Peace is hard work
And it is exhausting
And never ending
The rewards are distant
And often non-existent
But we cannot give up
Just because it is difficult
Christ is called the Lamb Who was slain
Because He accepted God’s will
Even though He did not want to
Do what God asked of Him
We need to do the same
The world today is the way it is
Because we are unwilling
To commit to anything
Or sacrifice our needs
For the needs of others
Or to carry out God’s will
Especially when we do not agree with
Or understand what God is doing
Faith which all belief systems and theories
Require of their followers to a degree
Means that we accept God’s will
Without fully understanding all the ramifications
Because we trust He is doing it for our best
Without full evidence
And He has every right to
As our Creator alone
The Bible does not talk about politics much
The few examples imply
That we should let God rule us directly
But also that we should focus on God’s Kingdom
More than the kingdoms of this world
As they will not last as long
The commands Christ gave us
Are not limited to personal or family matters
If we want to use the word Christian
To define who we are
And Who we belong to
We should at least attempt
To follow the commands
Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul
And love your neighbor as yourself
Part of loving God with all our hearts
Means that we need to commit ourselves
Not just intellectually but emotionally as well
We must seek peace with God and others
So that we can have peace with ourselves
Following Christ means being a person of peace
There is no room to say there is some other way
To exempt certain parts of our lives or cultures
If we want to follow Christ
We need to have faith and be at peace
We have example after example
All through the Old Testament
Of people who followed God
Without understanding about Christ
Or having the promise of eternal life
Or the infilling of the Holy Spirit
Without any other reason than
God created them and us
And made a contract with them and us
In that He promised them and us
Something far in the future
Which they did not live to see
We have God literally living inside us
We cannot say it is too difficult or unreasonable
Christ already did it by living a perfect life
He told us we are to live perfect lives as well
Christ was the most manly Man of all time
But He was kind and patient
And even submitted Himself
To the rulers of mere people
Being a man does not require the person
To be dominant or aggressive
Christ lived a life we might describe today
As that of a beta male
Strength is exemplified by enduring trials
And keeping faith in the Lord
What people consider weakness
Is not weakness from God’s perspective
Our weakness is in our bodies
And the battle takes place in our minds
There is a constant struggle
Between doing what we think is best
And doing what God knows as best
I am a skeptic and an existentialist
So I do not commit myself to being objective
Nor do I expect anyone else to be
I do not accept most things to be true
That most other people are convinced of
But I do have faith in Christ
Just as many skeptics have faith in the
Reality of the material world
And the study of it through Science
Because I choose to and for
Many other reasons as well
I am a better person
Because God is in my life
I also like the community of being in
The Kingdom of God
God has helped me leave the military honorably
And survive Schizophrenia for 25 years and counting
He recently helped me overcome diabetes
God has given me a great family
And I live in the best part of the world
And I am an American citizen
I was given all that but earned none of it
I sense in my heart that the Creator
Is the same God as the one described in the Bible
And with Whom I have experienced in my life
Through many ups and downs
As an unnecessary bonus
I have never heard convincing arguments
Against my beliefs
God has even had the mercy to resolve
Many of my big hangups with regards to faith
There are still and always will be
Parts of the Bible I do not fully understand
Or fully agree with
Some things I will just never be able to connect
But that is the whole point of faith
Because God is infinite
The only way we can understand
Or relate with Him
Is through our faith
Many bad things happen in this world
Even to Christians
But Christ told us that
We were never promised
A lack of problems
Especially Christians
This world did not like Christ
And we are certainly worse than Him
So they will easily find fault with us
Many seem to jump to
The conclusion that its God’s fault
That we have suffering in the world
But all the problems
We can document the causes of
Are all people created problems
Besides atheists don’t even believe in God
So how could this God allow evil?
The real question we should ask
Is why do we not at least try
To reduce the suffering in this world
That we have control over?
