The Golden Lens

  Who do you say He is? Do you say He is the Messiah, the Son of God, God the Son, the Christ or the Lamb of God? Do you say He is simply a prophet, a great teacher or just a good man? Or do you refuse to acknowledge He existed at all? Think about this carefully, because eternity is on the line.

  I wrote a discussion response for my college class. I am reposting it here, because I would like feedback from others. The fall metaphor and the sinful nature of man explains the evil and selfishness that possessed the perpetrators of 9/11. Since, I believe that we were created through a process of guided evolution, the fall metaphor does not explain natural tragedies like tsunamis and deadly viruses. Death is a natural part of our existence, so, God created things like viruses, poisons, venoms and deadly diseases that kill us. The Earth was created to support life and as such has processes that maintain the atmosphere and the land that we live in. We have learned through science that things like earthquakes, volcanos, and hurricanes contribute to the ecosystem that allows for life to exist. We are aware that these natural processes are dangerous, yet, we still choose to live where they can kill us. If death didn't exist and humans lived forever, what would life be like on this p...

We are created equal to God. Despite all of our differences, we are supposed to view each other as equals. LGBT, people with disabilities, different races and different worldviews we are all equal in Christ Jesus.  Galatians 3:28 says: 28  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free,  nor is there male and female,  for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  

    When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said,  “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus was not being literal here. He didn't mean we would never have to walk in the literal dark. He didn't come to end the cycle of night and day. He came to end our ignorance. To enlighten us as to our real purpose, which is to learn to love like He did. We no longer have to walk in ignorance. If we follow Christ we can walk in the light of knowledge and make better choices. We can develop the wisdom of Christ. We will not get there completely in this lifetime, but we are given something to strive for.

  This is a diagram I made of my worldview. We experience God through others and are connected by the Holy Spirit. I make choices, experience the consequences and learn to love like Christ. I think it's pretty cool!

Ephesians 2: 8  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—   9  not by works, so that no one can boast.   10  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.