My feelings are not hurt by anything you are saying. In fact, I don't even take offense to anything anyone else says. I used to though, when the truth of life wasn't real to me. Now I basiclly live and let live, though I do like to see what other people have to say concerning certain topics. I'm sure as I get older that will dwindle down though.
You are talking about John here, then I'm sure you know
11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
It gets real simple as well once we know who the "son" is. I used to mistake many things Jesus said and use them for my own benifit. In fact, I may still do that today.
Let me give you my testimony if you will listen
I wrote this about a month ago for all to see, so I will post it here for you. Hopefully this will let you know where I'm coming from a little better.
I have been noticing quite a bit that the more I am taking a stand in faith, there has been more persecution, more attacks on me. (or rather what I am saying) First of all, I never mean to come down in judgement against anyone. In fact I do it all out of a great love for all of you. Will you chose to love me back? No one around me is perfect, neither am I in any way perfect. I never claim to be better then anyone, so don't get it confused when I speak of greater more pure things and add my thoughts here and there. I am striving to be stripped of all pride and walk in humility. I am growing as are all of you. It is better to be hated for what you are..than to be loved for what you are not..stand for what you believe in..even if you have to stand alone.
Walk with me as I tell you a little about my life.
I used to just sit around and not care for my fellow neighbor/brother/sister. I was only interested in pleasing myself and how I could gain something out of life. Even seeking after God was a selfish thing, because I was still trying to find a way out for me as I was tired of living in a world that is so backwards. Once I was finding a way out, I began to realise it wasn't about me anymore. I see now that we are not put on this earth for ourselves, but for each other and for one another. No one is higher then the other.
My whole view on life has changed for the better and only because I sought after truth. I don't find my worth in this world anymore. Many years I tried to find my worth but never could. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't live up to other peoples standards. I always did what they wanted me to do, and when I got there it wasn't enough. When I didn't work, I was told to work, when I worked, I was told to work harder, when I worked harder, I was told to do more, more more more . I even ran my own business and that still was not enough. Some people saw and still see my self worth in material things and how I look, and what I've done. HOW SHALLOW right? Well, we all have been there and some are still there. Trying to find ourselves in this backwards life we call the world. Someone needs to take a stand (and I don't mean in pride) I mean for the truth.
Knowing "about" God is not enough. Believing in a certain faith is not enough! There seems to be a billion paths that really don't lead anywhere. I know, I have searched and searched! We say what is good for one person is not good for the other. Is this statement really truth? It can't be. There can only be one truth! Yeah yeah I know....I heard all about Jesus, and living this so called "Christian" life and I thought I knew it all. Or did I? Was knowing "about" God enough? Sure, I was lectured about God and all his ways MENTALLY speaking, but nothing ever hit my heart. So I thought I could find it elsewhere. I searched more and more, into all types of Philosophy, religion and spiritual things. I spent countless years in what I thought was finding "God" to me, just getting more and more confused and never having that total peace I was told I could have. I was putting myself through torment, pain and agony.
LOOK AT THIS WORLD I yelled out! LOOK AT IT. It's insane! Everyone is two faced! I knew I was in a backwards world, but I didn't know how to get out! I knew I couldn't find my self worth in material things and other people, (I got that far yes, or did I) but I still strived for it. WHAT WAS I MISSING! WHAT WAS I DOING WRONG I kept thinking, thinking, thinking. Mentally trying to figure everything out.
That's where my heart grew cold and hard. I gave up. I said it couldn't be done. There is no God. There is no hope. There is no peace. I wanted to end my life. It wasn't worth living in this sick, twisted world right? Where wrong is right and where right is wrong. I wanted it all to end. Good thing I still has strength to breathe. (and thats about all) When I finally let go, and I mean LET GO, things started to change. I began to search the words of Jesus again, replaying them over and over again such as ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." and in John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. As I was reading these, I also stumbled across Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That hit me pretty hard, because that explained the sheer turmoil I was in.
I knew my view was not in line with Gods view, it was still from mans view so I knew I was missing something. The more I began to put my focus onto Jesus and his words of life and truth, I started to rise up outside of myself, out of my pride and my lust for this world. In Luke 9:23-24 it says "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever would save his own life shall lose it; but whoever wants to lose his life for My sake will find it." At first it was hard, I felt it was a struggle, a battle, a fight and it was, O boy it was, but the more I stayed focused on the things of God, my appetite for the world got smaller and smaller. I saw the world for what it was in all it's insanity and double standards all the while seeing the world as a place that needs love, that needed guidance, that needed Jesus. Even if they didn't understand it! God began to give me a love for people, even that I had hated in the past. I began to understand forgiveness and the purpose of Jesus giving up his life and him saying "It is finished".
Look what he did, people mocked, laughed, spit, and beat him, while he was loving them, and spreading love. Sure he called out the pharisees and sadducees who thought themselves to be the most holy and the most perfect, but because they were blind! They said they saw, but they didn't see a thing! Don't we do that today, we walk as if we can see and walk as if we know it all in our selfish pride. It's always our opinion that matters, and we mock those who see things differently. The other way around, we get to a point where we are just coasting along and we say whatever happens happens . We allow ourselves to slip into the world, not making as much as a sound so that people can hear the truth. We take our focus off of Jesus, and his ultimate love for us all and get weaker to the point of going back to our old state of living. Some of us have the truth, but we don't give it! Or, we try to get more truth for our gain! That is not experiencing the full truth, understanding and knowing full truth will come when we are stripped of all our pride, and remember in Luke 8:16 No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.
I will no longer sit around and be like the rest of the world and sit in confusion and darkness, I've been there. That's torment. That is no way to live. If I see someone suffer I will be there to comfort and not think of myself. There is light, there is hope, but not in the things of this world. If we didn't resist God we would be in total peace, and live in total love, and total forgiveness. Humility comes from accepting the fact that we don't know it all, and letting it go and giving it to God. If I am wrong in any of my doings I ask God to guide me to show me more as to how to be used in the right way, but I will no longer sit around and be content in this life full of lies and pain, and continue to see my brother and sisters in the same torment. I have that passion to go out and show the world the love of the father through me! God forgive me for not wanting to do that!
There is only one truth and it was so simple to begin with. We complicate things so much. People have distorted the truth and made their own "religion" for their own selfish reasons! Jesus did come for a reason, his message is still very alive today for a reason. His words are more alive then ever. They are life giving. Ask God to make it a reality to you, a knowing that you experience daily, not just a ritual you perform to find worth. Your desire will grow and grow so much that you can't keep it to yourself anymore. Life will be so much more alive when your awake and see the truth. Material things won't have a hold on your life anymore. Ideas and opinions won't have a hold on your life anymore. You have the truth and nothing can take it away. It won't have to be a struggle anymore, because every inch of the truth has been ingrained into your mind, heart and soul. It's only a struggle if you resist and hold onto the past. Sure I could hold onto my past and talk about the bad things that happened to me, (and they were horrible) but it doesn't matter anymore. Realise you are not your past and you are very much alive now. I guarantee you will find nothing in this world more powerful then the simplicity of knowing Jesus and being humble enough to admit it. I promise you that.
Let us be a witness in everything we say and do. In spirit and in truth!
Now this may not be everyones experience, but it was mine. I don't push it on anyone. I simply ask that people go to their hearts and search there, that's all
Oh and one more thing, when I say TRUTH, I don't mean it as "christian" truth because already there is a label attached to that, and I really can't be defined except in and through God.