Simply Human

Despite the differences in appearance, hair color…. eye color…. skin color…. male or female, we are all born the same. We are simply human.

Not a part of a group or tribe or color or anything else. Nothing that would distinguish us from any other human that has ever lived or will ever live. Anything that labels us was put there, by ourselves or someone else. The truest connection we all have is that we are all born lost. The only thing that really matters is will we remain lost.

We will all die.

After we are dead, we will all stand before God. Everyone. The place where we will stand will be flat and level. There will be no status or position or labels. We will all be the same.

We will all be asked one question. It will not be one of these;

What did you eat or what did you refrain from eating?

What did you touch or what did you avoid touching?

What did you do or what didn’t you do?

What group were you a part of?

The question that will be asked will be, “Did you believe Jesus?”

If the answer is yes, the reason it’s yes will not be because of anything done or not done during our life. Except for one thing. Did we believe Him and what He did?

There is a question that could be asked, but won’t be asked. “What evidence can be offered to prove your belief in Jesus?” If the question was asked, the answer would be “None.” But the question won’t be asked.

Evidence will not be presented. If evidence were to be allowed to be presented, it would not include eating this or not eating that, doing this good thing or doing that bad thing. It could include a life of loving God with everything. A life of loving others more than loving ourselves.

I believe that one of the gifts God gave everyone through Jesus was freedom and simplicity. In all my years of knowing Jesus, the truth is, for myself and many others I have met along the way, trying to figure out what God wants to say to me, “Me”, has been a challenge that kept me in a place of frustration and confusion for a long time.

Then I realized something. God’s desire and expectation for everyone is to know Him and His Son. He would not have made it hard to do this. He would not expect this of us and desire this of us and then hide. He gave us a book that we could hold in our hands and understand. He wanted to tell us where we have been, where we are now and where we are going.

I’m still somewhat puzzled about where we have been and why He did some of the things he did and the way he did them. I’m pretty clear on where we are now and I do know where I’m going.

For the where we came from, I just need to trust Him to help me understand the things that I need to understand.

For the where we are now, I’m thankful to Him for the Holy Spirit that speaks to my spirit the deep mysteries and the simple truths of living a life for God and for other people. And as for knowing where I’m going, I’m thankful to Jesus for providing the way and the assurance of it.

I do understand that God would have wanted us to have made different choices, starting with our first parents saying no to the serpents offer. But they said yes. And even though they said yes, God still loved us. He loved us enough to provide a way for all of us to be able to come to a point in our lives where we have the opportunity to choose Him over something else. The same offer our first parents were given. And we are free to make the choice.

God’s plan has always been the same, to win us back. To save us from making the wrong choice. The bible is the story of Him doing that. It is a story with many different parts that take place over thousands of years. Much of the story applies to me directly and much of it applies to me indirectly.

This is what the bible story is;

Once upon a time, God created everything. He created a man and a woman. The man and woman had the ability to make a choice. To choose between God or something else. They chose something else. That choice separated the man and woman from God. The man and woman were now lost. All their children would be born lost. But God wanted them back. So, He made a way back. It would take a long time and the journey would be costly. So costly, that it would mean the death of His Son. But God loved us so much, He was willing to pay the price. God’s willingness to do this gave every man the right to make the choice between God and something else. Everyone has the opportunity to make the choice. Hopefully a better choice than our first parents made.

During the journey from our first parents until this moment, God has been working at restoring us to Him. He separated groups of people from each other by language and color. He made rules for men to follow for protection and direction until they were no longer needed. He sent his Son to restore us to Himself. He sent us a counselor to show us how to love and live.

And he has prepared a perfect place for us to be with Him and each other forever.

What gives us the right to enter this place is not who we are or what we have or haven’t done or how much we had or didn’t have. The right is a gift freely given simply by loving God and His Son and living a life that shows it, and by loving others more than ourselves and living a life that shows it.

Everyone that tries to add extra requirements for entry into this perfect place are wasting their time. Everyone that tries to earn the right to enter by what they do or refrain from doing will remain lost forever without God.

That’s simply the Bibles story.

So, when God asks us the only question we will be asked to answer, what will our answer be?

Remember, it will be a yes or no question.