Reply to What would Jesus do?

Forum Index » Religion

Reply to "What would Jesus do?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]"Organized religions make a mockery of humanity, our governments are dangerous and out of control"

Axel Rose - Garden of Eden[/quote]

We all worship something.  If it isn’t organized religion, then it is a bunch of small “gods” — career, achievement, money, sex, power, beauty, romance, approval, family, spouses.  We are all living for something.  And our “worship” of these gods comes with a set of rules, social expectations, and the like just as much as any organized religion.

Back when I was atheist, I worshipped work and career and the opposite sex, not always in that order.   There were all kinds of ways to get ahead at work and I was great at playing the game.  And the same goes for women too — trying to convince beautiful women to sleep with me was all its own “religion” full of rituals, ways I would behave, etc.

The difference is that none of the other gods even came close to fully satisfying me and they didn’t forgive me either when things went sideways as they inevitably did.   Going into my 40s, I was wealthier than I ever imagined, already divorced, watching a second marriage go down the tubes, and very very very lost in life — though it all seemed great on the surface.

Believe me, I was the most unlikely convert to Christianity.   I thought anyone talked about “born again” was a nut case.

But at age 42 I hit rock bottom.  Then I realized that Jesus is all you need when Jesus is all that you got.

My life has changed a lot since then, in so many positive ways, but it’s not about a string of my own successes.  I have realized that more than anything, Jesus keeps me collapsing under the weight of my own failures.

All glory be to Jesus Christ our Lord!   [/quote]

I've noticed that most "born again" people I've met were struggling to do the right thing without external guidance. This is one scenario where religion is helpful. It prevents those types of people from being a-holes (mostly) or committing crimes.

[/quote]

Where are these folks who don’t struggle in their lives?

If you are one of these magical people, it’s entirely possible someday you will struggle too.

Have you ever had a friend or family member struggle?

Some people in prison had very hard lives as children. Their parents were not able to provide for them in anyway or were absent from their lives. Or unfortunately, were abusive/neglectful.

That doesn’t give people an excuse for doing things that are harmful or hurting others, of course.

But as Christians we believe Jesus saves everyone who accepts Him into their heart. Nobody is beyond the love of Jesus Christ.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics