I believe that the most important thing in the universe……..the most valuable thing in the universe…….is love. Ask any man or woman who is near the end of their life what was the best thing that ever happened to them. It will be a transaction involving love. Ask them about the worst thing………it will be the loss of love…….or a loved one.

Love is the most important thing there is.

Love is the most important thing there is.

We function at our very best…….when we are giving or receiving love. We are happiest…….when we are giving or receiving love. We are the most satisfied………when we are giving or receiving love. This should not be a surprise…………because the act of loving is hard wired into our hearts……….because love was put there by our creator. Love was created to be the “currency” of this world. It should be central to every transaction in our lives. It is essential to the smooth functioning of our society.

I look around me and I see a culture that is failing…….literally falling apart. There are angry people everywhere. My TV has over 400 channels. About 50 are news or newslike. About 50 are angry talking heads trying to sell some political position. One of them…..Hallmark……is largely focused on love. The rest are predominately murder and mayhem……..with very little love. 400 channels……..only one of which is love focused.

It was not this way when I was young.

What has happened?

I believe that the failure of our culture is due to a failure in the economy of love. Love, it turns out, has a direction. It can go anywhere…..but it has a primary direction. Much like a river…….there are small eddies, places where the river flows sideways……or even backwards…….but, the primary flow is downstream……..it begins in the mountains and flows to the sea.

Love has a primary direction.

Love begins with God and flows downstream from God to man and woman. You can create a little bit of love, an eddy, but most of the love in your life comes to you from somewhere else and is then passed on. Love is at its best when you receive it, enjoy it, and then pass it on. This is how God designed the economy of love.

But, in our angry society, that is not how we are handling it. The current of love passing through our culture…….the current of love passing through you and me is decreasing……..drying up.

Why?

Love began with God. The love in our world comes primarily from God. And I believe that the source of love is being cut off. Much like a river that has been dammed……..we are being damned by the loss of love.

We are being damned……by the loss of love.

The reason for the decrease in the amount of love in our world is the shift from a society with its foundation on the Bible to a society that has its foundation on the “big bang” and Darwin……..a society that relies on science rather than faith. We have run God out of our government. We have run God out of our schools. We have run God out of our media. We have run God out of our commercial economy. Businesses, like Chick-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby that make faith in God a big part of their culture, are attacked. This has occurred during my lifetime. When I was a child, the Christmas music in the stores was mostly religious. Today, it is almost exclusively secular. When I was a child, Christmas was about believing in Christ. Today, Christmas is about believing in Santa.

The loss of love in our culture is because we have cut the love off at its source……God.

This is not an accident. The coastal elites who drive our culture have done this……..and continue to do this…..on purpose.

We can either continue to go along with them or try to open the tap of love back up. The very survival of our culture hangs in the balance.

We love because he first loved us.

John, ESV

Let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

John, ESV

In my reading of the Bible, I am struck by the difference in tone between the old testament and the new testament. Realistically, the old testament is a pretty hard read. It is full of rules and regulations. It is full of war, enslavement, and subjugation. It is loaded with condemnation. Over and over it describes an infraction calling for the death penalty. And then, there is the book of Job. The old testament, for the most part, is not an uplifting read. The best parts are when the Prophets hint at a future where things will be better. The new testament, on the other hand, is centered around love, kindness, mercy and reconciliation. This is a much more satisfying read. It is a much more hopeful read. When a new Christian asks, “what should I read first?”, I always direct them to the book of John.

Which begs the question……….what changed? What corner did we turn between the old testament and the new testament? I don’t believe that God changed. But our world……..that is a different story. The new testament turned our world upside down.

What changed is this:

Love came into our world……..specifically, the love of our father…..our creator. It came in the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus was a teacher. His message had 3 themes:

Love God
Love your fellow man
I am the son of God………I am divine

In everything that he said and did, he embodied……he taught…..these three things. These ideas were revolutionary……..they still are. The powers of the time had a hard time with them……..and so does our modern culture. In fact, a big part of our culture categorically rejects points one and three. We do a little better with point two…….but only a little.

