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For some, the Bible, with its many pages and hard to pronounce names seems just too daunting to read. While I would still encourage you to find a modern translation that is more readable so that you can explore all that it contains, I will condense the message of the Bible for you.
The Bible is basically a tale of four F’s: fellowship, free will, falling, and forgiveness. Fellowship was God’s plan when he created us. He built all the universe so that he could place planet Earth in it with all the cosmic forces perfectly aligned to sustain life. And on Earth he created a beautiful garden called Eden. He then created a man named Adam and placed him in this Garden. God would visit the garden to meet with Adam. This was God’s plan and purpose for creation – to have fellowship with man. And it would have stayed that way if not for a choice man made to separate himself from God. Eve was created because Adam desired fellowship with another human. God understood this need and created a being that was similar yet different than man. God created them both with free will. Free will is the answer to the question that trips up so many people who cannot reconcile human suffering with a loving God. Every misfortune that befalls us is a result of free will – either by our own choice or by the chain reaction of choices freely made by others. Even something like cancer is the result of free will – choosing to smoke, choosing to work or live in a place that exposes us to carcinogens, or a certain combination of ancestors that procreate and end up passing down a genetic predisposition to the disease. For free will to have any meaning, God created a test for Adam and Eve. He placed a tree in the center of the garden, but forbade them from eating its fruit. It was called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. There is a misconception that it was a Tree of Knowledge – as in things you would learn in school somewhere. That line of thought makes God seem like someone who was attempting to keep humans as ignorant servants. The distinction of Knowledge of Good and Evil is an important one. It is the knowledge of right and wrong. Up until then, Adam and Eve knew only what was right. They lived according to God’s plan and because of this they knew no pain or suffering. But the moment they ate the fruit from the forbidden tree they were exposed to what evil was. It is like when the IT guy at your company warns you not to open any e-mail attachments from a source you don’t trust. The minute you open it up, your computer and the entire network is exposed to a malicious computer virus that will corrupt every system it comes in contact with. The moment Adam and Eve knew what evil was they were corrupted by it. They felt shame for being naked. They began to make excuses for their bad behavior. Adam said Eve made him do it. Eve said the serpent made her do it. But the worst thing they did was hide from God. They were nowhere to be found when God took his usual walk in the garden. The fellowship had been broken. It was the first falling away from God. That is what evil does. It separates us from God. Not because God turns from us, but because we turn from God. We either run away in pursuit of evil desires or we hide from him out of shame for the evil we’ve done. Not to oversimplify the rest of the Bible, but it basically boils down to God’s quest to redeem humans. When evil had grown so rampant that only one family on Earth still had fellowship with God, he sent a flood to wipe the Earth clean. It was the second falling away. But he saved Noah and his family and restarted his plan for fellowship with them. When the nations of the world grew so evil and defiant that they decided to build the Tower of Babel to defy God and challenge his power, he confused their languages and scattered them. It was the third falling away. He then chose Abram, who he renamed Abraham to make him the father of a nation that would form the basis for his renewed attempt at fellowship. The cycle continues in the Old Testament. There are stories of evil kings and good kings – falling away and returning to God. But all the while God was working on his plan of ultimate forgiveness and reconciliation. He sent his son Jesus to come into this world in human form. Jesus faced every trial we face and he succeeded where we fail. Because of his righteousness he was able to offer his life as payment to redeem all of ours. For you see, true free will requires justice and consequences. God needed a way to save us from ourselves while at the same time maintaining the integrity of justice. The sacrifice of Jesus achieved that. One perfectly lived life in exchange for all of the flawed ones.
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The Gift
A young man had a dream of going to Hawaii. His father was a wealthy man and offered to pay for the trip for his son. But his son was too proud to take money from his father. Instead he set off to earn the money on his own. But the trip was expensive and the only jobs the young man could find didn’t pay much. Worse still, the work was hard and he had to put in long hours. He soon began to feel like it would take him forever to earn enough money for his trip. Then one day a friend told him about an easier way to make a lot of money quickly. The only problem was, it was against the law. But the young man was eager to take his trip, so he took his friend’s offer and started selling drugs. He was soon making a lot of money and before long he almost had enough for his trip. But then he got caught and was arrested. His father came to the police station. He had a great lawyer and knew the judge. He told his son that he could get the charges dismissed. He even renewed his offer to pay for his son’s trip to Hawaii so that he could get a fresh start. But the son was still too proud to take his father’s money. He refused the offer. And so he ended up sitting in a jail cell when he could have been lying on a beach. Have you been too proud to take God’s help? Have you thought that you can make it through this world on your own? Are you so stubborn that you would rather sit in a prison of loneliness or despair than reach out for the gifts that God offers? We have already established that God gives a clean slate to all who seek it. The only thing that stands in the way is refusing to take him up on the offer. Don’t miss out on a trip to an eternal paradise because you refused to turn back to God. The life of Jesus as detailed in the Gospels of the New Testament reveals how God feels about sinners. First and foremost, God sent his son Jesus to live a mortal life and die on a cross to save us from our sins. Jesus took on the punishment for everything every one of us has ever done wrong and paid the price with his life. He didn’t die just to save little old ladies who might have told a lie once in their life. He died to save the worst among us. No matter how evil and despicable your sin might be, Jesus has paid to save you from it. All you have to do is acknowledge it.
