Have you ever come across something and found yourself saying, “Eww! That’s not right!”
There are a lot of things that are not right in this world. There are a lot of things that are spoken of so many times as being right, that we come to think they are, when really they aren’t.
For instance, I recently heard that advertisements on buses in Kelowna, B.C. state “There is probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
What stands out is the element of doubt. The ad says “there is probably no God...” Either there is or there isn’t.
When some people think of God, they do worry. They can’t enjoy life because they think they have done so many bad things, they’ve messed up once too often, that God must be mad at them and is going to get them for it some day.
Yes, one day God will judge our wrongs, but He also is loving and gracious enough to give us hope. A word often used by Jesus is “whoever.”
Look at how He uses it:
• “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”
• “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
• “Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
• “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
We need news of hope like this. We need to know that in this world, where we often are not treated fairly or given a chance, that God has a ‘whoever policy.’
The downturns of life can create such a sad state of affairs that we wonder if God still wants us. It’s no wonder these bus ads appeal to some who feel they no longer have to worry about God. They feel they don’t have to own up to the wrong they’ve done. But we still must deal with our wrongs; in the form of guilt, stress and anxiety. Our mistakes follow us like a dark cloud we cannot shake.
But God says, “It doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve done or where you’ve done it, I still want to lift that burden from you, forgive you and then give you a future that is more than you can imagine because I am real. I do exist. I made you and I want to have a relationship with you.”
There are so many things in this world that are out of control. Wouldn’t it be good if we could live our lives on the side that says there is hope for us? What would your life be like if, in your weakest moment, you knew that God was standing right beside you in order to give you His strength? What would your life start to look like if you believed that even when your faith is weak, God’s faith in you is always strong?
God is faithful even when we are not. In Luke 18:7 it says, “God will always give what is right to His people who cry to Him night and day, and He will not be slow to answer them.”
Would your life be filled with more hope, would you know more confidence in your life if you believed that God will always do what is right in your life?
Here is God’s promise to you; Psalm 22:5 says, “They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.”
When I read the ad on the side of those buses, it made me sad. If what the ad says is true, then what? What do we do? Yes, enjoy life, but for what lasting, fulfilling purpose? But if we chose to place ourselves on the side of hope, the side that says there is a God, then life becomes an adventure to be experienced.
Today, if you want to, you can choose to believe the sign on the side of the buses.
That’s your privilege, that’s your choice.
But, I think deep down, what you really long for is to know that there is a God because what you want most of all is to place yourself on the side of hope.
This Faith Matters column was provided by Tri-Community Baptist Church in Beiseker.