Which brings me to Christmas……..arguably the biggest annual celebration in the world. For the most part, our modern Christmas has become a big party where we give each other gifts. This part does touch on the second idea……love your fellow man. But our modern Christmas has become disconnected from ideas one and three……..love God, your creator, and Jesus is divine.

So, just exactly what is truly at the heart of Christmas?

Or, more to the point, what should be at the heart of our Christmas celebration?

Christmas is a celebration of a turning point in the history of mankind. It celebrates the arrival……in our world………. of the love of our creator………in the person of Jesus Christ.

And things have never been the same.

So…….today……..when you are exchanging gifts, remember to focus on the love of God. After all, love is the reason why God created you……..the very reason for your existence.

God created you to love and be loved.

You know this.

We love because he first loved us.

John, ESV

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

John, ESV

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Paul, ESV

Humans are thinking creatures. Our intellect sets us apart. You could argue that, in essence, we are a bunch of ideas wrapped up in a sack of protoplasm. The ideas that we create drive everything that we do. Some of these ideas are good……others, not so good. If we could eliminate the worst ideas and promote the best ideas, surely we would be better off.

Today, I want to explore the three worst……most evil….. ideas that humanity has ever created. I concede that this is a pretty bold undertaking……..please bear with me.

First, some background. I am a Christian……..you probably guessed. I believe in the Trinity, in the Bible, in an eternal paradise, and in an eternal hell. The Bible is a bit unclear…….and symbolic……as to the details; but, it is safe to say that paradise will be a place of eternal joy and hell will be a place of eternal pain. I was once a physician. I have seen a lot of pain. I learned that the worst pain is not the sharpest or most acute pain. The worst pain is the pain that never gets better……never goes away. And that is a good working definition of hell.

So………what are the three worst ideas in human history?

They are the ideas that will cause the most pain……..the ideas that will result in the greatest number of souls in eternal pain…….in hell.

And here they are:

The “big bang” theory

The theory that life began by energy hitting “primordial ooze”

The theory of Darwinian evolution

These ideas are clothed in science. But, the fact is that science concedes that there is no direct observational evidence of the “big bang”……or for the first half a billion years after it. In spite of a massive effort, we have never created life in a lab. Science can give us no direct observational proof of the creation by Darwinian evolution of an entirely new species.

Why are these ideas so bad?

First, they are theories. They are based on assumptions and extrapolation rather than observation. In a word, they are based on “circumstantial evidence”. And……they begin with one collosal assumption………that there is no God……..no intelligence behind creation.

And that is the big problem. Once you have accepted these three theories, you have completely eliminated the need for God. The “big bang” eliminates the need for God in the first 5 days of creation. Lightning + ooze eliminates the need for God on day 3. Darwin eliminates the need for God on days 4 and 5. With these three ideas, we can put God out to pasture on day 7.

Until about 100 years ago, God was essential. The world made no sense without him. But, these three theories, which are all very recent, allow us to make sense of everything……..without God.

Since we no longer need God, he becomes unnecessary………we can ignore him. And that solves a few of our biggest problems:

No more external rules……..love God…..love your neighbor and all the rest. They are really restrictive……..inconvenient. They really cramp our style.

No higher authority. We are now the top of the pyramid. We are in charge. And that is the heart of it. We get to be God………or at least act like God……..and we do.

So…..these ideas allow us to ignore God and run things as we see fit. We can pursue our appetites without God’s interference. And that is the way we like it. During my lifetime, I have watched our culture slowly push God off into a corner. Today, our appetites rule our culture instead of God’s expectations. And it shows in the decline of our society.

The problem is this:

The fact that we ignore or even deny God……..doesn’t make the trinity, paradise, and hell any less real.