A closer look at the life of Jesus reveals the compassion he had for those who fell short of God’s expectations. Jesus spent much of his time with the undesirables of Jewish culture, so much so that the religious leaders of his day questioned his associations. In one famous story he comes to the rescue of an adulteress just as she is about to be stoned to death. It is where the famous “let he who is without sin cast the first stone” line comes from. No one dared throw a stone because they all knew that they too had their own sins of which they were guilty. Sadly it is a lesson many Christians forget when they cast their judgement on others. In another episode, Jesus met a Samaritan woman by a well. In that day, Jews would not think to speak with Samaritans. They were remnants of the northern kingdom of Israel that had split away and fallen into wickedness under a succession of evil kings. To put it into perspective, the infamous Jezebel was queen of Samaria. As Jesus spoke to the woman he revealed to her that he knew she had had many husbands, a fact that would brand her a sinner worthy of death in the eyes of the Jewish religious class. But rather than chastise her on the point, he instead revealed to her that he was the Son of God and that through him she and all others could have eternal life. She left the encounter not feeling shamed for her past, but instead filled with joy over her future and was eager to share the news with everyone. Jesus healed the servant of a Roman centurion, a man who served an empire centered on the worship of pagan gods and the deification of Caesar. He did it because the man believed in the power of Jesus. On the cross Jesus was hung between two criminals. One was a thief who asked if Jesus would give him eternal life. Jesus said yes, no questions asked and with no judgement regarding the crimes that had led the thief to that point. On the other side was a criminal who mocked Jesus and refused to believe. All three men died horrible deaths, but one went on to an eternity that was even worse, all because he wouldn’t accept Jesus. Even as his death was nearing and the pain was reaching unbearable heights, Jesus was heard asking God to forgive his tormentors. If Jesus could forgive the people who tortured him and crucified him do you really think that there is anything that you have done that is beyond his capacity to forgive? As we watch politicians race to position themselves as the most “Pro-Choice” individuals in the country, we are seeing a hardening of hearts that Jesus said would take place in the Last Days. There was a time in human history when tearing an unborn child from a woman’s womb was a horrific act carried out by only the most savage of barbarians as they engaged in conquest - an action designed to instill terror and make sure no heirs would rise up to exact revenge.
Later, as nations grew more “civilized” abortion became an unspoken means of bringing an end to an inconvenient situation. Typically it was the consequence of an illicit act carried out by a member of the upper class whose reputation would be ruined or at the very least severely damaged by having an illegitimate child brought into the world. In the early twentieth century the eugenics movement, with its desire to purify the human race by weeding out undesirables like the mentality or physically disabled or people from certain races or social classes, combined with the ruling class’s desire to make the means by which they could address certain inconveniences in a safer manner, began to bring abortion out of the back alleys and in to the field of legitimate medical practice. However Nazi Germany’s horrific embrace of eugenics undermined this effort and abortion lost its momentum for social acceptance for a time. Then came the 1960’s and the Free Love movement. Suddenly parents in the burgeoning middle class found themselves with certain inconveniences they wished to remedy. There were daughters and sons with college educations to complete and careers to pursue that could all come undone with an untimely pregnancy. And as more and more women entered the workforce and dreamed of careers, the prospect of being trapped into settling down prematurely into a life of homemaking left many seeking out ways to ward off (or end) certain biological realities that could seal their fate. The ultimate solution to this problem emerged via Roe vs. Wade and the right for women to choose their futures (and those of their unborn children). The fact that the landmark Supreme Court decision was not immediately followed by a successful amendment to the Constitution to undo it spoke to where the morality of the country had settled by the 1970’s. Yes abortion was distasteful, but it was an option far too many wanted available, just in case the unthinkable became necessary. What evolved from this was the formation of three camps. The first was the Pro-Life camp that believed life begins at conception and abortion is the taking of a life. The second group was comprised largely of those who personally objected to abortion, but felt a woman should have the right to make that decision for herself, provided she made it within the first trimester, when there was still some ambiguity in their minds as to whether the fetus could be classified as a human being. Also in this group were people who did not necessarily object to the act of abortion, but understood the misgivings some people could have regarding it and respected certain limitations to the practice. From this group evolved the catch phrase “Safe, legal and rare” and this philosophy held sway for decades. The