Friday, November 12, 2021

What About This ---

      As I have mentioned in several of my past blogs, we are a strange bunch of creatures.  There are times when we want to spend our money and yet still have our money.  There are times when we want the best of services, but we are not willing to pay for those services.  There are times when we want things to be the way we think they should be when all the facts are telling us just the opposite!  Yes, we are a strange lot and yet that is how we are.  I thought we might consider today a couple of points that will highly the very fact that I am mentioning.

     What about this?  In most places people within a certain City of a certain State (or District) within a certain Country want to have the public services that are provided by such entities.  Consider: Most people want good schools for their children so they can learn to grow up and become responsible, law-abiding citizens.  They want better roads within their communities so that any travel they do will be one of pleasure and not a complete misery because of the poor degrading streets and highways they have because of a lack of maintenance. 

     Most people would want to live in a safe, secure neighborhood where they could count on having police and fire service when and if these became necessary.  Many enjoy the benefits of a local library (or branch) within their community so their children and themselves can have access to a wide variety of educational materials and programs.

     And, no doubt, there are many who enjoy the benefits of other programs that are provided by Local, State, and Federal governments.  However, where do most people think the money comes from to support all these various services that they are seeking to benefit from?

     Local government revenue comes from property taxes, and other taxes; charges and fees; and transfers from federal and state governments.  State and Federal governments get their revenues from income taxes, sales taxes, and other fees and tariffs.

     However, the vast majority of the people who want all the benefits and advantages that I first mentioned, DO NOT want to pay higher taxes and fees to get them!  How do people think the new, additional, or increases services are going to be provided if there is NO money to cover the cost of such things?  You’re always hearing those political ads where individuals are making great promises for improving this or that service or benefit and then they will add: “NO new taxes!”  How can a person truly believe statements like that?

     That is how many individuals get elected into public office, because people always want something for nothing!  And in today’s world they think they have a RIGHT to have them without the responsibility to pay for them.  In it’s simplest form it just doesn’t make sense.  If you wanted a new vehicle for your family household, do you think you could get it without payment?  Could you operate it (fuel, license, maintenance, etc.) without having to cover the cost?  I think most people could understand the logic of that type of thinking.

     Consider this:  There are more than 2.5 BILLION professed Christians in the world today.  However, what does it mean to be “Christian?”  This means to be “Christ-like.”  Or to follow the pattern of living and the teachings as taught by the Christ when he was here upon the earth.

     He instructed his followers to live their lives according to truth.  He also provided the answer as to what this meant.  At John 17:17 he informed people what should be our basis for truth.  “Your word is truth.”  So an individual should be learning what God’s word (the Bible) teaches and modify our life accordingly as did Jesus.  In accord with those criteria what about this?

      The vast majority of “Christians” have the belief that when they die, they will either go to “hell” if they have practiced “bad” during their life or they will go to “heaven” if they have lived a “good” life.  Let’s examine God’s word of truth in finding out what it really says about this.

     In the Genesis account of creation, only ONE stipulation was laid upon the man.  It is recorded in chapter 2, verses 16 and 17:  God laid this command upon him, that he could eat from every tree of the garden to satisfaction.  However, he was forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.  It was plainly stated that if he should eat from it, he would die!  It is logical, therefore, to conclude that IF Adam HAD NOT eaten from that tree he would have continued to live and would still be living among us today, because there was no other stipulation for his existence to end.  Therefore there was never a condition where a human would have been allowed to exist in the heavenly realm.  But Adam had sinned and his actions resulted in his death and as the Apostle Paul later explained it (as recorded in the New International Version): “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people, because all sinned.”  So, in fact, Adam is responsible for our dying today because of the sin he brought into the world.  Although he had been created perfect, he had now fallen short by his disobedience and “missed” the mark of perfection.  He could only pass on as an inheritance to his offspring that which he now possessed – sin and death!

