Life: The Good and Bad
As humans there are many questions which we are sometimes forced to think about especially after a tragedy or an unpleasant event. In those sometimes rare moments of reflection, when we sit down quietly or take a solitary walk in the park just thinking about things: Is life worth the fuss? Will I really die someday? And if so, what will happen? Will I know? What state is a person when they die anyway, after all it is popularly said that man is a spirit being that lives in a body and has a soul? What happens to the soul of man when the body dies; does the soul die too? What about the spirit? What part does that play at death?
These questions are not in themselves exciting or palatable but if one accepts that death is inevitable and that man is a tripartite being, then it really should not be much of a stretch to wonder what would happen to one when one day the body does give up.
Breathe life – good or bad
What to believe
In Christianity, we believe that Christ, Jesus Christ, has swallowed up death in victory. Yes, but what does that mean? and why is that relevant to you? To understand this, one would have to understand that as man is said to be tripartite, so is God. That is God the father, the Son, and the Spirit.
We believe that all three were present at the time of creation. That is to say we believe not in the Big Bang theory but in the word of God which says God created the world by his word (Genesis 1).
We believe that God spoke the world into being and made the first man Adam, and out of him, his wife, Eve (Genesis 1 v 27). And that when man fell by reason of disobedience, as manifested in Eve and then Adam eating the fruit which God forbade them from eating, man lost the chance to live forever and death was introduced (Genesis 2 v 16-17, Genesis 3 v 1-7, and Genesis 3 v 19).
While death is now a certainty for man, we believe that God so loved the world that he gave Jesus Christ for man, (John 3 v 16). So that even if man should die, in the sense of his body giving up, that the soul of man could still live unto a life of glory, if that soul had been regenerated through the Spirit of God while on earth.
This simply means that the individual had accepted Jesus Christ as his Saviour and Lord and confessed his sin.
Why Accept Jesus?
But why accept Jesus Christ? Is it so that one may have a chance at living again after his body is dead? Or so that one may have a “good life” on earth, as is so often advocated by some?
He rose: Able to lay down his life & take it up again
The latter of course assumes that those who have accepted Christ do have a good life on earth. It does however beg the question what is a “good life”? The definition of a “good life” is relative and highly subjective but even so, as human beings and as a society, we could probably come to some consensus on what we all think is a good life.
But even in such definition, we would find many Christians who do not fall within that group, yet still profess till death, the name of Christ the King. Therefore, it really cannot be that the reason to accept Christ is so that one could have a good life, although Christ does take care of his own.
The Good or Bad
What about accepting Christ to prevent a “bad life”?
If we accept that the definition of a “good life” is subjective, we must also accept that what is regarded as a “bad life” can be divisive. But bad life, although differing in meaning, is such that no one wants to experience it.
God loves us
The bible plainly tells us that God loves us humans; he loves us enough to give us his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (John 3.16). He loves us even when we are sinners (Romans 5 v 8). The latter means that even while you have not accepted Jesus, he still loves you.
”He loves you enough to give you this world and your place in it, however significant or insignificant you consider that to be.”
He gives us rain and snow in their seasons; calms the sea even after a tsunami; and gives us awesome mountains to climb and beautiful landscapes to behold.
God’s heart beats for us
For these things he asks us for something in return
A realisation that the world we live in and its richness are planned and not accidental; that it is too structured, too big, too diverse, too beautiful, and complex to be. Of course, with that recognition should come also an acceptance that God is Lord over all these things including us.
And yes, he has a blueprint on how we should manage ourselves, and the world that he has given us, so that the world can be a great place for us all to live in. Given this, he says if you break the hedge the serpent will bite (Ecclesiastes 10 v 8). If you misuse an item in the world or indeed the world itself, it will malfunction. It will not give the same result as it would have had it been used right.
Therefore, he says it is wrong to fornicate, to lie, to kill, to oppress, to misuse one’s body, to deceive, to hate etc. These result in confusion, death, perverseness, extinction, hurt, war, and the like.
If reading this you think, but how can we live and obey these rules?
You have to understand that we can only know all God has to say and accept them AFTER we have accepted him. Not Before.
This is because Man by nature is ruled by flesh. Our spirit that tied us to God, that would have allowed us to know these things naturally, died after Adam and Eve sinned.
We are now ruled by our senses. What we can see, feel, touch, smell and taste, and we fall victims to these senses all the time. But to do so continually is to continue to live in the flesh and deny God; is to allow our minds and reasoning cloud our hearts so that we refuse to let our heart believe that God really exists.
Becoming New
To rule over our body is to accept Christ as Lord whereupon we will become new creature (II Corinthians 5 v 17). Our spirit, which ties us to God and was dead, will be awakened and will be quickened by the Holy Spirit so that more and more we will be who God wants us to be: more like him. We become a people full of God’s love, his light, compassion, spirit, understanding and wisdom.
New to life, New page
If we don’t, we run the risk of living a self-willed life, and in death we will be defeated because the power of God, which raised Jesus Christ up on the third day, will be ineffectual and unable to raise us up to a life with Christ. We are then condemned to a life in Hell. The place reserved for all those who live their lives on earth on their own terms, denying Christ. This is the “bad life”.
Please note that it is not that people who do go to Hell will be unconscious and unaware of their surroundings, “alive” so to speak. It is that they will spend that life in Hell. In a place surrounded by fire that burns without an end and yet does not consume; where it will be so bad that the individual will wish for death.
By then, of course, death would be no more because the people of God, those who lived their lives on God’s terms while on earth would have a chance to live the good life with God, and not be afraid of death because Christ would have swallowed up death in victory (Isaiah 25 v 8) Halleluyah!
This writing is not intended as a form of scaremongering neither is it a last ditch effort to get anyone to come to Christ.
We do know however that the bible says that at the appointed time, the trumpet will sound , Christ will appear in his glory in the sky and those who are dead in him, will be caught up with him and then those who are still living will join them (1 Corinthians 15 v 51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4 v16-17). This event is what we Christians call the Rapture. A day earnestly awaited by many Christians.
Whoever you are, therefore, we enjoin you, in the name of God, to release yourself to God, and accept him as your Saviour and Lord. Saviour, because he died just for you on the cross of Calvary and Lord, because he knows better than you, he created everything, even you.
The Prayer
If you are ready to take this chance then please say:
Lord I accept that I have sinned and come short of your glory. I accept that Jesus Christ came to save me and that he died for my sins on the Cross of Calvary. I accept you as my Saviour and Lord and now release myself to you. I ask that you come into me and live with me. I ask that your Spirit will hence forth lead me. For these I pray in Jesus Name. Amen.
If you are unsure of giving your life to Christ now but are willing to learn more about Christ, why not join us a bible believing church where they dig deep into the topics of salvation and life on earth as it is in heaven.
Local call
If you would like to and local to Grays, Essex, why not check out COHP, UK, why not visit or even join a bible believing church near you.
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Jesus loves you and so do we.