third group was comprised of hard-core feminists and their male sympathizers who believed that there was nothing at all wrong with abortion and that any attempt to limit it was an attempt to limit the freedom of women. This group has completely taken over the Democrat party to the point where it has now been purged of any true Pro Life members at its highest levels. This group is driving the Party’s current dark push from “Safe, legal, and rare” to talk of infanticide. But where does the general public stand on this? A couple of years’ ago videos were released showing how Planned Parenthood harvests and sells the body parts of aborted children. The videos were chilling, but even more disturbing was the nation’s lukewarm response. There was predictable outrage from the Pro Life movement. But there was no national unified outcry of condemnation of Planned Parenthood. The country instead collectively looked the other way. Planned Parenthood continues to go about their business and is even celebrated in some circles. A case of the hardening of hearts. Last month brought us the New York law allowing abortion right up to the moment of birth and the lighting up of buildings in pink to celebrate it. Then came an attempt in Virginia (a supposedly “purple” swing state) to allow children to be killed after birth in some cases if the mother and doctor agree. The governor was heard on a radio program very calmly and matter of factly explaining the process. More hardening of hearts. So where does that leave us? I believe the next logical step for Pro Abortion politicians is to end the care for premature children. This would begin by denying any government reimbursement for such care through Medicaid or other government health insurance programs. This would give a wink and a nod for insurance companies to follow suit. Should the Democrats successfully implement a single-payer, government controlled system, this step would become complete. Why would they do this? They need to strengthen the myth that a child in the womb is merely a part of the woman and not a distinct human being. Premature children are living evidence of the true horror of their late-term abortion policies. Why do you think they seek to shoot down laws requiring pregnant women to view ultrasound images? The images humanize what is hidden in the womb. If left unseen, the woman and society at large can at least try to fool themselves into thinking that we are only talking about a non-descript group of cells. But when you see a head and little hands and feet, it is hard not to call that image a baby. Of course in the aftermath of the Planned Parenthood body part harvesting videos, one may start to wonder if we are growing so cold that soon ultrasounds will no longer move people. A second step would be to silence the voices of opposition to abortion. We already see a situation where social media tech companies are transforming more and more into gatekeepers of information instead of arenas for debate. From algorithm changes that effect the news that shows up in our Facebook feeds to Microsoft’s new search engine system that identifies “trusted” news sources and labels others as untrustworthy, we are seeing social media platforms that have become essential for modern communication show increasing hostility to points of view that do not fall in line with a Progressive agenda. Another step would be to return us to some form of the eugenics movement that Progressive heroes like Margaret Sanger embraced. It would be to force women to abort any child that shows indications of abnormality during a prenatal screening. By compelling all women to do this, they remove the stigma attached to those who would currently make this decision. There would be of course a massive propaganda effort to make the decision to abort in these instances the most compassionate thing to do and brand those who resist as selfish. This would admittedly fly in the face of their claim to be “Pro-Choice”, but I think we have long since passed the point where “Pro-Choice” means anything other than “Pro-Abortion”. It would be a diabolical ultimate victory for the Pro Abortion movement to actually be able to compel Pro Life women to have abortions. If you don’t think that can happen, ask yourself if you ever thought you would see the day when New York would celebrate killing children moments before birth or a governor of Virginia would make a case for infanticide. I honestly do not think we are very far from these next steps taking place. I think a Democrat enacted single payer government health care system would all but guarantee their eventual occurrence. That is why it is so important to take a stand now, before hearts get any harder and we as a society move to even darker places. Too many people who have moral oppositions to abortion have allowed the terms “rape and incest” to blunt their opposition and have allowed inroads for the practice of abortion to gain legitimacy and expand to its now horrific state. The focus needs to be on defining when a human being is a human being. The answer to that question is that a human being is a human being when a unique human DNA code is created. This happens at the moment of conception. Anything that happens after that to destroy the embryo/fetus is the taking of a human life, plain and simple. Some may want to argue that life begins when a soul enters the body. I personally believe that this happens at conception, but we may never learn for certain when that exact moment occurs. In the absence of that knowledge, we must identify the earliest moment when the soul could enter the body and set