man was pretty fired up at this point.  He was, after all, intelligent and rich. That should amount for something, shouldn’t it?  He quickly responded “I’ve always obeyed these commandments.”  I imagine he thought the discussion was over at that point.  He had gotten Jesus to agree that he was going to Heaven.  He had lived a good life.  He had passed the test. 

But, like most of us who feel pretty good about our lives, the rich young man couldn’t stop there.  He decided to go for an A plus.  He asked Jesus “What else do I need to do?”  Something tells me that Jesus knew, before the conversation even started, that the young man would eventually get to this point.

And then Jesus got to the point.  He told the rich young man that if he wanted to get to Heaven, he would need to give up everything and follow Him.

I remember as a kid, seeing funny picture book of monkeys.  The monkeys were dressed up as people, and put into people situations.  Three monkeys were playing cards, smoking cigars and drinking scotch.  On another page, a “husband” monkey and a “wife” monkey were having a spat.  And there was a picture of a monkey “family” picnic- a “mom” monkey and a “dad” monkey, with “brother” monkey and “sister” monkey eating sandwiches and drinking lemonade.  The book was funny because the monkeys had been dressed up and put into human situations.

But here’s the thing.  As cute as the pictures were, the monkeys were still monkeys.  Off camera, they probably messed up the props and sets.  They fought.  Their handlers were careful, and didn’t for one minute get fooled into thinking that the monkeys wouldn’t bite them if agitated.  A monkey, no matter how you dress it up, is a monkey.  The same applies to humans. 

Deep down inside, if we really think about it, we understand that we can never earn our way into Heaven.  No matter how hard we want to, or how hard we try, we are going to fail.  It’s just not humanly possible for an imperfect human to earn his way into a perfect place.   In my own case, I can assure you that my thoughts and actions typically diverge from God’s will within five minutes of awakening each day.  The cares and worries of this world quickly take over.  Before I know it, and despite my best intentions, I take a path that is different from the one God wants me to take.  Certainly, I do my best to correct my path to conform to His will.  But no matter how hard I try, I simply don’t measure up.  I’m simply human.  I can dress myself up, I can go to church, I can give money to charity and all of the rest of it.  But at my core, I’m a human being and all that comes with it.

The rich young man’s question presumed that with enough effort, he could earn his way into heaven.  I understand the presumption.   After all, the young man was rich.  Rich people tend to believe that they earned their riches.  So it makes sense that he would believe he could earn his way into Heaven.

But the truth is, it all comes from God.  God created the universe.  He created mankind.  He created you and me.  And everything that we have, one way or the other, can be attributed to God.  Our health, our intelligence, our gifts; all come from God.  How can we earn our way into God’s graces by giving Him back something that He gave us to begin with?  It’s sort of like the child buying Dad a birthday present with money Dad gave her.  It’s sweet and thoughtful and all that, but from an economic perspective, it was a net zero transaction to the Dad.

And that was Jesus’ point.  And it was also the point made throughout the Old Testament, in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah.  It’s simple.  The just shall live by faith.  Beginning with Abraham, the father of our faith (you can read about him in Genesis), God has sought one thing from humankind- faith in Him.  We “earn” our way to Heaven by believing in Him.  This is what it means to be saved by grace, through faith.  God gave us a free gift in the form of Jesus as savior, and we accept the gift through faith.  It’s so simple that many people have a hard time accepting it.  Like the rich young man, they prefer to keep a running tally of their lives.  They mistakenly believe that their good works will somehow created indebtedness by God toward them.  But again, it’s impossible for God to be indebted to any human because He gave us everything that we have.  As a result, from the day we are born, we have a deficit balance in our eternal bank account.  And, like the national debt, it only gets bigger over time.

And that’s why the rich young man left, saddened.  I’ve heard some people explain that he was sad because Jesus told him to give up his riches.  He had put his money before God.  But I think it runs deeper than that.   Jesus also said, “Follow me.”  And that was the real bottom line.  If we want to get to Heaven, we have to follow Him. 

