Hindsight certainly is 20-20, we’ll find it to be more so the further we are from it.
My dearest friends, my hope by this note is not to provide any new insight, but to give you something to consider sharing with your non-believing friends and family, as we begin a new year. It is not a treatise per se but an invitation. An invitation to consider not just the person of Jesus Christ, but the life he has provided and called us to live.
This is my letter to unbelievers in 2021.
Friends, consider for a moment your current belief about God, life, death, afterlife, what is out there, and why are we here? Regardless of where you currently stand on these subjects, I believe that they are rooted from some place deep inside you, that you probably can’t explain. CS Lewis refers to this in his book Mere Christianity, as the Law of Human Nature. That each one of us is working from a common set of internal beliefs of right and wrong, and that if we did not have those that life would be chaos. All arguments large or small stem from a belief that one person is right and the other wrong. If you have not read this book, I would highly encourage it. Lewis is one of the great apologists of the last century as well as an incredibly gifted writer and speaker.
This moral coding that is found inside all of us recognizes that there is more to life than a coincidental smashing together of atoms. It understands there is more than the here and now, we have a purpose and it’s bigger than ourselves. From this common understanding comes all things.
For example, in cultures across the world we have an uncanny level of hero worship. We make movies, television shows and books that highlight the individual sacrifice of one man (or small group of men) for the greater common good of all. Where does this come from, “For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3:17-18
We read books and tell stories of heroes who are part God and part man that can both save and destroy the world. “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.” Genesis 6:4
We place in high regard those, who against all odds, band together for a common cause to make the world a better place. “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve[a] that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.” Mark 3:13-15
We love an underdog story, “Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” 12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”” 1 Samuel 16:10-12
We idolize heroes, believe in the supernatural, cheer for the passionate, and identify with the underdog. What has this got to do with you? None of the stories are original, they all stem from scripture. Even before that they stem from that common core which we received from our creator, that believes in the nobility of righteousness, sacrifice, honor, and love. There is nothing new under the sun and we all are imbued with the same quest to be more than we are.
Since we know that in us is a common bond of understanding that gives us each a desire to be more, and to understand our purpose, why do we then settle for less?
In today’s culture we glorify those who hunt ghosts, seek to prove that aliens have visited from outer space, claim inanimate objects have magical properties and that we can know and understand our future by what the stars tell us. However, it’s taboo to believe that there is a sovereign God who created the universe. We believe in the supernatural but only so far as we can possess, control, or comprehend. We believe in the supernatural so long as it is small, and we can keep it in a box where it doesn’t really affect our daily lives.
In scripture we find talking animals, visitors not from this world, spirits reaching out from the grave, so called magicians and astrologers who can perceive the works of God but not understand them.
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:8-10
Dear ones, how can you continue to put your faith, trust, hope, and expectation in the created and not the creator. Inside each of us there is a longing that cannot be filled by anything but God; money can’t, power can’t, people can’t. Nothing created by God can satisfy, only God himself can.
The problems of the world are caused by the human propensity to seek to fill that void in themselves with the things of this world, which will never work. It is in that inability to be satisfied by what we have that drives us to seek more and more, nothing will ever even put a dent in that desire. There is only one answer to your longing, it is God.
If you find yourself beginning this new year longing to know more, be more, understand more, I encourage you to find a Bible and read the book of Matthew. It won’t take long and is easy to understand. Read it with an open mind, an open heart. I think you will find that it will speak to you in unexpected ways, and I will pray that the Holy Spirit moves, and you come to know who you are, how you are loved, and most especially the creator who sacrificed himself to bring you, and everyone, out of slavery to this world and closer to him.
If you remain unconvinced, I will ask you to consider one question. If you are right, and there is no God, and I am wrong. I have lived a full and complete life, truly happy with my decisions, loving my fellow man and working to spread love and peace in the world. When I die, that will be remembered of me. However, if I am right, and you are wrong, and there is indeed a God in heaven. You will not only have wasted your life chasing after things that will never make you happy, but you will also lose your eternity in the process.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” John 3:16-21
Let God surprise and bless you in this new year!
Please help me share the good news of Jesus and how He can change your life, and our world!
Like, share, comment, and add your email to receive blog posts, podcasts, and more!
come back and visit at ListenLearn.Live Ministries