that as the moment of life. To do anything else is the height of irresponsibility, for what we do know is that at the moment of conception you have the same DNA code that you will have the moment you leave the womb and the moment you enter the grave. To cling to some murky notion as to when a soul could enter a body in order to justify abortion reveals that one is more interested in maintaining the conveniences offered by abortion than safeguarding human life. We must stand for life above all else. We must stand for life before we stand for rape and incest victims. We must stand for life before we stand for women’s rights. If we do not stand for life nothing else matters. For if we do not stand for life, then we are saying that death is permissible in certain circumstances and those circumstances could change as the values of society change. The day may come when it is not only the unborn who may die in the name of “choice”. We all Fall Short
It might surprise you to learn how many heroes from the Bible failed God miserably at one point or another during their lives. Here is a brief rundown of key figures: Moses Moses murdered a task master who had been abusing one of the Jewish slaves in Egypt. This act cost him his standing in Pharaoh’s house where he had been raised as a son. He fled into the wilderness as a fugitive. That is where God came to him and chose him to be one of the greatest figures in history. Backed by the power of God, he went toe-to-toe with Pharaoh and led the Jewish slaves out of Egypt. He was allowed to see God on Mount Sinai and was tasked with bringing God’s law to the people. Not a bad destiny for a former murderer. David King David is among the men whom God loved the most. As a mere shepherd boy, his faith allowed him to defeat the mighty giant Goliath and become king of Israel. But despite all the faith and love that David had for God, his lust got the better of him. When he saw Bathsheba bathing on the roof of her home, he conspired to lie with her. The problem was, Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah, one of his best warriors. But that didn’t matter to David. He slept with her anyway and she became pregnant. This posed a problem because Uriah was away at war and her pregnancy would make it obvious that she had been with another man. So David called Uriah back from the battle, expecting Uriah to be with his wife upon his return. But Uriah refused to sleep at home with his wife while his fellow soldiers were at war. This caused David to panic. He sent Uriah back to the battle and asked him to carry with him a message. The message was Uriah’s own death sentence, for David instructed the general to send Uriah out into the front of the battle and to make sure he didn’t come back. Uriah was killed fighting for his king and David bore the shame of sending a good man to his death to cover up his own sin. David’s family life was filled with hardships after this and the child conceived in sin died. But God did not abandon David. Instead he promised that Messiah would come from the line of David and that his son would become a great ruler. That son was Solomon, the second child of David and Bathsheba and one of the most famous kings in history. And when Jesus the Messiah was born, he entered this world as a descendant of King David. Peter Peter was a trusted disciple of Jesus. He professed that he believed that Jesus was the Christ – the Son of God. And yet when confronted after Jesus had been arrested, Peter denied knowing Jesus, not once, but three times. Like all the other disciples except for John, Peter was in hiding during Jesus’s last hours on the cross. But when Jesus rose from the dead, he came back to meet with all of his disciples. He did not berate them for having turned away from him in his darkest hour. Instead he entrusted them with the great task of spreading his word. And he made Peter the rock upon which he built his church. Indeed the name of the world’s most famous Christian church bears the name of the man who once denied knowing Christ. Paul Born under the name Saul, Paul was a leader in the effort to wipe out the early followers of Christ. He stood by and held the coats for the men who stoned the famous Christian martyr Stephen to death. But Jesus chose Paul to take his gospel to the Gentile nations. He appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus and changed his name to Paul. From that point forward Paul became a fierce advocate for Christ and the most prolific contributor to the New Testament. The lesson of these four examples is that we are all flawed and that God does not wash his hands of us when we sin. He made a former murderer the leader of his chosen people and trusted him to give them his laws. He made an adulterer and murderer the greatest king of Israel and chose him to be the line through which the savior of the human race would be born. He took a man who denied knowing Christ three times and made him the head of the Christian Church. He choose a man who hunted down the followers of Christ to spread the word of Christ to the ends of the known world. You can still be a servant of God despite anything you have done in your past. You can still achieve great things. There is no limit to how God might use you if you turn back to him. |
Joseph Blaikieis a Christian writer whose books include "Why You Don't Believe in God and Why You Should" and "You are Never Too Far Gone for God". To learn more about Joseph Blaikie visit: Amazon.com: Joseph J. Blaikie: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle 
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