But there’s good news.  To follow Jesus, we must first have faith in Him.  We accept through faith His free gift of eternal salvation.  And once we accept this gift, He steps in.  He gives us His Holy Spirit.  He comes to live within us.   And this makes it infinitely easier to follow Him.  Faith begets more faith.  We make the decision for Him and we begin to see its result manifest in our lives.  We are changed.  We become more like Him.  And the change reinforces our faith.  We stop living in our own effort and we rely on Him.   We study His words and we learn more about Him, which in turns results in more and more of this remarkable transformation that so many people have undergone.

Are there bumps and bruises along the way?  Certainly.  We will always have the free will to make decisions.  And sometimes we make the wrong decisions.  And wrong decisions have consequences.  But He is always there for us.  His sacrifice means that He does not see our sin.  Instead, He sees us as sinless.  And He loves us no matter what.

So, the rich young man either could not or would not follow Jesus.  And when the debate was over, he walked away sadly and left Jesus standing there.  But it didn’t have to end that way.  The rich young man could have embraced Jesus.  He could have stayed with Jesus.  Or he could have received Jesus’ teaching and left in jubilance, laughing and dancing. 

And the same holds true for each of us.  There is a popular Christian saying, “Know Jesus, know peace.  No Jesus, no peace.”  And this brings me to why I believe what I believe.  Jesus said that He was the only way to God.[1]  This causes some people heartburn.   “Surely, there is more than one way to Heaven,” they reason.  But I believe Jesus because everything else that He said, as recorded in the Bible, has been absolutely true for me in my life experience.  Every single day of my life, His version of things has been validated in my life.  A Man who lived two thousand years ago still speaks to me through his words.  And He speaks to me through His Spirit. 

I’ve wondered what happened to the rich young man after he left that day.  We have no way of knowing.  But something tells me that it wasn’t the end of the story.  Once you’ve seen the light, it’s pretty hard to go back to darkness.  If he was as smart as I think he was, I’ll bet he kept thinking about Jesus’ instruction.  And I’d bet that not too long after, he made a decision.

I’ll leave it to you to decide.

[1] John 14.

When I was in college, one of my least favorite subjects was Statistics.  Most Statistics classes start with the classic "five colored balls in a hat" scenario.  The basic idea always starts with a factual setup, followed by a question.   "If there are five balls, each of a different color in a hat, what is the probability that you will draw a red ball?"  Or, "What is the probability that you will draw a red ball on the first draw, and a green ball on the second draw?"  And so on.

The reason I disliked Statistics is what I'll call the "exceptional circumstance."  As the professor would work through the probability equation, I couldn't help but wonder, "But what if the improbable happened?"  In other words, what if you drew a red ball every time?  Further, what if you drew a red ball a hundred times in a row?

But here's the thing.  Statistics is a theory of the probability of equally random things occuring.  If the balls are all of the same weight and the conditions of the draw are the same, then in theory, the likelihood of drawing a different color ball each time is equal. 

And that's one of the reasons I believe that God is real.  There are simply too many things that have occured in my life to attirbute to random probability.  Start with the fact that there is a planet Earth and living things on it, and especially those things we refer to as "humans".  The entire system and the complexity of life is such that, at least to me, it cannot be attributed to random probability.  I suppose its possible that humanity evolved from amoeba, but when I think about all the things that would have had to come together for that to happen, I think it's simply easier to believe that there was a central, guiding Hand in all of it.

This leads to the question of exactly who that guiding Hand is.  And again, it's a Statistics question.  If I read about that guiding Hand and the description repeatedly and accurately reflects my own experience, then I'll most likely subscribe to that viewpoint.  For me, the Bible repeatedly and accurately reflects my own experience.  And so, I subscribe to the Bible's characterization of God.

One of the key characterizations of God in the Bible is through Jesus.  Jesus, His followers and the contributing writers to the New Testament clearly believed that He was God.  

Of even greater interest to me is how Jesus is described in the Old Testament.  The Old Testament is filled with prophecies of the coming Messiah- the One who would save mankind.  I won't go into the details here, but  these prophecies start in Genesis, and repeatedly occur in Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel and the writings of the other prophets of the Old Testament.  The words are chillingly accurate in the description of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 

If you haven't ever studied these prophecies, I would encourage you to look into them.  But when I read them and think about them in terms of probabilities, I find them leading to the single inescapable conclusion that Jesus was, in fact, God. 

