- Valerie A. Smith Current mood when blog was written: thoughtful Category: Religion and Philosophy
JESUS CHRIST, A CONCRETE EXAMPLE OF GOD...
We do not have to look far at all to find God. Spirit quests, communing with nature and natural elements like wind and plants, or searching across the cosmos are all unnecessary. The first place we should look for God, and the first place God is, is within our own hearts. But we must first open our hearts, and our minds, to Jesus Christ, a concrete example of God for us.
We live in a world that is surrounded by advanced technology everywhere we look. Our world and much of what we experience in our daily lives has scientific reasoning behind it. We live in a structured, tangible world that makes new advances every day. Computers, cell phones, radios, televisions, satellites...all bring our education, careers, and lives to a whole new level that was only dreamed of more than 50 years ago. Technology dominates our lives. Is there any room for religion, or moreso, any kind of spirituality? Depends.
Due to scientific discoveries, we know that the Earth is over 4.5 billion years old, and that the universe is somewhere around 40 billion years in age. We study and observe fossils that clue us in on the world's past. We know that thunderstorms are created by the collision of hot and cold air masses, that earthquakes are produced by the shifting of crustal plates and faultlines, that illnesses and disease are caused by microscopic bodies called viruses and bacteria, that water is comprised of two hydrogen atoms and a single oxygen atom bonded together to make one molecule...the list goes on almost forever. We have explanations for just about everything, it seems. Things that we don't have concrete proof for their explanations we study and come up with hypotheses for how they probably originated, how they probably work, and what they will probably do in the future. There are no angry or playful spirits, jealous gods, and vain goddesses who make the stars move across the sky, cause volcanoes to erupt, create tornadoes or floods, or inflict us with disabilities and illness. If there were or are, then where are they?
EACH PERSON IS CREATED WITH A SPECIAL LONGING FOR GOD...
So, then, we can conclude that there must not be a God or His Son Jesus. But no, that's not true at all. Because this particular God, with Jesus Christ, cannot be completely put into human terms, so we cannot fully know this God during our Earthly lives. What we do know is His love and His power. God the Father and Jesus (also God) have limitless power, absolutely unlimited. Their love is also unlimited. The God of the Hebrews thousands of years ago is very much the same God that still exists today.
But how can God be applied today with our technology and scientific advancements? Those who are obsessed with video games, texting, Internet porn, music, cars, etc., people who are surrounded by electronic gadgets 24/7 will say that there is no room for religion or a God, that religious people need to "get real." The truth is, the only ones who need to "get real" are those same people, who replace worship of God with worship of material goods, money, and their own bodies. We do have a need to worship because each person is created with a special longing for God that only God can satisfy. People ignore it, afraid to give up their lives, and try to distract themselves for as long as they can with whatever they can.
Referring back to God's immensity, nothing we say or do can minimize God. We call God "Father," but that does not mean that God is male. God is not divisively only one gender. Those who don't believe in or worship God will say, "well, your God/your church/your beliefs say this, and I don't like it!" This is often due to misinterpretation or used as an excuse, but can we ever really stand up and represent God in what He thinks? It depends - from the Holy Bible and through prayer, we know what God wants of us and expects from us, but interpretation can be twisted or taken many ways to mean different things, so it becomes even more important to banish our own will and listen to God's will speaking in our hearts.
ABOVE ALL, THIS GOD "JESUS CHRIST," IS THE GOD OF EVERYONE.
In reading the Bible, we see where God created the Earth and how it was completely flooded, both examples of which we can easily disprove with science. But this does not mean it did not happen; the people who wrote the books of the Bible did not have the technology and science we have today to properly explain such events, and surely God knew this enough to give the people then a more metaphorical explanation. Creation could be interpreted as a very easy explanation of the creation of Earth and evolution. The flood that Noah and his family escaped may have covered only the known world, not the entire globe. We cannot say that the Bible does not apply to our times if we look at it with a broader scope of understanding of the times in which each book was written and by whom. We have to look at God's teachings and the stories of the Bible and say, "What would be said and done in today's times?" Indeed, would it really be different?
The God that exists has no set gender as mentioned above. This God has also always existed - He is the Alpha (the beginning) and the Omega (the end). God is in the past, present, and future, and knows all, but has understanding that infinitely exceeds that of humans. God is also a God of perfect love. With this said, Jesus, Who rose from the dead and is alive today and for all eternity, cannot be drowned out by a world covered in a sea of computers, iPods, and solar panels. Jesus and God are not separate from the digital world, and Their teachings apply today just as they applied 2,000 years ago because many of today's sins existed even far back then. Religion and religious beliefs have not wavered because of the Internet, but instead assimilated. If God knows the future, then He would know everything about technology.
Above all, this God is the God of everyone. This is the God of the Jews, the Christians, and even the Muslims. Though they may not believe or worship Him exactly, this is also the God of atheists, Buddhists, Wiccans, the agnostics, the Hindus, the animists, Satanists, pantheists...everyone. God is not some vague, distant spirit open to interpretation; God is what He says He is: a Father. To say that He is not the God of a group of people would be like saying that a rebellious child or a child who thinks differently than the rest of the family is not the son or daughter of their father or mother. We still have that bond with God and with Jesus that will always make us His child even if we cut ourselves off by God through denial, sin, or by distraction. God still lives in us, yearns for us to find Him and accept His unconditional love. And although technology may change and move us in new directions, God is still in that same place in our hearts.
The Bible proclaims there is only one true God, Jesus Christ. The Bible does not teach tritheism or polytheism. While many proclaim to know God by another name, belief or faith, the one God, Jesus Christ, is the "true" God of everyone. For there is only one God for all eternity. He is our Holy Father, Savior and Friend, Jesus Christ!
Biblical References Prove There Is Only One True God:
John 17:3, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
1 Corinthians 8:5-7, "For even if there are so called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are may "gods" and many "lords", yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ., through whom all things came and through whom we live. But not everyone knows this..."
1 Timothy 2:5, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men - the testimony given in its proper time."
Isaiah 44: 6, "This is what the Lord says - Israel's King and redeemer, the Lord Almighty; I am the first and the last; apart from me there is no God."
Isaiah 45:5-6, "I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may nkow there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other."
Isaiah 46:9, "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is not other; I am God, and there is none like me."
WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR LORD, SAVIOR, FATHER, AND FRIEND? HE IS A GOD ON WHOM YOU CAN DEPEND.
PLEASE VISIT OUR SALVATION RESOURCE PAGE ON THIS WEBSITE TITLED, "A FREE GIFT."
JESUS CHRIST LOVES YOU! - JOHN 3:16
Copyright - 2009, Synthia Esther. All Rights Reserved.
Valerie A. Smith Photo and blog- Copyright- 2009. All Rights Reserved.
thoughtful