The fact that we ignore or even deny God……..doesn’t
change the fact that if we do so, we are choosing a destiny of never-ending pain.

And that is why these three ideas are the most evil ideas in human history.

What do you believe in? A God who created you, loves you, and wants you to spend eternity with him……….or an accidental world, devoid of meaning, leading to dead black nothing.

Which do you choose……..hope…….or dispair?

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.

Genesis…….day 1, ESV

“Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

God…..on day 6, ESV

Today’s post is primarily directed at believers…..Christians.

I talk to a lot of people who identify as Christians. I am struck by the broad range of attributes that Christians assign to God…….their God. If you asked those Christians at the two extremes to describe God……you might find it hard to reconcile the two descriptions to the same God. And yet, there is only one God…….one trinity.

Some Christians see God as all powerful…….omnipotent……in control of everything. Others see him as a benevolent observer…..who is not very involved in our daily struggles.

And that is the question this week:

How big is your God?

So, I have developed an assessment tool to try to measure your image of your God.

Grab a pen and paper.

For each statement below, rate your response from 0 to 10 with 0 being “strongly disagree” and 10 being “strongly agree”.

God created the universe and everything in it.

God created the universe and everything in it…..in seven 24 hour days……..5 or 10 thousand years ago.

God created every living creature independently, Darwinian evolution was not involved.

God created Adam from dirt.

God created Eve from Adam’s rib.

God breathed life into Adam and Eve……lightning striking a puddle of “primordial ooze” had no part.

Lazarus was stone cold dead and Jesus brought him back to life.

Jesus was crucified and was stone cold dead……then he returned to life.

God knows everything that you say, do, and think.

God sent a flood that killed all people except Noah and his family.

God created paradise.

God created hell.

God will decide who goes to paradise.

God will decide who goes to hell.

Jesus can remove your sin……no matter how bad it is……and give you an eternal home……in paradise.

Add up your score. It will fall between 0 and 150. If you are an atheist……..you will score 0 or close to it. If you are a strict Biblical fundamentalist your score will be 150 or close to it.

In short…….the higher your score…….the bigger your God…….the more powerful your God. The lower your score……the smaller your God………the weaker your God. This is a pretty basic measurement of your opinion of God’s power…….a measure of how big your God is.

Now, I want you to think about your prayer life.

Do you pray often? Do you pray with confidence? Do you ask God to meet specific needs?

It is likely that the answers to these last three questions may be influenced by the size of your God. In fact, the answers to these three questions likely reflect your vision of God’s power. If you worship a tiny, weak, distant God……if your score on the assessment is low……it should come as no surprise that you don’t rely on him very much. It should come as no surprise that you don’t waste your time praying to a wimpy God.

As for me……..I choose to believe in a mighty God…….a God who created the universe just as it is……in 7 days…….who breathed life into Adam……..who has created my eternal soul…….a God who has created an eternal heaven and hell……..and who will one day commit my soul to one or the other.

This is the God I know and love……..the God who knows me and loves me.

Btw………God also knows my score on the assessment.

He knows yours too.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Paul, ESV

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

John, ESV

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Jesus, ESV

So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Jesus, ESV

There are a very few…..very rare……people who don’t feel guilt. Either they are saints or sociopaths………or, more likely, they just repress their guilt over their failures. Lets face it, we have all done things that are wrong. This week I want to explore wrongdoing…….and the guilt that goes with it.

I’m not talking about the library book that you didn’t return. I’m talking about “big ticket” wrong:

You embezzled money or stole something at work.

You cheated on your taxes.

You physically or verbally attacked someone……and you did it on purpose.

You did something wrong either by design or by carelessness………that caused someone else to be injured…..or to die.

You cheated on your spouse.

