The more I see and hear of the things (seen and unseen) happening in America and around the world; the more my heart aches. The more I see people hurting others or themselves (physically or emotionally); the more I realize we all need Jesus.
Why do things like riots, racism and violence happen in our world today? Why do we live in a broken world where people are hurt, angry and more? The answer is simple; Sin. What does that mean? We are all sinners at heart. Have you ever cheated? Have you ever stolen? Have you ever lied? What about this; have you ever murdered someone? Did you know that if you have ever hated someone you have murdered them in your heart? (1 John 3:14-15)
I know by all accounts I have been guilty of those things and more. Anyone who says they have not committed one or all of these things is proving they are lying.
Since we are all born sinners at heart we do the things according to our flesh (James 1:14-15). Our fleshly desire tells us we want things done our way. Our flesh blames others for the mistakes we make or they themselves make. Our flesh makes excuses. Our flesh makes us greedy. Our flesh tells us we can be god. Our flesh tells us we can do no wrong. Our flesh leads and guides us in the wrong direction. Our flesh deceives us. More things could even be said about the things about what our fleshly desires do.
See, we are all guilty of doing wrong things whether it be things such as lying, cheating, stealing, hating, abortion, racism, hurting others (physically or emotionally), so on and so on… (Romans 3:23, 5:12).
Sin is why we need Jesus. Here’s the good news; Jesus came to earth to pay for our penalty on the cross. He loved us so much He was willing to die for our mistakes so that we could have eternal life (John 3:16-17, Romans 5:8, 8:3-4).
Some people ask why God sends people to hell. The truth is not that He sends people to hell, but that they choose to go there. God gave us a freewill to choose how to live our lives. We have the freedom to accept Him or reject Him. Therefore, He is allowing us to live how we want to live. (More could be said here, but that’s for a different time). The point is that even within our freewill we ourselves make poor choices.
God gave us the Bible (His love letter to you). The Bible is there to lead us and guide us in the right direction (2 Tim. 3:16-17). God doesn’t turn His back on us. We turn our back on Him. You might say God doesn’t exist (this is a whole other topic). I can say from my own experience the Lord is the only one that has never failed me. My life changed in such a way that I cannot deny He exists. To show you how much I’ve changed since I began my relationship with Jesus I will tell you that I would probably be dead if not for Him.
I was in a dark place in my life where I was bullied in school. Certain situations in life put me in deep depression. I had suicidal thoughts. Even at a young age I practiced cutting myself and stabbing myself in the heart with a plastic knife. Having a relationship with Jesus kept me from ending my life. I realized that because I knew the Lord I had hope. I had challenges, but I could overcome them with His help.
I might have been into drugs, alcohol or have totally messed up my life if I didn’t have hope. I can say that in all the things I have ever wanted and done (my fleshly desires); Everything I have tried, wanted and have gotten (money, material things, friends, family, etc…) I have never been fully satisfied. All these things have made me happy temporarily, but in the end I was left unhappy, unsatisfied and more.
The only one who has ever satisfied me, made me happy and has never turned His back on me is the Lord. I challenge you to ask this question to yourself and think about it; Have material things, friendships, relationships or family ever kept me satisfied and happy? Be honest with yourself here.
I bet the answer is that nothing on earth has done that for you.