After carefully reading and studying the Bible, I've become convinced that God only cares about this life in that we work for him. There may be relationship and whatnot, but what really matters is that we work for him. Everything else is irrelevant, including what we may want and desire. And even then, the next life is not about our joy, our only reward is him, so who's to say we'll be joyful at all?
This is my favorite description of heaven, taken from the song Jesus Christ by Saviour Machine. If this doesn't sound like something wonderful, please tell me what does.
Jesus Christ, please, leave them to die
Bring them to life
Without hate, without pain
Without suffering insane
Without death, without fire
Without lies that feed the liar
Without war, without games
Without fear to take the blame
Without fame, without power
Without drugs that heal the coward
Without violence, without rape
Without sickness, without plagues
Without judgment, without crime
Without hope, without time
Without two, and without three
Without torture over belief
Bring us love
Let us see
Set us free
All who can't walk, will walk. All who are sick, will never be sick again. You will never have to fear anyone or anything. Those who live in despair and regret will be healed and made whole again. No one lies. No one tries to control. No one gets impatient. No one dies. No one kills, rapes, steals. No more drugs. No more addiction. No more war. No more hate. No more violence. No more runny noses or broken bones. No more phobias. No more tears of sadness. No more abuse. No more starvation. No more homelessness. No more bills. No more arguing. No more selfishness. No more pride.
The light we live under will be powered by love. Love will shine down on us and be our light. We will live in a world where jewels and gold make up our walls, buildings, streets. We will be surrounded by people we love, and who love us.
Let me know when i get to the bad part.
Salvation is a choice. Following God is a choice. Just because you don't like the outcome for those that reject the gift of salvation, doesn't mean there is no choice.
When a couple marries, ideally, some (not all) of their individuality will fade as they become closer with their spouse. As they fall into routines that may be foreign to their upbringing or habits. They may have to work out what priorities are highest, and which are lowest. How to handle children. Etc... Both people, ideally, slowly conform aspects of who they are to the other person. And through this melding, they function better. They share the same values and priorities. Neither loses themselves. But they learn to find that their wishes and will may vary from their spouses, and may have to surrender parts of that, the same as their spouse does.
This isn't control. This is two people coming into alignment to work towards the same things. Having the same desires and goals. When we say this about marriage, people praise the idea and post all over FB about it. When we say it about our relationship with God, suddenly it's a bad idea from a controlling God.
But who knows what's right for us more than the One that created us? Put our DNA together. Formed how our minds will function. Decides what we're going to excel in. The God that created everything.... Everything, down to the tiniest molecule, wants us to have a symbiotic sort of relationship with Him so that we can have a healthier mind and spirit and live life in a way that minimizes regret and gives us fulfillment in ways we couldn't have come up with ourselves. And better than any spouse, friend or family member could ever devise for us. Better than we could for ourselves.
Living for God isn't all about rules and regulations. It's about living under the guidance of our Creator. That loved you so much He came down in the flesh to be beaten beyond recognition and hung on a cross, fighting suffocation and exhaustion, while people mocked Him. As He watched His friends and family in tears and pain. Knowing, full well, in advance of this, that you were going to choose, again and again, to sin. But knowing that those sins needed something greater than you could ever do, to be erased. And now that He has done that for you, He wants to continue His relationship with you by training your spirit and mind to become better than you imagined.
To have a close relationship with you, similar to the husband and wife, where you come together with the same goals and desires. A choice you make. Surrender is a decision. It's not forced on you. You could go on living your life as you please, but how well has that worked out for you? How many things do you regret? And you're young, so there is still plenty of time to create more regrets. And God provides you with that choice. But He also offers you a way to live better. If you choose to see that as a negative, then God allows you to do so.
So feel free to take the freedom God Himself has given you, to twist His love and desire for relationship, and turn it into something evil. Go make your own choices, and leave God out of it. Just don't get mad at God when things fall apart. That just means He respected your choice.
