What Have I Lost?

What have I lost?

I believe in a deity; a higher power: God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons. Why, you ask? Well I can't believe that all we are is merely an accident. That in one moment in the past something blew up and started the whole life cycle. Or that there was a combination of explosion and Creation. Even in a combination there is still Creation and the existence of God. What have I lost by believing in a God that came to earth in the body of a man, died on a cross for our sins, and rose from the dead to sit at the right hand of God?

Think, just for a moment, about someone that teaches us to love, have compassion, and forgive others. That teaches me to treat everyone equally and with love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Galatians 5:14 "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’"

What have I lost? I have lost nothing by treating others in this way. In fact, I believe I am a better person to my family, friends, and people I may just meet once. Think of the ripples in a pond when a stone is thrown into the water. What are your ripples like? Are they destructive, full of hate, envy, rudeness? Or are they constructive, full of love and patience? Even if you believe there is no afterlife and live by these few words you are a better son/daughter, father/mother, husband/wife, friend, person and even a better stranger.

Again, what have I lost by believing in God? Believing in God means I believe in heaven; the existence of heaven means there is a hell. There are rewards and consequences for what we believe. The reward for believing is everlasting life, the consequence for not believing is eternal separation from God. Jesus indicates that the punishment itself is everlasting. But because of God's love, no one need be separated from him. We all make choices. Those choices lead us either down the path toward reconciliation with the God of creation or down the path away from God. And because I've chosen to follow a God who loves, I have decided to live my life in a way that reflects that.

If I am wrong, what have I lost by believing? If you are wrong, what have you lost by not believing?

Romans 10:9 "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Thank you Stephanie (My Daughter) for your input and help.

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Faithful Scuff
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