Store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven
where moth and rust cannot destroy and thieves cannot break in and steal

Monday, April 18, 2011

I Once Was Blind

I am lost in blindness
And I refuse to believe that
I can see
One has to accept a life of darkness
Years from now I can only tell my children not to believe that
Simple grace triumphs over utter darkness
I was born in sin and I was conceived in sin
It doesn’t matter to God that
I live every day of my life in hopelessness
No longer can it be said that
There is a God who hears the cry of His people
My whole life testifies to one truth:
Blindness has robbed me of every good thing
And it is no longer true that
God saves those who are crushed in spirit
Now I don’t know much but I know one thing for sure
I was born blind with no hope and no future

But then I met Jesus and He turned my life upside down

I was born blind with no hope and no future
Now I don’t know much but I know one thing for sure
God saves those who are crushed in spirit
And it is no longer true that
Blindness has robbed me of every good thing
My whole life testifies to one truth:
There is a God who hears the cry of His people
No longer can it be said that
I live every day of my life in hopelessness
It doesn’t matter to God that
I was born in sin and I was conceived in sin
Simple grace triumphs over utter darkness
Years from now I can only tell my children not to believe that
One has to accept a life of darkness
I can see
And I refuse to believe that
I am lost in blindness

from Ephesians - Kristi Stephens

9 comments:

  1. Here's an honest question for you.

    Do you agree that this poetic text conveys the following idea: People who refuse Jesus Christ as their savior and/or refuse to believe in God, are choosing a life of darkness, void of any meaning; a life void of any hope?

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  2. It will be the opposite of being in the presence of God.

    The unrelieved absence of Love
    . The complete absence of Good
    . The total, all pervasive presence of evil

    People who have chosen Hell over Heaven will spend eternity in:
    . Absolute fear
    . Unmitigated hatred
    . Total darkness
    . Unrelieved sorrow
    . Unequivocal alone-ness
    . Absolute shame
    . Unbounded regret
    . Undiluted violence.
    . Sheer panic
    . Unrelenting dissatisfaction
    . All encompassing meanness
    . Total betrayal
    . There will be no freedom from pain, only total, all consuming, overwhelming pain.

    The worst conditions on earth don’t come close.

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  3. I did not ask about an afterlife in Hell or Heaven; I asked about our actual life... ?

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  4. Your actual life includes your afterlife; the path to which you are travelling at this very moment. Nevertheless:

    "a life of darkness, void of any meaning; a life void of any hope?"

    They are choosing a life of spiritual darkness, that is void of ultimate meaning and eternal hope for life in the presence of their Creator.

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  5. You have now ignored twice my focus on the life we are currently living.

    Therefore, you confirm that you don't see how someone can have a meaningful REAL life, on Earth, without having the same beliefs as you concerning a POTENTIAL afterlife.

    You did not write it that way, but that is exactly what it means, no?

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  6. Well, Stalin and Pol Pot lived lives of meaning and purpose. Dr. Death believes his life had meaning. Of course you can pretend that your life has meaning. The fact is, none of what you pretend to have meaning now will endure as meaningful or worthwhile on into the next stage of life. But, knock yourself out. Make yourself feel as important as you can. For you, this life is as good as it gets.

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  7. In the words of Randy Alcorn - The fact is, on atheism, you are the descendant of a tiny cell of primordial protoplasm washed up on an empty beach three and a half billion years ago. You are the blind and arbitrary product of time, chance, and natural forces. You are a mere grab-bag of atomic particles, and conglomeration of genetic substance. You exist on a tiny planet in a minute solar system in an empty corner of a meaningless universe. You are a purely biological entity, different only in degree but not in kind from a microbe, virus, or amoeba. You have no essence beyond your body, and at death you will cease to exist entirely. In short, you came from nothing and are going to nowhere. That fact is, on atheism you are going to cease to exist - totally, utterly, completely. Within 90 of your passing anyone who has known you will cease to exist - totally, utterly, completely. The memory of your existence will end as surely as the universe itself will cease to exist. Only cold, dead matter - utterly meaningless, utterly without purpose or context - just an accidental blip on the screen.

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  8. Well, Stalin and Pol Pot lived lives of meaning and purpose. Dr. Death believes his life had meaning.

    As far as I know, they were psychopath dictators; so who cares what their beliefs were?

    However it raises another interesting question, because, since you mentioned them, it means that you consider that there is a link between their beliefs, and/or values, and mine.

    So... what would that link be?

    Precision: Atheism is NOT a belief system, and certainly does NOT express any values.

    Of course you can pretend that your life has meaning. The fact is, none of what you pretend to have meaning now will endure as meaningful or worthwhile on into the next stage of life. But, knock yourself out. Make yourself feel as important as you can. For you, this life is as good as it gets.

    Again, why don't you get straight to the point; you could have written:

    'If you don't have the same beliefs as me, you're life is meaningless'

    Correct?

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  9. ...The fact is, on atheism, you are...

    ...a human being; alive and conscious ---insert list of implications---

    ... surrounded by billions of other human beings; also alive and conscious. ---insert list of implications---

    Too bad you think that's meaningless.

    Too bad you cannot fill this 'list of implications' yourself, and too bad you cannot realize that it is limitless.

    Too bad you believe that most people will continue to be conscious after the death of their body, only to be in the worst conditions possible; while YOU deserve eternal bliss and the best conditions possible because YOU happen to have accepted a suicidal pact with some supernatural friend.

    (I know you think you don't deserve it, and that it's only because of Jesus that you will get it, but I don't buy that shift in selfishness! Grow some pair of balls and admit that YOU deserve it because of your choices and not others. THAT is the belief system you adhere to)

    Always fun to read you thoughts...

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