I said earlier; "There is a difference between being Tested by God & being Punished by God. Can you tell the difference between the two?" Well, as most Christians know by now, if you walk with Jesus you will be crucified like Jesus. The gift of salvation might be free, but it will cost you your life. That's the call a disciple gets daily. To live for Christ, you must die to yourself. You can no longer be a slave to sin, instead you have to be a slave to righteousness.
With that being said, I'd like to reflect upon the opposite side of things... the LOST. You can call them what you want; non-believers, heathens, atheists, agnostics, hedonists, self-righteous, etc. Either way, Christ-followers have a calling to reach-out to the lost. We are in the world but not of it. Therefore, we can be in it, we just can be of it. Make sense?
Moving on...
We often ask why the Sinners are so blessed in the flesh. Well, that can be a long discussion. But I will explain how I feel on the topic.
First off, God has given all of us Free Will to do as we please. This means he lovingly allows us to sin, disobey, and disappoint him as a parent would a child. Sad! People live their whole life meeting the standards of the world. Shame! So, by pursuing the American Dream, to achieve fame and riches, we achieve as much as our heart desires. Why would God allow us to become so distant from him?
Does a parent keep you from accomplishing your goals in life? From College to Career to Family. As we journey to college we leave the nest. Do we celebrate our freedom from our parents? How often does the average student call their mother or father? As they succeed, they obtain a career. This means full time work, including countless hours. If all you do is work, when do you have time for family, friends, fun? Its a crazy endless and relentless cycle.
After you become an individual, you meet someone else that is self-efficient, and you create a family. The entire cycle recycles and repeats its cycle. Is that the purpose of life? Of course all of our lives take different paths. But look at the people that succeed and make a name for themselves. They not only get the fame and attention each human desires deep down inside, but they often get hand-outs left and right.
Where is the joy in having everything handed to you? You no longer earn a thing. Now, that is the blessed life, right? Ask anyone that has been 'blessed' with success, fame, and riches... and they will tell you how lonely and unfulfilled they are. They can buy anything they want. But can they buy friendship, or a true relationship? Probably not. They can buy FAKE friends. People that will use them and leave them. WOW. I wonder if they realize that is how God feels more than often.
No to be in a place where they feel like God, that is a divine blessing. If only we weren't blinded by the illusion of this world. It's straight Matrix status. Blue pill, red pill. The world will consider you crazy to leave this endless dream, and go further down the rabbit hole to chase what? Something not of this world. No, not a religion, it is a relationship.
Who feels empty? Do you have a lot of stuff? Nothing keeps your attention. Nothing keeps you happy. Where do you find your delight? Is less truly more? Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Perhaps you have to experience both extremes - Everything + Nothing to truly appreciate that concept.
If a person is to experience one of those two extremes (or both) I pray they can feel God's presence. God gets glory. We will all bow to down to Christ the King. All praise is due. Once we stop worshiping false idols, fake gods and creation, we can finally pay attention to our Creator & worship only HIM. Because it's all or nothing. Don't be lukewarm and serve two masters, otherwise you will be chewed up and spit out, then devoured by the fiery pits of hell.
Now that's intelligent design!