Christians will tell you that Jesus was sacrificed for the sins of mankind- yours, mine, and everyone else's.  This raises the issue of my second-least favorite subject-  Math.  I hated Math as a kid and today, I use a calculator to perform mathematical functions- sort of an exquisite revenge for all those years spent sweating over a Math book, instead of being outside playing ball.

Assuming that you do believe that Jesus was God, this sacrifice may raise a couple of questions for you, nonetheless.  The first question is "Why do my sins even need to be paid for?"  A lot of people ask themselves this question.  They reason that their lives, in the balance, are pretty good.  They do more good things than bad things.  They always try to do the right thing.

But if you believe in God, the fallacy in this thinking quickly becomes obvious.  God created you; He gave you life.  God created the Earth and everything in it- the resources, the intelligence that developed those resources such that we are able to enjoy them.  God gave you everything you have (or at least the capability to get it).  So, you owe everthing you have to Him.  And because of that, even if you've led a perfectly sinless life, it would still be difficult to completely and perfectly pay Him back for it.

But let's face it.  You haven't led a perfectly sinless life.  I know that I haven't.  So, the truth is that you can never pay God back.  Which means, in the grand scheme of eternity, you are in a perpetual deficit relationship to Him.  Now throw a little sin on top of it.  Think Adam and Eve.  God gave them everything they needed, but it wasn't enough.  Instead of simply trusting in Him, they trusted in the serpent.  They bit the Hand that fed them.  And if I'm honest with myself, I quickly realize I've led a pretty rotten life, if I define "rotten" as living in a way that is counter to God's will for me (which is again, defined in the book that I subscribe to, based upon its validation of my life experiences- the Bible). 

This leads to the second question. How can one Man pay for the sins of all of mankind?  How can the spilled blood of one Man avoid the deserved spilling of blood for every man, woman and child ever born?

In this case, the math is simple.  The blood spilled of that Man wasn't of a man.  It was of God.  And it was the same God who created everything, including the men, women and children for whom He willingly shed His blood.  One drop of His blood is of infinite value.  And the fact that He shed all of it ihas to be more than payment enough for the blood of all of His creatures.

God created me and you.  He assumed human form and lived among us.  Through His life, He taught us about His true nature and how we should live.  Mankind, originally a perfect creation, has fallen, and to use infomercial vernacular, "can't get up."  Jesus, through his life and death helps us up.  We are forgiven, once and for all.  It's what Christians call "grace"- unmerited and undeserved favor.   He does it for each and every one of us.  We, through our lives, were headed to eternal separation from God (how can a perfect God coexist in eternity with imperfect creatures?).  But He intervened.

And here's the thing.  This grace leads us to respond in gratitude to Him.  Once we realize that He has forgiven us, we begin to want to act like He did and be like Him.  And over time, we become like Him.

Do the math.  It works perfectly.

I recently posted a quick story on Facebook about an incredible woman that I ran into recently.  I found myself somewhat stranded on a bike ride with my two little girls in the park and desperately in need of some help.  One of our bikes had gotten a flat and we needed to get back to the main entrance, about a half mile away, so that my wife could come get us.  The woman was jogging along and found us in our somewhat helpless situation.  She could have kept jogging.   She was right in the middle of her workout.  But she didn't.  Instead, she stopped and helped us.  She carried the bike back to the park entrance.

I'm pretty sure that she was a Christian.  We didn't talk much but her actions spoke much louder than her words.  Her human nature would have told her to keep on going past us.  After all, she probably had worked all day and was desperately in need of a run.   She seemed to be very fit, so I would imagine that she really relished her exercise and felt a bit guilty at not continuing.  But something selfless in her emerged.  Something in her caused her to not do what was likely in her nature, but instead to do something that was supernatural. 

The human condition is, at its core, selfish.  We want.  We need.  And we put us first.  The supernatural condition is to get past this.  It's to move from "me" to "you".  And that's exactly what this woman did.  The interesting thing is, that my Facebook post prompted a number of responses from my friends, with similar stories.  And the protagonists in these stories were either self-described Christians or missionaries.

I'm not saying that only Christians can be selfless.  I'm just saying that selflessness isn't really a human trait.  And it's interesting to me that in these stories, the common thread appeared to be Christ.  Of course, I'll never know for sure.  I can't see into anyone's heart.  I can only make assumptions, based upon  their behaviors, in a circumstantial way.

