I wish I had his skills to write like this. Had to share this. Please take time to read this. You will not be the same:)
Why?
by Zachary Seth Fletcher on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 4:29pm
Why?
I'm sure many of my non-Christian friends have noticed that lately Facebook—and probably the real world too, in our area at least—has become full of very open Christians. (Some might say infested with very open Christians.) But what’s the point? Why do we insist on posting our Bible verses, our “what do you believe about ___?” questions, our Psalm challenges, and our constant stream of notes? What’s with the obsession? That’s what I plan to address.
Very few faiths are as insistent on sharing what they believe as Christianity. Most religions are content to do their own thing and let others be. A lot of atheists and agnostics I’ve talked to say they like this approach better. So why are we different? Why do we persist long after we’ve been turned down or told to stop? Many non-Christians think it’s because we have something to gain from it. They think that we want everyone to be just like us, conforming to a strict set of rules and doing exactly what we do. “Change your style, your hobbies, and do what we say. Here’s your hymnal and your list of rules.” They think we want to prove everyone else wrong. I admit that for some Christians this may be true, but those Christians are missing the point. The Bible is full of figures who didn’t do what people wanted or expected them to. Besides, if we hated non-Christians so much, why would we be inviting them to join us? No, the reason we insist is, as cliché as this may sound, because we care. I’ll explain what I mean, but it’s going to require a bit of a backstory.
You see, we believe in an afterlife and very real rewards and punishments for what we do in this life. We believe in Heaven and Hell. Yes, even some of the most die-hard Christians struggle with the concept of a place of eternal punishment and don’t like to bring it up, but we still believe it’s there. (It’s a hard pill to swallow, but that’s not really the purpose of this particular note. If you want details on this topic just ask me and I’ll be glad to go more in depth.) However, the alternative is a place of everlasting happiness and joy, where “There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain.”* (Forget the stuff about sitting on a cloud playing a harp. That’s not how the Bible describes Heaven.)
So how do we get to Heaven, and on the flip-side, how do we avoid Hell? That’s where the difference between Christianity and other beliefs comes in. A lot of religions do believe in some sort of Heaven, but they usually agree that we can get there simply by being good enough. The problem is, we’re not good enough. We try to be, but we always fail. Everyone makes mistakes, so where is the line drawn? Is a liar better than a thief? Is someone who insults you better than someone who flatters you for their own gain? If being “good enough” is being perfect, we all fail. If it’s anything less, then it’s not deserving of the perfect reward.
Other beliefs say that we all get to Heaven in our own way, and that all paths are equal. They say that what’s true for you is true for you, and what’s true for me is true for me.** But how does that make sense? I believe there’s only one God. A Hindu believes there are millions of gods. That means that either one of us is wrong (which would disprove this whole concept) or that we’re both wrong (which would also disprove it).
So what other option is there? Well, we Christians believe that people were originally created to live in harmony with God, but that our own bad decisions and mistakes separated us from him. Everyone does bad things, and, in our belief, those bad things keep us from God and from a reward in Heaven. How could imperfection coexist with perfection? It would be like an ink spill on a clean sheet of paper. The whole thing would be ruined. No amount of good can undo the wrong, just like no amount of White-Out will clean the ink off the paper—it’ll just cover it. So what do we do? Just accept our punishment? Luckily, no. We also believe that God sent a part of himself, his Son, to live a human life and die a human death as the ultimate, and perfect, payment for our mistakes. The Son rose from the dead after three days, and that is the foundation of Christianity. (The Bible says “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”***) All we have to do to be forgiven forever is accept the gift of forgiveness he offers. No work, just faith. However, Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”**** In other words, there is no other way to Heaven. (See John Robinson’s “Ya Can’t Keep A Good Man Down” notes if you want some factual evidence of all this being true. There are links below. I can also suggest some books on the subject.)
And that, my friends, is why we Christians are so persistent. It would be easier for us to just sit back and enjoy our lives, but then we’d be selfishly keeping you from what we believe is the most important thing you could ever know. Even if you don’t agree with our beliefs, wouldn’t you be angry if we did believe all this but didn’t bother to tell you? Well-known atheist Penn Gillette has asked “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?” (I’ve posted a video link at the bottom if you want to see the whole discussion for yourself.) Think of it this way: If you knew the cure to cancer you’d want to tell people, and this is the same on an even bigger level.
I think a lot of non-Christians are under the impression that we wake up in the morning just itching to preach to nonbelievers, but in reality most of us have a hard time even working up the courage to share. Often we’re mocked or ignored. Sometimes we lose friends because of it. In some countries Christians are killed for what they believe. There are no material benefits for us, and we don’t do it because we love telling others they’re wrong. No, the reason we’re so obsessed is because we really, truly believe that the stakes are high and we want to protect everyone we can. The person we’re looking to benefit is you.
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Footnotes:
*Revelation 21:4
**Check out the Lecrae song "Truth" for a better explanation of this concept. (Link below.)
***1 Corinthians 15:14
****John 14:6
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Links:
“Truth” by Lecrae:
John’s notes on the facts behind the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus:
Atheist Penn Gillette (of Penn & Teller) talking about why Christians should share their beliefs:
1 comment:
Wow, well said!
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