It is good to be unique
To be different from others
But is does not make you better
And it only makes life harder
Individuality is important
Because we are all individually responsible
For all our decisions
God sees us and works with us as individuals
He suffered and defeated death as an individual Person
And applies this to all of us individually
He stands beside us as we live
Through the same sorrows and joy
He did when He lived as one of us
So individuality is important
Because God decided it is important
Freedom is equally important to God
God cares so much about our free will
That He would rather we totally reject Him
Than follow Him out of obligation
Despite what you may have experienced from
Or heard about other Christians
God is the real thing
Often Christians are criticized as being as evil as non-Christians
First of all nowhere in the Bible does it say we are any better than non-Christians
Most of us as individual Christians don’t believe so either
The parable of the prodigal son
Applies to the lives of all Christians
The difference is that we have hope
This is why we want to share it with others
God is perfect but Christians are all a work in progress
We all should be improving and much better than we currently are
But frankly Christianity tends to draw from the broken and dysfunctional people
Because Christ rejects no one
Most people think they are too good to serve God
I think it is not so much that non-Christians think Christians are full of themselves
They think God Himself is
This is an individualism and equality out of control
When even emperors and empresses knelt before God
There is no shame or weakness in it
In fact God already controls everything
We are ultimately doing His will
Whether we like it or not
As does the devil as well
People want others to suffer for bad things they do
So that they can feel better than other people
We have used scapegoats to unite people for a long time
This is because we are unwilling to use God to unite people
Everything that united divides
And everything that divides unites
Because you have to have a reason to unite or divide
Which is for or against something
I know forgiveness as a way of dealing with evil
Is hard for non-Christians and many Christians to understand
We think what we have done
Is not as bad as what others have done
Critical thinkers might wonder why having evil thoughts
Is as bad as hurting someone directly and outwardly
Our criminal justice system makes a huge distinction between
Violent and non-violent crimes
And between monetary and physical crimes
To God there is no fundamental difference
This is because the world works spiritually primarily and physically as a secondary process
We cannot see this directly and so must accept it with faith
Like many of us do with other things we don’t fully understand like math
Or another area we have little knowledge in
But in our lives alone can we not see the negative impact of sins like
Gluttony, gossip, revenge, and lust
Which grow up to be much worse sins
And create suffering for all of us?
Most major world religions agree that evil start in our minds
Most rational people would agree there is a connection between cause and effect
What causes a person to do evil?
The person chooses to do so of course
There are obviously other factors
Just don’t try to argue that in any court
As a means of avoiding any penalty
Christ understands us because He created us
And He lived as one of us
Sin has destroyed the world He created
If anyone was going to suffer for it
He would be the judge not the accused
But for whatever reason He chose to pay the penalty for it
That part is hard to understand and takes faith
But one you get to understand more about God
You will understand His decision better
Christ is not a leader who just orders others around
He dives in and does the dishes for His royal court without being prompted
He does not look down on us at all
Even though He has every right to
He lives within Christians who stink with evil
He works directly in this world rather than living it easy in Heaven
If Christ didn’t care would he have inspired so many people to spread His message for so many generations?
So when a Christian presents the Gospel to you
Regardless of their intentions
Realize the gift is from God to you
It has nothing to do with the messenger
Don’t reject a better future for yourself
Just because you don’t like the wrapper on the package
To be different from others
But is does not make you better
And it only makes life harder
Individuality is important
Because we are all individually responsible
For all our decisions
God sees us and works with us as individuals
He suffered and defeated death as an individual Person
And applies this to all of us individually
He stands beside us as we live
Through the same sorrows and joy
He did when He lived as one of us
So individuality is important
Because God decided it is important
Freedom is equally important to God
God cares so much about our free will
That He would rather we totally reject Him
Than follow Him out of obligation
Despite what you may have experienced from
Or heard about other Christians
God is the real thing
Often Christians are criticized as being as evil as non-Christians
First of all nowhere in the Bible does it say we are any better than non-Christians
Most of us as individual Christians don’t believe so either
The parable of the prodigal son
Applies to the lives of all Christians
The difference is that we have hope
This is why we want to share it with others
God is perfect but Christians are all a work in progress
We all should be improving and much better than we currently are
But frankly Christianity tends to draw from the broken and dysfunctional people
Because Christ rejects no one
Most people think they are too good to serve God
I think it is not so much that non-Christians think Christians are full of themselves
They think God Himself is
This is an individualism and equality out of control
When even emperors and empresses knelt before God
There is no shame or weakness in it
In fact God already controls everything
We are ultimately doing His will
Whether we like it or not
As does the devil as well
People want others to suffer for bad things they do
So that they can feel better than other people
We have used scapegoats to unite people for a long time
This is because we are unwilling to use God to unite people
Everything that united divides
And everything that divides unites
Because you have to have a reason to unite or divide
Which is for or against something
I know forgiveness as a way of dealing with evil
Is hard for non-Christians and many Christians to understand
We think what we have done
Is not as bad as what others have done
Critical thinkers might wonder why having evil thoughts
Is as bad as hurting someone directly and outwardly
Our criminal justice system makes a huge distinction between
Violent and non-violent crimes
And between monetary and physical crimes
To God there is no fundamental difference
This is because the world works spiritually primarily and physically as a secondary process
We cannot see this directly and so must accept it with faith
Like many of us do with other things we don’t fully understand like math
Or another area we have little knowledge in
But in our lives alone can we not see the negative impact of sins like
Gluttony, gossip, revenge, and lust
Which grow up to be much worse sins
And create suffering for all of us?
Most major world religions agree that evil start in our minds
Most rational people would agree there is a connection between cause and effect
What causes a person to do evil?
The person chooses to do so of course
There are obviously other factors
Just don’t try to argue that in any court
As a means of avoiding any penalty
Christ understands us because He created us
And He lived as one of us
Sin has destroyed the world He created
If anyone was going to suffer for it
He would be the judge not the accused
But for whatever reason He chose to pay the penalty for it
That part is hard to understand and takes faith
But one you get to understand more about God
You will understand His decision better
Christ is not a leader who just orders others around
He dives in and does the dishes for His royal court without being prompted
He does not look down on us at all
Even though He has every right to
He lives within Christians who stink with evil
He works directly in this world rather than living it easy in Heaven
If Christ didn’t care would he have inspired so many people to spread His message for so many generations?
So when a Christian presents the Gospel to you
Regardless of their intentions
Realize the gift is from God to you
It has nothing to do with the messenger
Don’t reject a better future for yourself
Just because you don’t like the wrapper on the package