So what if God loves me? Why can't I live without him?

Because without Him I'm nothing... sound a little underconfident, right? Its not lack of self-confidence that makes me say that but the attempts I have made to survive myself without His help and failed miserably, that makes me say that! Most people I have met believe in God. Especially Indians - very rarely do you find a professing atheist or agnostic. But is that what is really needed?

Its NOT OUR NEED to believe in God that should make us believe in Him but OUR INDEBTEDNESS to Him that should make us live the way He wants us to live.

Let me put it this way:

The scene is a courtroom. Say a man Abe is accused of a crime, found guilty and sentenced to death! No matter how hard Abe tries to gets all the lawyers and witnesses he can get hold of, what crime he has comitted can't be put off because he has committed it and full proof has been provided that he has! The moment Abe hears the death sentence being made he realizes how he has wasted his life and at that instance regrets everything he has done - sincerely, truly, right from the bottom of his heart. But to whom is he going to say that? He tries deperately to save himself from the dreadful unknown that awaits him at death's door - just one more chance. But all is decided and the case is about to be closed when his own lawyer, stands up and accepts responsibility for all the murders and crimes that Abe has committed. He says Abe "knows not what he does". He explained that what Abe had done was not intentionally committed. He didn't really mean to commit the crime but what had happened had happened and that a solution had to be made. This gracious lawyer asked that the punishment be given to himself, provided that Abe was set free and let go of. The culprit was so dumbstruck he couldn't say anything as the court went ahead and passed the sentence for the lawyer to be put to death as punishment for what Abe had done.

If you were in that courtroom would you ever extend your support for something like that to happen? Didn't that murderer deserve the punishment he was getting - for all the lies he had said and all the murders he had committed? I'm sure if you don't know what the Lord Jesus really did and what He meant, you would never support what happened in that courtroom, because that's exactly what He did for you and me. You and I were wretched murderers who deserved to go to hell (that's an eternal place - for those who haven't thought of what hell really must be like - something that never stops torturing and people will want to die but never can). Hell is a place where bad people go. Don't you agree? You say you're not bad?


Have you lied?

Have you looked and lusted at any person of the opposite sex?

Have you cheated?

Have you stolen anything (even if it be something as insignificant as a sweet or a pencil)?

Admit to atleast one of the above or any other similar or worse wrong thing you know you have done - just answer honestly to yourself - you are guilty ("bad") in God's sight! That is how holy God is!

You're right - that way no one can get to heaven! That's a good thing isn't it? Just imagine if we were to get to heaven because of what good we did, heaven would be full of boastful, sickening people who would only have time to boast about what great things each of them has done and praise themselves, instead of praising GOD - who deserves all that praise an eternity's worth more than we do!! If that were the case, THAT wouldn't be heaven anymore would it?

That is the reason why He chose to help us to still reach Him and still have hope even though we were so hopeless.... just like Abe! Is there any lawyer who would actually stand up for his client and take his punishment? Even if he knew that the murderer was innocent? I doubt it! There is only one Lawyer who did that for us. You know why He had to be our Lawyer? - Because we belonged to Satan from the day we sinned, (also born in sin, by sinful parents) and God had no claim over us unless we were purchased from Satan. But no price was high enough for Satan but the blood of Christ - sinless blood! He who knew no sin died for the sinner! For those who ever thought they knew love at its highest form - here's a point to ponder on. Is there a greater love than this?

Now all Abe had to do was to accept that gift and go free, and live the way he wanted to... right? If you were in Abe's place, would you do that, if you had the decency not to? I mean wouldn't you be awestruck and forever indebted to this lovely gem of a lawyer who died in your stead? Wouldn't you do all you could to pay him back for the way he paid your price in full? Abe has to first accept that free gift that the lawyer was truly and whole-heartedly offering, right? That is where Christ comes in - I mean into our lives.

We need to accept that we were wrong, we were sinners, and need Him in our lives -out of desperation, because we're weary and have no more strength to keep us running away from the truth. We need to ask Him to come into our heart personally and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and personal Saviour. And also that from then on, you will live for Him, only for His sake - put yourself in Abe's shoes an think! Once you do that, you become His child -you're free from the bonds of sin and death. You don't have to fear death anymore because Christ died for you and conquered death for you. He died but death couldn't hold him, he defeated death and rose from the dead in flesh and in blood, ascended into heaven and still lives today! Think about it! Isn't it wonderful! I think its the most beautiful love story ever told - even better - its TRUE! Its a promise! Who doesn't love promises? Even if you die today, you know for sure that He's gonna take you home - His home - that better be heaven! :)

Religion is man reaching for God, but which religion's doctrine demands that you accept God's love first and then live a life pleasing to Him? Doesn't every religion teach that if you are good, if you do good, are charitable, love everyone, then you will please God and that MAYBE you will go to heaven?

Remember we will never succeed in pleasing God well enough, because that's how perfect He is! He's not just another mere man, he is GOD!! Holy, just(or impartial), righteous(or fair), gracious(offering us things we don't deserve - like entry into heaven), merciful(not giving us things we really deserve - like hell) and a whole lot of attributes which would never be enough to describe Him. Such an awesome God is the one we mess with each day and take the name of in vain in our daily life. Do we have anything to demand of Him? Are we worth that much at all?

This is TRUE LOVE:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life"
The Bible, John 3:16