     Now some will want to argue that yes, the body dies, but the soul lives on forever.  However, this is not what is stated in God’s word of truth.  In the English Standard Version (as well as many others), Ezekiel 18:20 states: “The soul who sins shall die.”  That’s a plain and very straight forward statement.  But we should not be surprised by that statement when we remember that in Genesis, we were told that Adam “became a living soul.”  Or a living being, or a living person.  A soul is therefore nothing but the living individual themselves and as such is susceptible to death or non-existence.

     Jesus himself better explained death to us.  As recorded in John 11:11 (New International Version), Jesus told his apostles, after he had learned that Lazarus was sick, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”    Then in verse 14 he plainly stated: “Lazarus is dead.”  Thus Jesus explained that death is like a very deep sleep from which a person may be awaken by the power of God.

     Consider this:  If you were applying for your license to be a lawyer, or a doctor, or a CPA, or any other controlled profession and you FAILED the exam for your license, would the testing board say, we’re going to reward him anyway and give him his license and let him practice his profession within our State?  I don’t think so!  You are not rewarded in any area for failing or “missing the mark” of the passing grade.  So why would God, although Adam had failed his test of obedience, reward him with life in heaven.  A condition that was never offered to him from the very beginning?

     Also consider this:  Why is it that all these “Christian” people who make the profession that when they die, they are going to heaven, try everything within their power to keep living any time a life-threatening situation comes upon them?  On many occasions, they are willing to try some extreme procedures or medications to extend their lives so they don’t die?  It’s quite simple to understand when we look at God’s word of truth.  As we are told in 1 Corinthians 15:26 in many translations: “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”  Death is our enemy.  We were not supposed to experience death.  That’s why we try all that we can to “cheat” death from taking our lives every opportunity we can.

     What about this:  We must remember that because of the sin that Adam brought into the world, God’s purpose for mankind had to make a detour (so to speak).  A new arrangement had to be implemented so that humankind could be “reconciled to God through the death of his Son.” (Romans 5:10)  So it was arranged by God that “through his (Jesus) death he might bring to nothing the one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil.” (Hebrews 2:14)  To accomplish a complete restoration of the situation, God “purposed for an administration at the full limit of the appointed times, to gather all things together in the Christ.” (Ephesians 1:10)  In Revelation 7:4 we are told that this administration will consist of Christ Jesus and 144,000 other individuals who have been selected by God to share in this arrangement in the heavens.

     As the apostle Paul mentions in his opening words of the bible book of Romans (1:7), he is writing “to all those who are in Rome as God’s beloved ones, called to be holy ones.”  This or a similar term is mentioned many times in the writings of the Greek Scriptures (New Testament).  So many of these writings are letters that were written with information to be share with those who had received that special invitation from God to be part of that administration with his Son in the heavens.

     Now, for just a moment, imagine that you found (or was given) a letter that had been written by the leaders of The United Brotherhood of Carpenters.  Within this letter it spoke of a future date when all the “brothers” of that organization would be meeting in a “special location” to oversee the future arrangements of the organization.  Would you immediately begin to make arrangements to travel to that location because you wanted to be part of that “administration?”  Or simply because you read the letter, would you immediately jump to the conclusion that all these things to occur applied to YOU?

     I don’t think you would.  But many “Christians” although feeling that they are to be rewarded with a gift of heavenly life, feel that everything they read in God’s word applies to them personally.  No, only a selected (by God) few will have that privilege of life in the heavens, but the vast majority of humankind will have the same prospects that were given to Adam when he was first created and place in the garden of Eden.  A prospect of a perfect life on a paradise earth.  Jesus told an evildoer on a stake alongside him shortly before his death, “… you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42,43)  We now know that Jesus was not offering this evildoer a reward in heaven for his bad life.  But he was offering him the prospect of being resurrected to live in the new earth (or Paradise) that was to come.

     Two simple points for consideration have been highlighted within this blog post.  I certainly feel that they demonstrate that it is within our makeup to always want things our way or to take things for granted if we want them to be a certain way.  Sometimes even in the face of facts that demonstrate it is not going to happen.  That is the inclinations we have about so many situations, but then again, we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER



THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Why do we long for the things 

for which we can not have 

and are never satisfied 

with what is given to us as a gift?"


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