7-23-18<\/p>\n
At one time during humanity’s long march, whose trudging we cannot escape, death was almost too horrible to face for most people.<\/p>\n
And Heaven was almost too wonderful to imagine.<\/p>\n
The proper view (inescapable after all) is that life and death are part of the same Great Adventure\u2026 and this has led the devil to make this life seem like the end of everything. Evil forces try to persuade us that there IS no tomorrow \u2013 and therefore no consequences of this life\u2019s choices; no eternal perspective; no judgment. No Heaven, no hell.<\/p>\n
And when Heaven was marketed \u2013 yes, sometime by churches themselves \u2013 as too wonderful to be reached without those churches and their rules and additions and conditions and games and systems of bribing God \u2013 uncountable substitutes were invented.<\/p>\n
Substitutes not only for Heaven, but for ways to become a citizen there, with God, for eternity.<\/p>\n
Therefore, ironically, the devil and the church-system both have often lied to us. And the contemporary world, too, lies even more. The secular realms, all around us, have piled on. Everyone wants a piece; the contemporary world needs to reinforce the lie that contemporary life contains and offers all we need for happiness.<\/p>\n
When humankind rushes to that message, it runs away from the Cross. <\/p>\n
Peace? Healing? Reconciliation? Love? Forgiveness? Broken homes? Heartache? Disappointment? Addictions? Betrayal? Insecurity? Rebellion? Lack of respect? Loss of self-esteem? Pride? Failure, fear of failure? Loneliness? Rejection? Abuse? Discrimination? Grief? <\/p>\n
Negative and positive; real or threatened; momentary or long-lasting\u2026 The secular, contemporary world tells us that these things, and more, and anything and everything, can be solved by dental work and face lifts; tummy tucks and yoga classes; diets and exercise; different clothes and newer cars; the right friends from malls and concerts; hotter obsessions in sports; cooler mastery of games; music, movies, TV series; political correctness; and, of course, drinks and drugs in general.<\/p>\n
The bitter, bitter truth is this: the world jumps like a trained dog, believing that these lies from the devil are true about the afterlife \u2013 but they obviously, clearly, self-evidently are lies about contemporary life too. Today. Now. Music of this dance of death that people choose.<\/p>\n
Who cares\u2026<\/p>\n
Who cares when your children split away from you? The music producers? Who cares when your marriage is on the rocks? Hollywood? Who cares when you feel horribly alone, maybe betrayed? Game designers? Who cares when you lose a job, suffer insecurity, are hit with loss of self-esteem? Brewers and distillers? Who cares when you need forgiveness? Celebrities and star athletes? Who cares when you endure abuse or discrimination? Superheroes?<\/p>\n
Ah. The pharmaceutical industry. How could we forget them? Oh, and the politicians. Plus all those government bureaucrats, of course\u2026 they care. They all care, right?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s called a rhetorical question. The devil does not care, except to hate your soul. The glitterati do not care, except to exploit you and your misery. Even \u2013 as hard as it is to state the truth \u2013 in many cases we cannot even trust friends and family to care, when all is said and done.<\/p>\n
But\u2026<\/p>\n
Jesus cares. We know He cares. When the days are weary, the long nights are dreary, our Savior cares. <\/p>\n
Put aside your \u201ctheological\u201d arguments, if you have any, resisting this love of the Savior. Evil hates us. Friends, even family, can be unreliable. The \u201cworld\u201d cannot care because its motives are rotten. What\u2019s left? Who cares? Jesus, lover of our souls.<\/p>\n
But\u2026 don\u2019t really put aside theological arguments! Think on these things. The very foundation of life, and the irreducible fact of our existence, is God\u2019s love. Brought to us by Jesus\u2019 care.<\/p>\n
Someone is reading this \u2013 or might read it in the future, thanks to the permanent presence of the internet! \u2013 who needs to know it, not only for a minor challenge along the road. Or a major crisis that looms. But to confront life, see life, and live life in a new way. <\/p>\n
To know, really know, that the Creator of the Universe cares. He cares. Who cares? No one, hardly, on earth\u2026 and surely no one in hell; nobody in hell cares about you like Jesus.<\/p>\n