Think of that thing that you did…….that thing that was wrong with a capital W……….that thing that you wouldn’t want the people who respect you to know about. Perhaps nobody knows about it but you. If you are honest with yourself…….you know that what you did was wrong. If you are in touch with yourself…….you feel bad about it. That bad feeling……..is guilt. All normal people feel it. And, though we hate to recognize and deal with it, guilt is a good thing. Guilt drives us to avoid repeating an error. Guilt guides us to grow as human beings.

But, guilt hurts. And the bigger the wrong…….the greater the burden of the guilt that we carry…….all day……every day. Even worse…….our guilt is cumulative. Having collected over almost 70 years, my pile of guilt is pretty impressive.

So……what is the way out? What is the best thing that can happen to you………when you have really messed up……..when you know that you did something really wrong……..when you are wracked with guilt?

The best thing that can happen to you is this:

Someone who loves you walks up, gently puts his hand on your shoulder and says:

“It’s all OK……I still love you……I always have…….I always will…….even when you mess up. I’ve fixed it…….all of it.”

There is a sudden sense of cleansing. A weight is lifted. And you say……..”I’ll never do that again”……..mainly because you don’t want to let him down. You feel better. And not just that……you are better……..you walk away a better person.

Well, that is exactly what Jesus has done…….for me……and for every other Christian. By an intentional act he has removed our guilt. We don’t have to drag it around anymore. We tend to focus on the fact that God doesn’t see our wrongdoing anymore. But, the other side of guilt is just as important, we no longer have to carry around the burden of our guilt. What a gift.

I suspect that this is what drives many secular humanists crazy. We don’t have to drag our guilt around every day…………and they do…….if they are being honest.

This gift is so huge……..and so costly to Jesus……..that it makes me want to grow into a better man……..to pay it forward……to honor Jesus. I want to honor his sacrifice and his gift by following him and, I hope, by bringing others along.

If my message resonates……..welcome aboard.

If you feel guilt…….then you can ignore it……repress it……….pretend that it’s not there…….pretend that you are OK. But, the trouble with ignoring something real is that it doesn’t go away………….and neither do its consequences. Know this………the fact that you ignore your guilt does not stop it from eating away at you.

or

You can accept your failures…..and then hand them over…..to Jesus……..with confidence that he has taken care of your problem…….once and for all.

“What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me.”

Marghanita Laski, author and secular humanist

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

David, ESV

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Jesus, ESV

“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Jesus, talking to an adultress, ESV

There are only a few really big questions in this world…..in my life……in your life.

How did the world begin?

How did life begin,

What happens when we die?

Mankind spends an enormous amount of energy and resources trying to find the answers. You can make the case that answering these questions is the ultimate goal of science, philosophy, and mysticism……religion. We are on a path. History tells us about a tiny part of that path. But, we feel a need to search out the more distant parts of the path. We do this to answer the overarching question……….why? Because, if we can figure out the why, we can make better use of our extremely limited time in this temporal world.

We seek out the why……..so that we won’t waste our time. And time is the most precious resource in this world. When we spend it…….it is gone…….and can never be retrieved.

The attempts to answer the big questions fall into two camps:

Science/secular humanism

Religion/mysticism

These two camps use different tools, different rules, and different assumptions. And, not surprisingly, they arrive at different conclusions. Forgive me……but I will try to condense both into a few sentences.

Science/secular humanism:

This camp uses measurable physical phenomena to explain everything. When they find something that defies measurement, they fill the gap with an assumption, based on the best measurements available. Many of these assumptions are good. Many are existential leaps……..unprovable explanations that must be true in order for the rest of the narrative to work.

The beginning of the world? There was nothing….space and time did not exist. Then suddenly, everywhere at once, space and time and an expanding universe came into being. Everything came out of nothing. They call it a “singularity”. They offer no answer as to how. They offer no answer as to why. This is the first major existential leap.

The begining of life? There was a puddle of simple atoms and small molecules (the primordial ooze). A random blast of energy struck it repeatedly and the atoms assembled themselves into progressively more complicated molecules which then began to reproduce and ultimately morphed into Angelina Jolie. There is no hard evidence documenting any of this. This process is also one of many of the existential leaps.

