Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Explorin' in Nuttin' at All - February 24, 2009

Good Tuesday morning! Are you ready to explore? This morning I thought of someone who believes in the human intellect. That person may not want to believe in God because they are afraid to acknowledge an eternal condemnation if they do not. You might call it the intellectual equivalent of the old "I'll ignore it and it won't exist" kind of belief. To the person who doesn't believe, death is either the end of this life and there is nothing else, or it is the next great adventure. So what is the problem with embarking on the next "great adventure"? Would you take off exploring a wilderness area in your birthday suit?

Christopher Columbus outfitted a voyage of 3 ships, scores of men, as much food as the ships could carry, and a firm faith in God with much prayer. Columbus led his small fleet out into something not entirely unknown, but enough was not known that he needed all of his faith in God to make it to the New World. His faith in God is ignored or discounted in these days of "tolerance", but his diary tells a tale of fear, faith, and falling away from God in the harsh light of success and celebrity.

The first astronauts did not strap themselves into giant slingshots, but endured years of training, were backed up by hundreds of scientists and researchers, and even waited for data from experimental and test flights before embarking on a voyage to the moon. The cost of the space program was and still is beyond our grasp in terms of sheer dollar volume. The tales of their faith in God also make for interesting stories, and again the world would rather ignore those stories.

So why would someone think that embarking on an exploration of what comes after this life is going to be possible with nothing whatsoever in hand? Wouldn't it be much easier to learn from someone who has been there and returned? In answer to that question, which might seem obvious, many will seek out the occult, but we know of a better answer. Spread the good news that Jesus died and returned from death to bring us everlasting life! We need a guide, a report, information and data, something to help us understand what is "out there". Flinging yourself into the afterlife with no faith and no hope is just plain foolish, and very frightening. People are intending to do just that; we must give them some good news first. Jesus already knows what comes next. He very much wants to welcome all of us into His eternal kingdom.

Prepare the way for our Lord!

Bucky

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