You are right to reject a religion thats a list of dos and donts,
or a gathering of dour-faced, self-righteous Bible thumpers. Jesus
would reject it too. Anything Jesus is involved in is vibrant,
liberating, compassionate, powerful and supernatural.
People dismiss Christianity on the basis of an outsiders glance,
like a little boy certain he will always hate being kissed. Knowing
Jesus is more wonderful than the uninitiated could dream.
All yearning is a yearning for Jesus, discovered someone enjoying the ultimate adventure. The love, excitement, challenge, fulfillment and understanding we crave are found in the One who made us.
Jesus likened the Christian spiritual experience to buried treasure. Millions walk past it, never suspecting the wonders that lie below the surface. Anyone who makes the discovery, however, would eagerly trade for it everything they had previously treasured, like trading trinkets for truckloads of diamonds.
To attempt description of the benefits of spiritual union with Jesus sounds as hollow and self-centered as listing receiving a gold ring as a benefit of marrying the most wonderful person. Its like dissecting the most exquisite, priceless flower and offering the individual parts to the highest bidder. Moreover, it sounds like hype just too good to be believable. This is to be expected. We were made to enjoy the God who made us, so it is hardly surprising that a relationship with him will fulfill our deepest longing. Nevertheless, it still sounds too good to be true.
Heres a few of the consequences of being united to the One we were made for:
The excitement of
living life on the edge, as God takes you beyond what you are
humanly capable of.
Divine power to love
the unlovable, to break destructive habits, to resist peer pressure
and to control such weaknesses as temper, greed, and selfishness.
Being on the winning
side the obvious consequence of having in your life the God
of infinite power and infinite wisdom.
The ultimate security
of knowing you are forever loved and that nothing not even death
- can rob you of its endless joys.
The knowledge that you
are of the greatest importance to the most important Person in
the universe.
Having as your best
friend the Person who not only sympathizes but knows your every
weakness and triumph, your every thought, your every experience
since the moment of your conception, your darkest secret, your
fondest dream, and is committed to you with unswerving devotion.
A life that is highly
demanding and challenging, with the greatest power in existence
willing you and empowering you to achieve.
A brand new start in
life.
The thrill of knowing
you can now achieve things of eternal significance.
Involvement in the
greatest conceivable good. Reaching your highest potential. Finding
and fulfilling your reason for being born. Living life to the
full.
Entry into the spiritual
dimension. Supernatural dreams, visions, miracles, angelic visitations
and other amazing spiritual experiences are possibilities.
Being at peace with
God. No longer running from reality.
The lifelong opportunity
to love and thank the Giver of every good and beautiful thing
everyone has ever enjoyed.
The freedom to look
in the mirror and know that no matter what your past, you are
now pure in the eyes of the holy God.
Knowing that God is
working within you and in your circumstances to make you more
and more like Jesus.
Answers to prayer.
Joy and peace and fulfillment,
each of which are so far beyond what anything else offers that
it defies description.
Deliverance from
the endless torment of hell.
Not even all Gods
incomparable gifts, however, reach the ecstasy of enjoying and
knowing intimately the most exciting Person in the universe. He
is so special that falling in love with God is the inevitable
consequence of truly knowing him.
8. Science has crippled Christianity
9. Pleasant near-death experiences of non-Christians disprove Christianity
10. A God of love wouldnt send me to hell
11. I dont need God