Where are we going? Nowhere. Because we cannot measure an afterlife…….it must not exist. Curiously, there is no existential leap here…….the place where we need it the most.

Religion/mysticism

The beginning of the world? A creator operating outside of the bounds of time and space called it into being for his purposes.

The beginning of life? The creator, God, did that too…..again, for his purposes.

Where are we going? God will either draw us back to him or cast us away.

This too is an existential leap…….an explanation that must be true for the narrative to work.

Which brings us to the overarching question:

Why?

Science/secular humanism gives us no answer. We are left to sort it out for ourselves. We like this a lot, because we get to create a series of why’s that serve our appetites. We can have a lot of fun…….for a very short time. But………the party begins with nothing and ends with dead black nothing.

Mysticism/religion gives us a clear answer. We were created to love and be loved…….by God…..by our fellow man. If we do this well, we will live a life of joy……first in this temporary world…….and then in an eternal paradise.

So………pick your existential leap.

But……know that you are choosing where you will land.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God, ESV

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Solomon, ESV

what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah, ESV

Love

It is at the heart of the two primary commands of the Bible.

Love God…….Love man.

It is what God wants from you…….more than anything else.

It is the central reason for God’s creation……….of you.

Without question…….love is the most important thing in the universe.

The success of our lives…….the success of my life……..depends on love.

But……just what is love anyway?

Love, happiness, and satisfaction are linked. They are not the same. Love is the road that takes you to happiness. Happiness leads to satisfaction.

So here it is……….the secret of living a full, happy, and satisfied life.

Love

The heart of love is subordination……..the idea…….the act……..of putting another ahead of yourself. Think of the cross. I would go so far as to say that if you are unable to put the needs of someone else ahead of your needs……..then you are incapable of love. This is not an all or none deal. As we go through our day, we spend some of our energy meeting our own needs and we spend some of our energy meeting the needs of others. Love is a continuum. At one end is the sociopath…….the guy who serves his own needs with no consideration at any time for how his actions affect others. At the other end is the pure benefactor…….the woman who pours out her life taking care of others. Jeffrey Dahmer……..Mother Teresa. The rest of us fall somewhere in between.

The key to the success of your life…….is where you fall on that continuum. What percentage of your daily effort do you expend on caring for others……….what percentage of your daily effort do you spend gratifying your own desires?

Consider the woman with an unplanned……..unwanted pregnancy. In spite of the supreme court, she has two choices………she can gratify her desire to live as she pleases………or she can subordinate herself……..to her child. I propose that only one of these paths is the path of love. Only one of these paths leads to lasting joy.

There is an irony here that has to do with the linkage between love and happiness.

Love creates happiness.

Love creates satisfaction.

The closer you are to the “self serving” end of the continuum……the less happy you will be. The closer you are to the “service to others” end of the continuum…..the happier you will be.

It is just that simple.

Every day, you see people frantically working to satisfy their own appetites. The more that they have……the more that they want. But, it is never enough. Consider the CEO who has 4 houses, 6 cars, and a private jet………and who is negotiating for a raise. And while they seem to be having fun…..while they may have stuff………while they may be secure…….they are not happy…….they are not satisfied.

Every day you see people who radiate happiness. They may or may not have much in the way of stuff. But, they are happy………satisfied.

The key to understanding this conundrum is love. This should not be surprising. We were created by God for one reason…….to love. You can have a satisfying life without being loved……….but, you cannot have a satisfying life without loving.

You cannot lead a happy, satisfying life without loving.

To try to live your life without loving others………without subordinating yourself to others…….without serving others…….is to forgo happiness. It is a decision to trade happiness for feeding your appetites………to trade happiness for stuff and experiences.

It won’t work.

I believe that the central reality of paradise…….will be love. In paradise, we will spend our effort loving and serving others……loving and serving God.