At the end of my post, I assured my friends that as to this random act of kindness, by a complete stranger, I would "pay it forward."  This phrase has gained popularity recently for who knows what reason.  But I find it very fitting in these circumstances.  Kindness begets kindness.   But it also reminds me that the only way anyone could ever deduce what I believe is as a result of the way I act.  If I act selfishly, they will conclude one thing.  If I act in an unselfish way, it will likely lead to a different conclusion.

Certainly, there are plenty of non-Christians who might have acted the same way as this woman did.  But they would have done it for a different reason.  Perhaps they would have considered it the "right" thing to do.  Or maybe they are simply good people who have high moral standards and try to live their lives the best way that they can.

But I believe this woman acted the way she did because she knew that it was the way that Jesus acted.  And she believed that He would have wanted her to act this way.  And His Holy Spirit provided the tools to do so.  And at that moment, with her having helped me and my children out of an extremely bad spot, I would have done just about anything for that woman.  But she didn't really need anything from me.  And so, I decided then and there, that I would "pay it forward."

And that's one of the common threads in Christian faith.  Jesus acted unselfishly.  Even the secular, historical literature acknowledges this.  But Christians believe that Jesus took unselfishness to a new level.  He died so that we don't have to.  He bore the punishment for every sin ever committed.  He reconciled humanity with God.  He didn't defend Himself.  He knew that His death was a necessary part of God's eternal plan for mankind.  He allowed Himself to be crucified.  He did if for me.  And He did it for you.

To a non-Christian, it must all sound so barbaric.  God sacrificed His own Son, so that mankind could have the hope of salvation from its sinful condition.  But the truth is that it was self-sacrifice.  We believe that Jesus was God, in a human form.  So, He could have called legions of angels to avoid this horrible death.  He could have snapped His fingers and turned His accusers into toads.  But He didn't do what His human nature wanted to do.  Instead, He allowed it all to happen.  The Creator of the Universe allowed His creatures to beat Him, torture Him, humiliate Him and kill Him in a slow, agonizing way. 

He did it because He knew that it was the only way, to address the problem of sin that accompanies the free will that He had purposefully built into to his creatures.  It makes sense to me.  After all, how interesting would it be to create a world of robots that I programmed to do what I wanted them to do.  That seems pretty junior league for Someone who created everything.  Instead, I think I would create humanity with free will and the power to choose.  And I would do it because I would know that ultimately I would arrange for this incredible self-sacrifice.  I would know that some of my creatures would respond that that sacrifice, out of free will, and in gratitude.  And that response would determine truly who my creatures were. 

And we would all pay it forward.

I just read an article in the newspaper which described the results of a recent study on homogeneity in American churches.  The article indicated that most U.S. churches are congregated by people who are a lot like each other.  This is true in terms of race, background and economic status.  Simply, we go to churches with people that are like us.  Conversely, we don’t go to churches with people that aren’t like us.

This obviously raises the big question of “why?”  Why do we prefer churches with members who are like us?  And, more importantly, why do we avoid churches with members who aren’t like us?

When Jesus started the first Christian church, he populated it at least in part with a ragtag group of laborers, tax collectors, and societal outcasts who clearly couldn’t cut the mustard, in terms of the Pharisaical standards of proper membership.  In those days, the Pharisees required all kinds of behavioral compliance, in order to qualify for membership in their group. 

Jesus, on the other hand, seems to have largely ignored a lot of the trappings of membership and focused instead on two things: loving God and loving your fellow man.[1]  He didn’t seem to worry too much about whether people conformed to the optics of religion.  Instead, He taught that it was what was in your heart that matters.[2]

When I think of that early church, I wonder what its members thought about each other.  Certainly, some of Jesus’ followers had been on the receiving end of Matthew, the tax collector’s extortion.  And we know that one of Jesus followers, Joseph of Arimethea was a member of the wealthy class of Jews of that day.[3]  I wonder what Joseph would have thought about those two brothers, Simon and Andrew.[4]  They were hardscrabble fishermen; dirty and probably hard to take from an olfactory perspective.   And of course, most of us are familiar with the account of the woman anointing Jesus feet with oil.[5]  Popular legend is that she was a prostitute, although we don’t know much about her other than that she was a sinner.  Whatever her sins, they were notable enough to draw the attention of the gospel writer and be mentioned specifically.  So, it’s likely that her sins were pretty serious.

