How do they do it? Those people that don't believe in God. Every day they wake up knowing that life has no purpose, that morality is on a whim, that there is no ultimate penalty and no ultimate reward. Circumstances occur randomly and without any point. Good things come and there is no one to thank. Bad things come and there is no place to glean hope. The world spins down crazier and crazier. "Sure, marriage can be between a man and a man. Sure, it never has been before. Sure, it violates the longstanding, traditional definition, but we don't need that anchor and we can do what we please." And marriage has no more meaning. "Sure, we understand biology. A male is a male and a female is a female ... unless, of course, they don't feel like it. Biology is unsure and science is unreliable and we absolutely must -- at the point of law, even -- subscribe to this new 'non-woman man' or 'non-man woman' as if it is real." And so on. Reality slides. Purpose is lost. Direction is pointless. Hope is a lie. How do they do it?
How do they do it? So many Christians I know. They recognize a "Sovereign God" but conclude, for some reason, that if His creation doesn't cooperate, He can't accomplish His will. They refer to Jesus as Lord, but believe that His hands are tied if His people don't have faith. They're quite sure that God never intends unpleasant circumstances and are, in fact, quite miffed if they occur. "Where was God?" They quote "My God shall supply all your needs" and worry about money, worry about having what they need. They are anxious about the next election, the next job, the next paycheck, the next friendship. They go to church looking for what they can get out of it and, if it doesn't measure up, they move on. They worry and suffer and find no hope. "If only God's people would do the right thing, then maybe God could act ..."
I know I have a different God than the first category. They have no God. That's easy. I don't know how they get through the chaos that is life without anything but the immediate. I know the second category claim the same God as I do, but why is theirs so pitifully weak and unreliable? Or is it me who is misguided in thinking that a Sovereign God is actually sovereign, that "My God shall supply all your needs" means I can rely on Him to supply all my needs? Am I the deluded one, and God is nothing like the one I read about in the pages of Scripture? I don't even know how they do that. I just don't get it.
3 comments:
When we look around and see ourselves to be vastly outnumbered, we can always be reminded that the way is narrow, and that God has a mere remnant.
“How do they do it?” You make a good point to open by contrasting those people who don’t believe in God and those that do.
The first group must create a “happy” life for themselves--and explain life’s “big questions”--by applying a mixture of worldly philosophy, self-help resources, and a set of personal strengths, skills, and coping mechanisms, to the best of their abilities. (They will, as you point out, need to constantly adjust their morals and standards as our society degenerates.) Nonbelievers might find a degree of contentment or even happiness without God in their lives, but then the afterlife will present a whole new ball game for which they did not prepare. For this group, the Holy Spirit is not at work, leading them to Truth (unless or until He calls them to hear and receive the Gospel), but for Christians--who presumably are experiencing the Holy Spirit’s presence in their lives--the issue must be their response--or lack of it--to His leading them to deeper knowledge of and trust in the true character of God. The truth is there for them to possess, but they must seek, find, receive, and then live it--every single moment of every single day. I think it is that simple--and that difficult. As you say, it is not God who is lacking--it is us.
Ultimately life without God is a nihilistic existence. If nothing transcends our life on earth, then who cares how anyone lives. "Live for today, tomorrow we may die." becomes reasonable. But I would suggest that they do have a god, and that god is self. That they trust in themselves to accomplish everything that is necessary, including being good enough just in case they're wrong about YHWH.
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