And it will be fabulous………and we will be both happy and satisfied.

You might as well get used to it now.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus, ESV

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

Paul, ESV

And in the end…….the love you take…….is equal…….to the love you make.

John Lennon

There is no misery in not being loved,
only in not loving

Rod McKuen

Today’s post is for commited atheists and secular humanists. If you are a Christian…….and a sinner……this is not for you.

I know many really good people……..who are not Christians. And I am puzzled by what it is that is holding them back. The benefits are vast…….paradise, eternal life, and most of all the joy and fulfillment of being who you were created to be and of doing what you were created to do.

I ask myself……what would they have to change……what would they have to give up to become a Christian?

They must sense a downside.

So……what is the downside to Christianity?

Today I will explore the downside…..the cost of Christianity…….because there must be something in that list of costs that is stopping good people……not perfect people……from signing up.

So………what is it that Christianity asks of us…….that we resist?

Stop hurting people….(love your neighbor). If you are a drug dealer or a gang member, this could be it. But, the non-Christians that I know are not evil criminals…….in many cases they are better human beings than I am. This isn’t it.

Support the church with your time and money. We are all very busy and many of us are strapped for cash. Still, it’s hard to believe that a few bucks and an hour of two a week is the problem. This isn’t it either.

Sex……..this is a bit tougher. Sex is for husbands and wives. If recreational sex is a big part of your life or if you are committed to the LGBT agenda, this could be it. Still, passing up eternal paradise for a decade or two of sex seems a bit shortsighted.

Stuff……..we are a consumer culture. It is possible that we put so much energy into accumulating stuff that we have no emotional enegy left…..no room left……..for God. Again, this seems a bit shortsighted.

Politics………there was a time when, if you asked someone, “what are you?” ……..they would reply with their occupation…..or perhaps their faith. Today, the usual reply is Republican or Democrat. We have come to choose our political party as our identity……..or we have come to choose our identity as our party. That is the only reason that I can see that explains why most of us refuse to criticise “our” political party when they sell a policy that is clearly wrong…….and both sides sell policies that are wrong. I think that many people reject all…….or part……..of Christianity because it conflicts with their politics…….with their assumed identity. We follow Trump…..or Biden first……and only then do we follow God. Don’t get me wrong…..Trump and Biden will probably be in paradise……..but they will probably have an “obstructed view” seat……on the third balcony.

Subordination……this is getting closer. Christianity teaches us that we are not the boss here. Christianity teaches that whatever our desires are, whatever our appetites are, we are not the ultimate arbiter. We are not in charge. So……..we stand on our little piece of ground and shout at God…..”you are not the boss of me!” We are terrified that if we accept God as our master, our Lord……..that he will someday say to us….”sell everything that you own, go to Africa, and wait for further instructions.”

And I think……that when push comes to shove……that is the problem. We cannot humble ourselves. We want to be in charge. We want to be at the top of the “chain of command”. And we are willing to forego paradise……..and to risk hell…….so that we can be in charge.

So what would change for my friends? ………they would have to humble themselves…….I will have to humble myself.

“YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!”

a six year old I once had to deal with, PSV. (pediatric standard version)……btw, she grew up into a fine woman

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

God, ESV

Early tablet of the ten commandments

We don’t talk about it very much, but there is an idea that has assumed a central place in our culture. This idea is the “community standard”. In essence, it is what we, as a society, generally accept as appropriate behaviour. It used to be a consensus of the majority. And that is what it should be.  But…..I fear that it is becoming whatever idea that the vocal minority is selling this year.

Examples of the current “community standard”:

Graphic depiction of murder on our TV…..during prime time…..in front of school age children. 

Thinly veiled sex depicted between unmarried adults on our TV…..during prime time…..in front of school age children. 

Teaching the LGBT agenda in our schools and on our TVs.