So, the early church was populated with a disparate group of people who somehow found themselves all together under common circumstances.  And those circumstances were at least on one level, very simple-  these people all followed Someone who claimed to be God.[6]

So, we are back to the question I asked at the beginning of this blog post.  Why do modern-day Christians tend to congregate with people who are like themselves?  And conversely, why do we tend to, consciously or otherwise, avoid Christians who aren’t like us?   Perhaps it’s because we project our desired ideal of Heaven as replicating the comforts of our suburban utopia, with neighbors who are like us- successful, prosperous and comfortable.  Perhaps it’s because we don’t like to think about a Heaven populated with folks from the “other side of the tracks.”  Or perhaps, we just don’t want to be around people who have been fishing all day, rather than working in an air-conditioned office.

Jesus’ followers, who were each so different from each other and from such different backgrounds all somehow find common ground.  The common ground was simple.  It was their common faith in Jesus.  That faith superseded everything else.   Simon and Andrew didn’t look down upon Matthew the tax collector.  The rich man Joseph didn’t avoid sitting next to the sinful woman when the group got together.  They all just looked to Jesus.  And Jesus welcomed everyone.  He offered comfort to anyone who had been beaten up, spiritually or otherwise by this life.[7]

So, the next time you are sitting in church look around you.  Are the folks sitting next to you pretty much just like you?  Are there people present who look like they could use a meal?  Do you see any folks who look like they slept in their clothes?  The truth is, these are rhetorical questions.  I’m betting that the answer to the first question is “yes” and the answer to the rest of these questions is “no.” 

Is there anything you can do about it?  Probably not.  Unfortunately, it’s in our nature to want to be around people like us.  It’s unlikely that you will find some destitute homeless person visiting your church.   They know better.   They sense our discomfort and have decided to do something else.   Many modern day Christian congregations have replicated the Pharisaical order of things right in their own backyards.  It’s a tragedy.

But then again, church is on Sunday.  That leaves six other days to jump into the marketplace with people who are nothing like you.  And more importantly, you can use what God has given you to positively influence their lives.  You can show them, those people who have had a rough time of it, exactly what Jesus has done for you.  He loved you right where you were, in the midst of all of your sin.[8]  He saved you from yourself.[9]

And if you find yourself in the cultural majority at church- nice home, nice family, good job- think about the fact that there may very well be people in your midst who aren’t so fortunate.  Perhaps it’s that person who stopped in for a visit.  They had seen the signs outside, welcoming visitors, and decided to give it a try.  You can spot them in your church.  They don’t know where to sit.  They don’t know when to stand.  They look a little awkward.  Rather than using your church time to chat with your friends (most of who you have probably grown up in church with), reach out to these folks.  They need you to step up and make them feel welcome.

I’m betting God put them at this intersection for a reason.  You can help them.  But they can also help you.  They can help you to become more like Jesus.

And if you are one of those fisherman/tax collectors who find yourselves in one of those churches, take heart.  At their core and despite, their suburban homes, prosperous lifestyles and successful demeanors, they are just like you.  In God’s eyes, they are just like you.  We are all lost.  We have all fallen short of God’s standards.  You have done it your way.  And I have done it my way.  Yours might be alcohol or drugs.  Mine might be moneylust or backbiting.  But we are all in the same boat.  And the boat, without a Captain, is headed somewhere that none of us really want to visit.

But here’s the good news.  There is a Captain.  His name is Jesus.  If we do what He says, our ship is destined for some great ports of call while we are on this earth.  And the journey afterwards, well that’s a trip of eternal happiness beyond anything you could ever imagine.   If you want to read more about it, there is a great travel guide I recommend.  It’s called “the Bible”.  Open it up today and begin reading about it.  You won’t be disappointed.

[1] Matthew 22.

[2] Matthew 23.

[3] Matthew 27.

[4] Matthew 9.

[5] Luke 7.

[6] John 10.

[7] Matthew 11.

[8] Romans 5.

[9] 1 Corinthians 15.