THE FOLLY OF LIFE WITHOUT KNOWING GOD

One definition of folly is: lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight.

All of western society owes it's standard of living and lifestyle to the blessings that have flowed through the knowledge of God.

The person and personality of God was revealed to all mankind through the person of Jesus, the only begotten son of the living God. Anyone wanting to know God's intentions towards man, need look no further than the life lived by Jesus.

Contrary to common misconception, Jesus did not come to show us HOW to live but rather how to DIE that we might LIVE. As is the case with many things of God, our intellect really can not compute nor comprehend His wisdom and unfathomable love.

We are witnessing the folly of relying upon our own knowledge and excluding God from involvement in our lives, in the here and now. Many who believe in Jesus, mistakenly think He came to show us how to live a 'good' life in the here and now that we might one day die and receive our reward in heaven in the afterlife.

The true Gospel of Jesus Christ is that He did not come to show us how to live but the need to die if we are to inherit the kingdom of God. It sounds like a paradox ..... we must die, if we are to live! That is the essence of a scripture verse, paraphrased: I am crucified with Christ, yet I live, but it is no longer I who lives, but it is Christ who lives IN me.

The example of the life of Christ, is a life totally surrendered to God our Father so that we may indeed have life and have life abundantly. Jesus was the only man to walk the face of the earth that was tempted as we are, yet he was without sin. Why? Because he was surrendered to the will of God.

Why did God not wish for man to sin? Did He not want us to experience the many pleasures we associate with sin? Of course, not, but rather because He, who is a loving, kind father knows that all sin eventually leads to death and that is not what He wants for any of His children.

When God made us, He made us in His image and gave us a free will, with which we could decide what we would chose to do. As scripture tells us, He has given us the choice of life or death, and that choice is indeed a choice.

Nonsense you may say. Our upbringing, our culture, our circumstances are ultimately what decides how our lives are going to turn out. That is yet another example of the folly of man. What determines our life's outcome can be influenced by upbringing, culture etc. but what eventually determines our life's course is whether we will acknowledge the existence of God Almighty and the fact that He is God and that we are not.

Once again the truth is spoken in the Holy Scriptures which say: the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction. The starting point is to acknowledge God and fear Him (this does not mean be afraid of Him, but rather be in Awe of Him, when we consider that everything that has been made, including our entire universe, was in fact MADE by Him) that is the starting point of knowledge.

When we choose to believe carefully crafted fables as to who man is and how he came to be we are choosing death rather than life, and we do that in our own folly.

God knew that man would sin, and that that sin would be a barrier of separation between man and God. For that reason He sent His only begotten Son, in the person of Jesus, who was fully God and fully man. He came to earth the same way as all men, through the womb of woman, and lived his 33+ years the same as any other man who has ever lived. He was NOT super human, He was just as human as all of us, but He was yielded to God all of his life. His knowledge of God came the same way as it did to all men of His time, through the study of the Holy Scriptures which God had entrusted to Moses and the Prophets. 

After living a sinless life at the age of 30 years He began His earthly ministry through which He showed all mankind the very heart of God the Father. He went about doing good, healing ALL those who had been oppressed of the devil. Everyone who came to Him were healed of all many of sickness and malady. In that, He demonstrated God's perfect will for all of humanity.

We do not live sinless lives and therefore we separate ourselves from God and a knowledge of Him. We accept all manner of lies to justify our separation to our own hurt. Our lives of sin demand our deaths and eternal separation from the kingdom of God. Yet, in that we were sinners, God sacrificed His one and only Son, in our place, so that His death paid the price for OUR sin. By accepting that simple, but difficult to understand truth our sins are forgiven and no longer form a barrier, separating us from God.

Today, the chaos and turmoil we see embroiling the world is the direct result of our lack of knowledge of God. Instead of choosing life through our knowledge of Him, we have chosen death by relying on our own understanding. We are all like sheep who have gone astray and are walking blithely unto our own destruction.

The only answer for the world today, is the same answer for the world since before the creation of time. It is coming to the knowledge and reverential fear and awe of God Almighty, and accepting the sacrifice that was made on the Cross of Calvary for the forgiveness of our sin and inviting God in the Person of Jesus the Christ, to come and have His place within each and every one of us.

Right now through our folly, stubbornness and ignorance, we are choosing death. By accepting the finished work of the Cross of Christ and the Blood that was shed for our sin ........... we are choosing life.

Today you can choose either life or death ............ only a fool in his folly would choose death.

To prove to yourself the truth of this little writing, simply in the quietness of your heart, call out to Jesus to come and save you from your sin and folly. If prayed sincerely from your heart .......... He will answer you in a way that is undeniable and you will know that you know that you know.

God Bless all who read and take this instruction to heart.