Good people will go to heaven.
There is no one "right" religion.
There is no hell.
I do not believe in the trinity.
There is no god.
There are many gods and many ways to get to heaven.
Haven't we all heard those statements?
These phrases are constructed from worldview. If one believes all good people like those who help grandma cross the street, those who make chicken soup for the sick, and those who just live a good life because they did not murder anyone will enter the pearly gates, are living out their worldview in real life ways. Their reaction to situations and conversations will be colored by their thought process. Additionally, their behavior and judgement will be reflective of their view of the world.
How does this play out for me?
At the heart of my worldview is Jesus Christ. I believe He is who the Bible says He is. Believing in Jesus is an act of faith. There are many aspects to believing in Jesus that we can ONLY take by FAITH. For example, Jesus is God. John 1 tells that everything in the world was created by God and Jesus was present at creation.
How does that play out in real life?
Well, I work for a public school system in Virginia in the registration center and have the privilege of meeting many students and families from around the world. Working for the school system has many joys and challenges. (Isn't that a metaphor for life really?) I try to live out my faith for others to see while at the same time being respectful of others and their views. One area of worldview that differs greatly between my colleagues and I is on the topic of evolution. I can recall two separate instances when this topic came into question. The first time was with a fellow teacher (when I was still actively in the classroom teaching) and I was working with another teacher who was doing a 3rd science lesson related to sun and moon. And she directly asked me how many billions of years old I believed the earth to be? To be honest, in the moment, I do not remember exactly what I said back to her - something about scientists have much debate of exactly how old the earth is..., but later that afternoon, we had a conversation about creationism and how I did not believe in evolutionary theory.
The second question came a few years later, this time with a 3rd grade Muslim student. He asked me about the creation of the world and how it happened - in my usual fashion, I tried to redirect back to the lesson, but he would not be put off. He said "I really want to know what you think about the creation of the world- how did we get here?" In that moment, I prayed for guidance (remember this is public school), I told him there are two big schools of thought evolution verses creationism and that he should go home ask his parents their beliefs and research both topics on the web to get his own belief. In those moments, I pray for those people that the eyes of their hearts will be opened to the truth of Jesus.
Jesus tells us "He is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE and no one comes to the father by through HIM." That is a huge statement. It does not leave room for any other God! It does not leave room for any other path to the heaven.
For many years, I have heard the saying Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words. (This has been attributed to St. Francis, but not verified in any of his writings) Recently though, I heard a message about the need to preach the Gospel with our mouths. At times, I have hidden behind preaching the Gospel by saying look at my life. The truth is my behavior is " mostly good", but I have my moments when it is not so "good". So what am I preaching in those moments? After that message, I was reminded that speaking the truth in love and not being afraid to share the truth of Jesus (with my mouth) is critical.
#write31days
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