Outlawing God and the Bible in our schools…….and, more and more, in our progressively “woke” business community, universities, and media community. 

Allowing Planned Parenthood to kill 3000 children a day …….every day.

The death penalty.

Tolerating urban homeless camps often populated by the addicted and the mentally ill without helping them.

A ridiculously low minimum wage that will not support a human being in our cities.

And many many more.

There are problems with the “community standard”:

It is no longer a majority consensus……..it is a reflection of the loudest voices shouting in the public square. 

It changes constantly……..and it is not improving. 

It reflects our appetites……..instead of what is morally right or wrong.

Like the frog in the frying pan, we slowly get used to it. Ideas that were once clearly wrong,  become tolerated, then become normal,  and finally become noble. Any one who complains or resists is assaulted…….first verbally and then physically. 

And worst of all……..it has become the code that we live by.

Is it any wonder that our society is in a state of progressive decay? This is most evident in the undeniable failure of our big cities.

And then there is the Bible. It is clear. It is constant. It is the owner’s manual……..written by our creator. It once served as our community standard……but no more.

Examples of the “Bible Standard”

Love God 

Love your fellow man

Don’t lie

Don’t steal 

Don’t murder

Honor your mother and father

Sex is for husbands and wives 

Don’t covet

Rest on Sunday 

Some will say it is narrow minded. I will concede that it is more restrictive and less fun in the short term than the “community standard “.

But can you honestly say that the community standard is building a better society than the Bible standard would……..if we only followed it? Can you honestly say that the community standard is improving our cities?

Portland, San Francisco, Chicago, New York……..these cities are the poster children for the “community standard” at work. And it is ugly.

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land”.

God, ESV…….a quote from 2 Corinthians……..recently taken down by facebook for violating the “community standard”.

It is says a lot about our culture……….when our creator is excluded from the public conversation because he doesn’t follow……….the “community standard”.

I know two men who have had near death experiences. One of them was my father. Their descriptions of their experience have left me confused. This week’s post is my attempt to explore that confusion.

So, I begin with a question:

Am I afraid…….of death?

Are you afraid…….of death?

To begin with, we need to look at two groups of people.

If you are an atheist or a secular humanist, then death is the end. This is a very bad thing……..the worst event in your life. It is perfectly reasonable for you to fear death. I’d worry about you if you didn’t.

If you are a Christian…….and I am…….things are much more complicated. So, going back to the question of the week.

Yes…….I am afraid of death.

My faith teaches that when I die, I will go to paradise and spend eternity surrounded by the love of my creator, my father, God. My faith teaches that when I die, I will go to a place where the things in my life that are wrong, broken, will be made right. My faith teaches that when I die……….I will be reunited with family and friends who died before me. In a word…….my faith teaches that when I die……things are going to get better……..a whole lot better.

Going back to my father and my friend and their experiences with near death. Both of them describe an experience that was wonderful. Both said, in so many words, that they liked being dead and wanted to stay that way. My father said that he almost punched the guy who revived him. Their experience aligns very well with the teaching of Christianity. Their experience says that things on the other side of the curtain are much better than they are in this broken world.

And that is what confuses me.

My Christian faith tells me that death is going to be a huge improvement for me……..a quantum leap forward in the development of my soul……..and yet I’m afraid of death. I do everything that I can to avoid death……..to put it off. Everything that I feel and say and do in relation to death is contrary to my faith.

Why?

I get that there may be some pain or illness leading up to my death. So it is sensible to fear dying…….but not death itself.

The only conclusion that I can reach is that I am afraid of the unknowns surrounding my death. I am afraid of what lies on the other side of the curtain.

And that is an indictment of my faith.

My fear of death is a direct measure of the weakness of my faith in my Father’s promise.

My fear of death is a direct measure of my lack of faith………..in my Father’s love for me.

Mea Culpa.

“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”

Paul, ESV

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Jesus, ESV

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

David, ESV