When I look at the world I see total conflict and yet total harmony. On one hand I see how environments and biospheres work together in symbiosis- a perfect design- to sustain life. Sunlight powers plants, animals eat plants, we eat the animals…. If one aspect was gone the whole system would fall apart- they are irreducibly complex to each other.
On the other hand, I see war, famine, greed, hatred, racism… and I see a lot of it. Politicians are telling one story, big corporations are telling another, people lie, cheat, and steal from each other. I wish I could say I was different but… I’ve even told a lie. Maybe you have too…
Anyway, I look at the Book of Genesis and I read that when God created the world HE saw that it was GOOD. And we’re not talking like you and me GOOD we’re talking about the perfect Holy God of the Universe saying that it’s His type of Good- there was no death, there was no decay, the trees were greener, the fruit bigger and juicier, and animals and man walked in perfect peace together. It was a Paradise, everything was designed perfectly. That’s what God wanted for us… for us to be in paradise with Him forever… but then Adam sinned.
And sin is not just something you do. It’s like a power or force that exists in the universe. It’s a spirit of rebellion against the creator, it affects not just our decisions but it affects the whole of creation. And Adam rebelled, man. He and His wife Eve were the first two human beings to ever walk to Earth- they were given this total paradise with only 1 rule: don’t eat from the tree in the middle. I know it sounds nuts but let’s just think about how brilliant this is…
See, God didn’t want a race of intelligent rational robots— yknow, robots are programmed- they are not given a choice. God wanted us to choose to love Him and to choose to follow Him. So He had to give Adam and Eve a choice. You can have this amazing paradise with all you could ever want, peace- love- harmony. Or you can have the fruit of the tree of the middle. They chose the latter.
So God let them be. He said, ok. They chose to follow their own desires and God being a perfectly Just and Fair God allowed them to do that and with that, Sin- the spirit of rebellion- entered the world and poisoned the perfectly designed creation. The Bible says that “the whole creation GROANED” when sin entered the world.
So now here we are… we still have this beautifully designed planet with this amazing complexity in not just the vastness of space but in the microcosm of the cell. We still have some of the harmony. But we also have the conflict. We have the sin power that surrounds the world. We have earthquakes, tsunami’s and hurricanes but we also still have the choice to lie, to cheat, and to steal. We also have the choice to love.
God said one last thing to Adam and Eve. See when they defied His one rule they had to leave the garden. But as they left He said that he would send a redeemer- someone who would come from a woman- someone who could repair the chasm that sin left between God and man. A bridge across.
That bridge was Jesus. Jesus was born of virgin- no man. Just a woman. Jesus didn’t teach that there WAS a way to God, he taught that HE was the way. He taught that He was God and that only He could repair the chasm and the religious leaders of his time killed him for it. They wanted you to follow a bunch a rules, say a bunch of memorized prayers, and give your allegiance to a church. That’s not what Jesus taught. Jesus taught that to get back to God you only need Him.
See, there is nothing you can do that can undo the sin that entered the garden. No amount of charity work or positive thoughts or tithing can take away that fact that you are not perfect. And nobodys perfect. The fact is, that all of us have told a lie, we’ve all stolen, we all fall short of Gods perfection and we must be held accountable. It would be great if we could all just be allowed to do whatever we want and get away with what but that’s not just. The Hindu’s believe in Karma or a power of cause and effect, that we reap what we sow. That justice exists in the universe. Well I don’t believe in karma, but I do believe in a just God.
When we accept that we are not perfect that’s when we open to door to Jesus. Jesus said that nothing we can do will ever bridge the gap between man and his Creator but that only by declaring your trust in Him will you be able to commune with God. Its like stepping in an elevator for the first time— you’ve never seen it work, you’re not sure of the details, but you’ve heard the view at the top is amazing. And when you place your trust in that elevator by stepping in- it takes you to the top. In the same way, Jesus takes us the way to the top.
His life of miracles, and service, and the awful death on the cross is our elevator. I didn’t watch him die, I’m not sure of the details, but I’ve seen what Jesus has done in my life. It’s not because Ive have done anything great its because He is great. He save us not because we have any special ability its because only He has the ability. Its not because we simply believe in God, its because Jesus is God and he wants us to be in paradise with Him forever.
What God wants us to do and what we want from God, may not always be the same thing. God wants to offer us freedom from the evil of this world but sometimes we just want our freedom from God. That’s truly what Hell is. The bible says that God did not create Hell for humans but for the devil and his demons. But God is a gentleman. If we live our lives wanting freedom from God, he will grant it. CS Lewis wrote that in the end of our lives there will only be 2 types of people. Those who say to God- your will be done. And those to whom God says- your will be done.
Harmony and conflict… sin and design. We no longer live in that perfect world but we still only have the one rule: pick Jesus. You may not know how, you may not know the details, but it can start right here and right now. The Bible says to declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you shall be saved. For me it was a little weird at first but I just closed my eyes and I said something like this… You can say it with me if you want… I said…
God I see now that I am a sinner and I’ve fallen short of your perfection. I want to commune with you. I accept that Jesus is God and that He came to bridge the chasm between us. Forgive me Lord and change my heart to desire what you want for me.
Talk to the person who gave you this link. Ask them about the Bible. Tell them you want to learn more about what Jesus did.
The Apologetic 