I was 20 yrs old in my Sr. year of Bible College. Dee and I had just finished ministry and had turned into bed. It had been a full day, 7 classes at College and then onto our time with the youth at Ft. Belvoir. The phone rang at 1 AM, I answered and heard the all to familiar echo that long-distance calls had back then. It was my dad…my mom was with the Lord. A reality called “Truth” had entered my life, it did not matter how I felt about it, it would not change for me, desiring it to be different would not change it…it was what it was…Truth!
Truth never claims to be anything but what it is! Political correctness won’t change it! Popularity won’t change it! False science, personal desires, villainization and even ignoring it won’t change it. It is what it is! The real question is, “Am I going to accept it and deal with it?”
We live in an age where it seems most of society creates their own Truth based on their preferences, and forget the facts! The strategy that is now in vogue is to attack and destroy the one that is stating the Truth. What has taken possession of so many souls in this world is the fear of Truth. That is why so many humans refuse to see a doctor when they sense something is wrong…by not hearing they have cancer, the cancer will go away! Sometime later they find out far too late to do anything about it, and the Truth of the disease takes them. Much like swimming with a shark and pretending it is a dolphin, what you want it to be will not stop it from eating you!
This is Paul’s point in this section of Scripture. The Gospel is not Paul’s Gospel, it is God’s Good News to this world. Humans can accept it or reject it, but that is it. Contrary to what many say on TV or in books, God did not offer a “consumer” gospel. Where individuals get to tweak it as they see fit. I respect individuals far more that deal with the Gospel as is, reject it, and see Jesus as a narrow egomaniac than those that adjust their Jesus to be the god of 31 flavors! If Jesus’ Gospel is Truth, then He is the only way to God and He is God in the flesh. If Jesus is not who he claimed to be then he is a despicable liar and I am a fool for following him! I can live with that reality because eternity is too important to play with or ignore. I understand the plan God revealed in the Scriptures and I really don’t care what some Hollywood elite thinks about it. It amazes me who we give authority to in our lives. I would hate to think someone believed something just because I did, yet it seems the powerful and famous thrive on that delusion. Do I desire people to hear the good news of God, YES! However, that is where I stop. It is their decision alone...because they alone will answer to the Creator for that decision…as will I. If Jesus was just a wanna-be god, I will be very ashamed when I stand to give an answer for my life before the Creator. However, I have weighed my decision, after thorough searching and studying, I find no better plan to offer fallen human beings eternal life.
The So What: What is your plan for yourself after your body dies? How much time and energy have you invested in searching for Truth? How important is that if 100 years is not the length of your existence? What if you exist forever? How long is 100 years compared to an eternity of years?
