Why it's hard to be a Christian - Posted 6 Jul 2011

Why it's hard to be a Christian - posted 6 Jul 2011

At first blush, it just doesn't make sense! In one broad stroke - it is too simple, too good to be true - is there a 

catch to it all?

Here's why

1. It is not about what we do to reach a higher being who is "up there" but what God has done, to become one of us, to reach all of us "down here."

2. In fact, it's not about what any of us do at all - It has all been done. All we need do is to accept that it has been done, or not. The doing is in the believing. Too good to be true? Well, some may say - I live a good life, I don't murder, steal, commit adultery, etc. Therefore, I'm better off than some, and not as good as others.

 Actually, there's only one standard, and we all don't cut it. Some others may say - wow, does that mean I can go on doing things that are not quite so right, and still get a straight ticket to heaven? Yes, and no. It goes like this - Suppose there is this delinquent who has been in and out of prison and reform centres, tried his "darndest" to change but nothing works. One day, he did a big one, and got into trouble big time. 

At the sentencing, the judge said that he can go off scot free as someone was prepared to go to jail for him and settle everything for him. It turned out to be his mother. Ask him again whether he will still continue with what he was doing.

3. If there is such a God, why does God allow evil and "good" people go to hell?

I believe God is love. You need someone to lavish your love on. God created angels ( who are servants of God ) and animals ( who serve mankind ). Love is a two-way relationship and God created man to pour out His love on. You cannot force someone to love you - it has got to be by choice. 

The problem of evil - God did not create evil , but He created an arch-angel who thought he wanted to be better than God, and became the nemesis of everything God  is not. God is good , the nemesis is evil; he stood for everything God was not. God is truth, he is a liar; God wants to bless, he wants to kill, steal, destroy.

 God did not create hell for people. It was intended for fallen angels. God did everything He could to save mankind to get them out of hell. Back to the analogy above - God came down in the form of man, through His Son, Jesus. He paid the ultimate price and penalty to save us - He was tortured and bled every drop of His blood and died for us. Do we and can we believe that?

4.  You say - if I see God, I will believe. Seeing is not believing - faith is.

More than 2,000 years ago, God came and lived and mingled with the people to reveal Himself. Many did not believe and could not believe. I choose to believe, because of the awesomeness of creation, of life itself, of miracles, ofthe lives of  people who have been transformed, of love, giving and receiving- the goodness of God. 

Everyone needs to have faith in something or someone. For instance, it takes great faith to do this: a person falls ill and a stranger attends to him; he scribbles something illegible on a scap of paper, the sick person takes it to another counter where another stranger dispenses stuff to him he has never heard of before, tells him he will get better if he follows the instructions on the bottles and packets, and this person actually believes all of it and does so. People do it all the time. 

It also takes great faith not believing there is a God, and to bank on that for all eternity. I believe we all live forever; our life here is a brief sojourn - the question is what next and which address do we move to.

5. How then should we live?

Paradoxically. We will reap what we sow. If we want wealth, sow seeds of wealth; want love, sow love; want relationships, be a friend...The things that can  be seen are temporal, the things that are not seen are eternal. 

Say what? There are treasures in heaven, big mansions, streets of gold, no more tears, reunion with loved ones that have passed on before. in the here and now, love our enemies, guard our tongues, no bitching, even for the more deserving. 

Embrace the miracles and blessings everyday that come along from a paradigm shift in our hearts, mind and body.