Before You Begin Your Search for Faith

If you are sincerely seeking God and are troubled by the Christian claim that Christ is the only way to reach Him, I beg you to consider this picture for a moment, then read the rest of this post.  Please, it is very important.  You must understand this post before you can understand why there is only one way to God:

This picture is a perfect example of both Spiritual and secular propaganda.  There is Truth in the message it communicates, but there is also a great deal of deception and lies.  Whether you see the Truth from the lies depends on the Spiritual condition of your heart.  That’s why I beg you to read the rest of this post, but first, I need to plead for your understanding.

I don’t know the words to express how deeply and how sincerely I want you to understand these lies.  For me, it is the key that could unlock the door to you finding God — the One, True, Living God. It’s just that I am not politically correct, and the only way I know how to deal with things is head-on.  Worse, I am prone to writing in a manner that can easily be misunderstood, and the last thing I want to do is offend you.  Still, I have to try, so I beg you, please, if I word things poorly, give me the benefit of the doubt.  As for my part, I will do my best to explain these lies as I understand them, then leave the rest to the Holy Spirit.  I trust Him to use me, and that — somehow — He will be able to use my stumbling to help you understand.  Now, back to the picture…

We live in a culture that is hostile toward anyone who makes the claim that anything is or even can be morally superior.  In the secular world, you see it when people try to claim that the United States is an exceptional nation.  If you try it, there is a good chance that someone will confront you with the argument that Americans are no better than anyone else, therefore, America is no better than other nations.  On the Spiritual side, if I claim that Christianity is superior to other religions, I am fairly confident that someone would raise a similar objection.  Only, I suspect they will be more forceful in objecting to me than they will be to you.

This is what our culture teaches us, and this is the message that most people will get from this picture: that no one is any better than anyone else.  The problem is, this is both true and false at the same time.  Spiritually, this is true, but in the secular world, it is a lie! 

Scripture teaches us that we are all made in God’s image, and that He loves each of us.  In this sense, the message in the picture is true: we are all equal in the eyes of God (This point is crucially important to understanding agape love, and why we should avoid judging others, but these are subjects for future posts).  Even in the secular world, there is some truth in this picture.  There is no moral difference between blacks or whites, men or women, etc.  However, it is a lie to say there is no moral difference between Atheists and people of faith, or homosexuality and heterosexuality.  But this is where the slippery slope is, and the reason that the lies in this picture are so effective.

Your sex and the color of your skin have no bearing on morality because they are ‘accidents of birth.’  Morality has nothing to do with physical attributes;  morality deals with free will.  It has nothing to do with your body; it has everything to do with what you do with your body.  It is about beliefs and behaviors: what you think, say and do. The Truth is, some things are morally superior to others.

Now, I just made a claim of moral superiority, and any claim of moral superiority offends our culture’s sense of right and wrong — especially where matters of religion and sexuality are concerned.  I may have even offended you, but I swear, that is not what I am trying to do.  I am trying to show you that there are some things that are morally superior to others.  Maybe some examples will help?  Ask yourself if the following are equal, or if one is morally superior to the other:

A belief in racial equality, or a belief in racial superiority (think Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. vs. Hitler here).

A religion that teaches free will, or one that teaches submission or death (think Islam vs. Christianity here).

A nation where people are equal under the law, or where people are made equal by the law (think U.S. vs. Communism here).

A system where people are allowed to keep what they earn, or where people are forced to work for others against there will (think Free Market vs. Socialism here).

Whether or not you see the moral choice here will depend largely upon your sense of right and wrong.  So, ask yourself a question: what is the source of morality?  Who — or what — determines right from wrong?  Now it’s time for some tough love.  Whatever your answer to that question is — who or what defines morality — that is your god. If you believe in a Creator, then you probably believe He is the source of morality.  However, if you believe man decides what is right and wrong, then you worship man.  Even people who believe there are no moral absolutes worship man because that is a moral construction of their own making (for a clearer explanation, I wrote a post about this subject: APOLOGETICS: Who or What do You Worship?).

For me, God is the author of what is right and wrong.  His commandments are the foundation of universal moral law.  I do not write them; I just try my best to obey them.  So, please understand, I’m not condemning anyone.  In fact, I am called to have and show an agape love for everyone.  I am also commanded not to judge or condemn anyone.  As I grow in my faith, I understand the wisdom in God’s laws.  Where once I rebelled, now I know and understand His ways are morally superior to mine.  And this brings us to the most important point of this post:

If some things are morally superior to others, then what does that mean to you when considering faith and the many different religions of the world?

I hope the answer to that question will help you in your search for faith in God.  If so, then all the credit and glory go to God and His Holy Spirit.  But, if my words have failed to reach you, then I alone am to blame and I beg your forgiveness.  I just pray that you will find Him, and that He will grant you the forgiveness and rest He has given me.

[PLEASE HELP ME: I do not try to push this blog page.  However, if you have found anything useful in what I have written, or you think it can help anyone you know, please consider telling them about The OYL.  You, or whoever you know who might find value in my words may be the one person I have been sent to find.  I pray you will help me reach them.  Also, if you want to share this or any of my posts, please feel free to do so.  Again, I no longer write to serve myself, but to serve and glorify the One who sends me.  Thank you, and God bless.]