This is part one of a series I’m calling The Gift.   

“There is a principal which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which can not fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance. That principal is condemnation before investigation”.

… Edmund Spencer

    If you weighed two CDs, one filled with computer programs and the other blank… You’d find that they both weighed the same. That’s because the CD itself is hardware and the weightless information on the CD is software. In a way the same thing is true about us… Our bodies are hardware and the weightless part of us, the part that has no mass, the part that makes us uniquely who we are [our soul or spirit] is software. Hardware is temporary and subject to the laws of decay, but could it be that software by nature is eternal? The average person grows from childhood to adulthood in a constant state of development. You get bigger, stronger, and more able in every way. But at some point you start to notice changes that aren’t improvements. Your hair starts turning gray, or falling out. Your skin isn’t as tight and your muscles aren’t as strong. You find it hard to do things that use to be easy. Meanwhile, with all of this is going on, your spirit hasn’t changed. You’re still the same person inside that you were when you were a child. Oh, you may have matured over the years by gaining knowledge and experience, but beyond that you’re the same. The bible says… 2Co 4:16b our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. If this is true, then the question should be… Where will the “eternal me” be after this hardware, my body, dies?

We’ve all heard about “the Gospel” or “the Good News”… Well if there’s “Good News”, then it stands to reason that there must also be “Bad News”.

FIRST… “The Bad News”

     Before we were given the Ten Commandments nobody knew what sin was. But as soon as they were placed in our hands that changed forever. Now, sin becomes obvious to anyone who is willing to accurately measure themselves and their actions against the Laws of God. The biggest error that most of us make is to compare ourselves with the people around us. That brings us to the logical conclusion that we’re just as “good” as the next person, and even though that may be true, it can only give us a false sense of security. Can you picture yourself going into a court room and explaining to the judge that you don’t deserve jail because you know lots of people who are just as guilty as you are, and some even worse. The truth is, that argument wouldn’t go far in any court. Not in mans, and even more so, not in Gods. The guilt or innocence of someone else will never relieve you of your responsibility to uphold the law. In mans court ignorance of the law is no excuse. How much more would that be true in Gods.

    Another huge miscalculation that you can make, is to believe in a god that shares the same moral convictions that you have. Generally he’s completely forgiving, open-minded, flexible, requires nothing, wants nothing, and is always there to listen whenever you get into trouble. This sounds great. The only problem is that this god doesn’t exist… except in your mind. Truth is not determined by what you want or believe. Some might argue that there’s no such thing as truth. Question… Is that true? The point is, that God is, who God is. He’s not, who you decide to make him. That would be you creating a god in your image and that’s called idolatry.

… Continued in Part 2