12/2/13 Cameron late 20’s
Imagine
beginning a conversation about eternity, and then finding out the person you
are talking with has a terminal illness.
This has happened to me before, and again yesterday in a coffeeshop
conversation with Cameron, a young man I met there. It was hard to know what to say when he told
me, because there is no way I could truly understand unless I were in his
shoes, and I wanted to be sensitive to his feelings. On the other hand, I am aware of my own
mortality every time I see a grey hair, and the same is true of everyone --
none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.
Cameron's situation forces him to take that fact very seriously at a
very young age, and as a result he has studied many religions, and seems to
have come to a quiet confidence about his future. As we talked, however, I
became aware that his confidence is seriously misplaced. If you truly believe that the parachute
someone puts on before they jump will not work, no matter how confident they
are, what would you do? I could blurt
out well-worn religious sayings and familiar Bible verses, but lose his
willingness to listen, or I could quietly try to explain just why it is I
believe his "parachute" won't work.
So that's what I tried to do.
Cameron
said he would like to see this video when I post it, so I will try to briefly
summarize here what I told him, and focus on some of his beliefs in the video
to remind him of my concerns. I believe
Cameron's confidence is misplaced for two reasons: 1.) He has a human-centered
(non-biblical) view of God's goodness.
He believes in a God who will allow bad things to happen, or who will
temporarily punish sin, only if it will benefit us in the long run. He has
studied criminal justice and, combined with the trauma of an abusive childhood,
believes in a version of God who acts only in accordance with His love for us
rather than also according to His love for justice. But God is good, and a good God loves
justice, and a perfectly good God loves perfect justice, and perfect justice
requires a just consequence for our sins against Him. He would not ignore the demands of justice or
accept our unworthy bribes of good deeds to "pay" for our sins. He would, however, because of His perfect
love, be willing to pay the price of justice Himself, which is what He did on
the cross. 2.) Cameron's mistaken
confidence is also placed in his own goodness.
Compared to other people, his friends say he is a wonderful person and I
don't doubt them on a human level, but God's standard, His law, is higher. So high in fact, that it cannot save us, for
we have already broken it, but fortunately its purpose is to show us our need
to be saved and to show us the way to the Savior. Like everyone, Cameron has broken God's laws
and needs to be saved, and the Bible is clear -- salvation only comes through
faith in Jesus Christ. He is the only
worthy sacrifice that can perfectly fulfill both God's love and His justice,
and we all need to trust completely in Him -- no more, and no less. Video - Cameron - Love and Justice
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