Passion for Life

What is given, often abused, taken for granted, not appreciated, taken from others, seen as a choice and expected to be easy but never is? the answer is LIFE. I have found that our world today does not have a healthy understanding of life. It is unfortunate that some of the views and expressions about life that are seen as "champions" of the cause are so very wrong. Many things we hear about life in our culture are based out of humanism. In a nutshell, humanism is a belief, a philosophy, where by humanity is highly valued, I would even say humanity is supreme. So often a lot of the positive life language we hear is actually coming from a humanistic belief. Statements like "you can do anything if you want to", "you deserve a break today", "take time for yourself", "if you put your mind to it and work hard you can achieve it", "be all that you can be", "good people are the answer to the world's problems", "if we work together we can achieve anything", "today will be what you make it to be" and many many more are all around us everyday. Often they have an element of truth to them and yet there is a deeper lie that is present.

The lie of humanism is one of achievement and perfection gained by people. It is based on a belief that people have unlimited potential and capability to be good. I have even heard countless pastors use humanistic phrases as the basis for their teaching, it can be difficult not to at times because of the wide spread use and acceptance in our culture. One of the worst is the concept of "free will", this short phrase is used time and time again by Christians and emphasized as being Biblical. Yet this is not found in the Bible, it is found in the teachings of humanism. People do not have freedom in their will, freedom is about the removal of boundaries. Our will is about our decisions and determination. The essence of this concept is that people have the freedom to choose to be who they want to be, to choose what they want to do, to move without limits, to think without measure. Unfortunately it is not True. The Bible teaches us that people are corrupt and sinful (Romans 3) and in our natural sinful state we are dead (Romans 5) and slaves to our own sinfulness (Romans 6). People are not "free", their wills are bound, bound by sin. Sure the obvious is also true that we are bound by the laws of nature, physics etc... But more important is our spiritual state, we do not have our own freedom to be good, to be righteous.

The Biblical view about life is more than a movement to stop abortion, though I think that is a good thing. It is about spiritual life.

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - John 10:9-10 (ESV)

True life can be found only in a relationship with the one who grants us that life, Jesus. Jesus, God in the flesh, who came and paid the price for our sins. This Jesus that 3 days later rose from the grave and now sits in Heaven holding all authority to judge the living and the dead. This Jesus will give you true life. He will give you true freedom. All you have to do is recognize Him as God. Recognize your sinfulness and then repent of your sin, apologize to Him for your sinfulness and ask Him to forgive you of your sin and He will. Make Him the lord of your life and live for Him and not yourself. This is where we find the true life and freedom that we seek.

If you are a Christian then you are to live with a thriving passion for Life! Not in a save the environment, the whales, the poor, the sick, etc... kind of way. But instead a passion for helping people find the True Life in Jesus and then helping them to live that life. We should clean up the environment, because it is Gods and we are supposed to be caretakers of it. We should want to care for animals, God appointed us to be their caretakers as well. Biblical teaching calls for us to care for the sick and the needy, people were made by God and He instructs us on how to care for them. We are to make a difference in this world, but only out of the True Life that Jesus gives us. Those who are Spiritually dead need to experience Life more than anything else. This needs to be our priority, our passion.

May God be glorified in our lives today as we serve Him.

Pastor Bruce