Coexist ?

The warm, bright light that illuminated the browns, reds, yellows, and different shades of greens made our search for a perfect piece of land an enjoyable Sunday afternoon drive. Marcia navigated while I tried to keep the car in the middle of the twisting road. The words from a small country church sign caught my eye: “Coexist With Who”?  I have seen endless coexist stickers on cars which usually make me mutter, “Another naïve, wishful thinker,” but this afternoon the words on the church sign made me think, “What does coexist really mean? And is it possible”?

 I thought about the old Beatles song “Imagine.” The song was written during a time when the Beatles were experimenting with Transcendental Meditation, looking for meaning in life. The words of the song speak of a world where people can become one and live in harmony with one another.

 The last verse of the song shares the coexist dream:

You may say I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.

 

When we hear this our emotions get stirred up and we say, “Yes.” But in reality it is only a delusion because in order for all people to live in harmony, all religions must be watered down so that the different beliefs would be palatable to all in the universal soup of life. There would be no moral or spiritual absolutes and there would be no God.

 

The goal of the Coexist movement is the promotion of a worldwide idealistic worldview. It aims to socially benefit all humanity with better living conditions, promoting the idea that there can be good without God. In this humanistic view all people are born good but do bad things because of religious distinctions.

On the contrary, Biblical truth teaches that God does indeed exist and is the Creator of all. Mankind is born with a sin nature with a spiritual void. (Just study a young child and you will see total self-absorption.)

Biblical truth states that God has a designed way for all mankind to live. When man chooses to follow God’s designed way he prospers and is blessed, but if he chooses to follow his own way, he reaps a harvest of sickly bug infested fruit.

As idealist as it sounds, the coexist movement is a dreamy fantasy. For example, it is untenable for Christianity and Islam to exist together, because of Islam’s unlivable violent extreme teachings. Yet the coexist movement is not really about religions coming together. It is about forming a new religion where man is his own god. Coexist really spells humanism.

So what does coexist mean? If it means to live peacefully together in a land where we have freedom of religion, I say yes, but if it means that we all have to reconstruct our beliefs to conform to one humanistic religious system I say, IMPOSSIBLE.

“For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:5-6).

Only through believing and appropriating the sacrifice of Jesus can a person be forgiven and his spiritual void filled. Only then will mankind find a true and fulfilling life. One day the world will be one but it will not happen through humanism, it will happen when Christ returns.

My Hero

My daughter has told me many times that I am her hero. When I hear those words have

two opposing emotions: one of warmth, joy, and pride, and the other of fear of disappointment for I am a sinner saved by grace, and I will at some time probably fail her.

In the last few decades there has been an attack on heroes, from historical figures to movie characters.  The reputations of Christopher Columbus, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, just to mention a few have, been smeared by revisionists digging up dirt and overemphasizing their meager findings.

Today’s TV characters are no exception. For example: in two popular shows: Dexter and Blacklist, one hero is a serial killer and the other a strange, mysterious con man, but both are likable and gain the viewer’s sympathies.

Jesus also is often misrepresented as a hero. When you think of him what do you see? A good looking blond hair blue eyed man that we all see in the Jesus picture? A Leo Dicapro type as in Titanic? Or a Mel Gibson type as in Braveheart?

When I read the book of Matthew I see a bold and fearless leader. Though he healed the sick, fed the hungry, and gave hope, life and a future to all that followed him, he also kicked over tables.  He was ruthlessly honest and stood up to the religious leaders calling them liars, hypocrites, and a brood of vipers. When challenged he wasn't politically correct but destroyed their arguments with his impeccable insightful apologetic skill. 

Recently I read the book,” 7 Men”, a story of seven men who in their greatness made a huge impact on their world for good: true heroes. These Christian men all had a common thread to their greatness; they all were willing to lay down their lives for Biblical truth. One of the men profiled was Jackie Robinson. 

One day the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, called for a young black man named Jackie Robinson to play for his team.  He would be the first black man to break the 1940s whites-only color barrier in baseball—if he was able to make it. Only a man with supernatural discipline could accomplish that goal. He would face an enormous amount of abuse both verbal and physical: being called nigger boy, having his feet stepped on while coming to base, not being able to eat in white only places with his team, or riding the bus with them, not to mention the verbal abuse from the stands.

During the interview Rickey told Jackie, “I know you’re a good ballplayer…What I don’t know is whether you have the guts”… I’m looking for ballplayers that have enough guts not to fight back”. Rickey was a Christian man who saw the injustice against the black community and was willing to do something about it, and Jackie was a Christian who through God’s strength and Christ likeness paved the way for all men to play baseball.

Jesus was his hero.

He is also my hero. He alone puts up with my faults, sins, and inconsistencies, yet instructs disciplines and leads me to his loving, healing presence. He alone never fails and desires to use me in helping the lost see the life-giving truth.

One day he is coming back, but this time on a white horse with eyes like a flame of fire, along with the armies of heaven (Revelations 19:11-14). 

So who is your hero?