T.M.I.

Last night I was reading a young man's blog which dealt with the issue of God's existence. He told us that an acquaintance, a self-professed atheist, had asked the blogger to prove the existence of God. This blog resulted in many comments from the thoughtful readers who desired to help this young man answer the atheist's question. Many of the answers were deep in theology, referring to scripture and doctrine. Before I realized it I had spent too many hours chasing the references quoted. I surfed the net and found hundreds of articles on the Doctrine of Asiety, on Calvinism, the reformation, Doctrines of Salvation and papers on Arminianism. I breezed through websites that dealt with the existence of God and others that convincingly would lead one to rationalize the "Big Bang Theory". As I entered key words into various search engines hundreds of other blogs were suggested dealing with the same subject matter. As the time passed without notice I suddenly became overwhelmed with the amount of information that is at our finger tips in this age of technology. The accuracy of the information is for the seeker to determine, but undoubtedly the amount available is endless. As my wonderful 13 year old daughter (soon to be 21) would say, "T.M.I."
Too much information!
The proof of God is told in the greatest story ever written. This great story, with many wonderful stories within verses beautifully written can be summed up without an overload of information. Information that can only be understood by those much more intelligent than I, who consume biblical doctrine as if it were a bottomless bag of popcorn. Simply;
First there was God.
He created man to love and to be loved by.
Man sinned.
God's grace was revealed in his patience.
Man sinned again and again...
God became man.
Jesus taught us to "believe"
On the cross Christ said "It is finished" Paid in full!
Jesus died for you and for me.
Faith.
Faith is why I believe in the existence of God.
Years ago when I was still seeking out my own belief system I wrote a poem called "God?"
I can't remember the words, too many years have since passed, but I recall that it began with the words, "In the beginning there was God"
The poem went on to tell of man's fall, then man's narcissistic belief that man created God in our own image. That one day man decided we didn't need God at all. The final line of the poem..."And God cried."
Maybe I will find the poem and share it here. Today my files are all on a computer, that poem was written in long hand on notebook paper, and is secreted away in boxes long ago sealed.
I am thankful that my journey lead that young poet to a belief system that recognizes truth through faith.

The Delete Key

Admittedly I use the "delete" key when writing more than I would like to admit. I will usually walk away from the newly generated text for a period of time, only to return and decide I do not like the way it reads...delete. All the previous hard work and conceived thoughtful passages gone with just a stroke of a key.
I began to wonder what our lives would be like if we would simply "delete" the mistakes we have made. What if the recovering addict could wipe out all evidence of their life prior to recovery. Suppose all evidence of extra-marital affairs, gambling debts, drug abuse or alcohol abuse would simply cease to exist with the tap of a life size "Delete" key. The addict could then truly start with a clean slate.
The problem of course would occur when, without the evidence of past mistakes, we would be bound to repeat these same mistake, to relapse. Your prior life of addiction is part of the make up of who your are now. We certainly long to forget the behavior, to forget the pain we caused ourselves and others. We wish that we had never made the decisions that lead to a life of addiction. But all of this, the pain, the regret and even the losses make you who you are today...a recovering addict.
Your recovery was only possible through Christ. You may know Him, or if not you have heard his name, Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote;
"Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. Your were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;to be made new in the attitudes of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Eph. 4:21-24
We cannot "delete" our former way of life, nor should we forget. But we can know that we now have a "new self", one created to be like God, created by the Creator.
If you still struggle with addictions, it is time to stop. I checked the calendar and the clock, they both say "Now is the time!"
Accept Christ's invitation. Begin a walk today that will be free of drugs, alcohol, pornography or gambling. His death and resurrection is the only "delete" key you will ever need.