We want a good and merciful God
Who is both kind and forgiving to us
But also one Who carries our our anger
On those we disagree with
This is not rational or fair to believe this
God always was and always will be good
But none of us ever were or will be
And God will have the last word of all of us
And it is exhausting
And never ending
The rewards are distant
And often non-existent
But we cannot give up
Just because it is difficult
Christ is called the Lamb Who was slain
Because He accepted God’s will
Even though He did not want to
Do what God asked of Him
We need to do the same
The world today is the way it is
Because we are unwilling
To commit to anything
Or sacrifice our needs
For the needs of others
Or to carry out God’s will
Especially when we do not agree with
Or understand what God is doing
Faith which all belief systems and theories
Require of their followers to a degree
Means that we accept God’s will
Without fully understanding all the ramifications
Because we trust He is doing it for our best
Without full evidence
And He has every right to
As our Creator alone
The Bible does not talk about politics much
The few examples imply
That we should let God rule us directly
But also that we should focus on God’s Kingdom
More than the kingdoms of this world
As they will not last as long
The commands Christ gave us
Are not limited to personal or family matters
If we want to use the word Christian
To define who we are
And Who we belong to
We should at least attempt
To follow the commands
Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul
And love your neighbor as yourself
Part of loving God with all our hearts
Means that we need to commit ourselves
Not just intellectually but emotionally as well
We must seek peace with God and others
So that we can have peace with ourselves
Following Christ means being a person of peace
There is no room to say there is some other way
To exempt certain parts of our lives or cultures
If we want to follow Christ
We need to have faith and be at peace
We have example after example
All through the Old Testament
Of people who followed God
Without understanding about Christ
Or having the promise of eternal life
Or the infilling of the Holy Spirit
Without any other reason than
God created them and us
And made a contract with them and us
In that He promised them and us
Something far in the future
Which they did not live to see
We have God literally living inside us
We cannot say it is too difficult or unreasonable
Christ already did it by living a perfect life
He told us we are to live perfect lives as well
Christ was the most manly Man of all time
But He was kind and patient
And even submitted Himself
To the rulers of mere people
Being a man does not require the person
To be dominant or aggressive
Christ lived a life we might describe today
As that of a beta male
Strength is exemplified by enduring trials
And keeping faith in the Lord
What people consider weakness
Is not weakness from God’s perspective
Our weakness is in our bodies
And the battle takes place in our minds
There is a constant struggle
Between doing what we think is best
And doing what God knows as best
I am a skeptic and an existentialist
So I do not commit myself to being objective
Nor do I expect anyone else to be
I do not accept most things to be true
That most other people are convinced of
But I do have faith in Christ
Just as many skeptics have faith in the
Reality of the material world
And the study of it through Science
Because I choose to and for
Many other reasons as well
I am a better person
Because God is in my life
I also like the community of being in
The Kingdom of God
God has helped me leave the military honorably
And survive Schizophrenia for 25 years and counting
He recently helped me overcome diabetes
God has given me a great family
And I live in the best part of the world
And I am an American citizen
I was given all that but earned none of it
I sense in my heart that the Creator
Is the same God as the one described in the Bible
And with Whom I have experienced in my life
Through many ups and downs
As an unnecessary bonus
I have never heard convincing arguments
Against my beliefs
God has even had the mercy to resolve
Many of my big hangups with regards to faith
There are still and always will be
Parts of the Bible I do not fully understand
Or fully agree with
Some things I will just never be able to connect
But that is the whole point of faith
Because God is infinite
The only way we can understand
Or relate with Him
Is through our faith
Many bad things happen in this world
Even to Christians
But Christ told us that
We were never promised
A lack of problems
Especially Christians
This world did not like Christ
And we are certainly worse than Him
So they will easily find fault with us
Many seem to jump to
The conclusion that its God’s fault
That we have suffering in the world
But all the problems
We can document the causes of
Are all people created problems
Besides atheists don’t even believe in God
So how could this God allow evil?
The real question we should ask
Is why do we not at least try
To reduce the suffering in this world
That we have control over?
We want a good and merciful God
Who is both kind and forgiving to us
But also one Who carries our our anger
On those we disagree with
This is not rational or fair to believe this
God always was and always will be good
But none of us ever were or will be
And God will have the last word of all of us