Mathes’ question above reads like a powerful challenge, but actually it is rather trivial. It doesn’t matter who I would rather have. What matters is Who actually exists and Who is actually the Creator, Judge, and Redeemer.

There is a strain of idolatry in Christianity where we feel free to decide what qualities a god should have, and then we attribute those qualities to the God of Heaven, whether or not we have any Scriptural basis for them.

As an example, there is the oft-repeated claim that if I were the only person on earth, Christ would have still come and died for me. That sentiment seems very nice and godlike, but there is little, if any, support for it in God’s Word.

Even more commonly, we praise our Heavenly Father for all his omni‘s: omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience… did I leave any out? And then there are the alls: all-loving, all-merciful, etc. Well, I suppose our Calvinist brothers wouldn’t include all-loving, because there is that matter of the non-elect. There is more or less Scriptural evidence for each of these, but we often do not allow ourselves to be limited by what Scripture teaches.

The essential point is that God is real, and He has real characteristics, whether or not they are all exactly as we think a god should be. All we know about God is what He has chosen to reveal to us, and we should be humble enough to worship Him for what He has told us about Himself and not make a "golden image" in our minds of what we would prefer.

"Just," not "Jesus," is the most often used word in most Christian prayers.

• We just want to praise You.
• We just thank you for…
• Just make this time together…
• Just bless our worship…

When did this useless word start to get so popular in public prayer? It’s useless because its removal does not change the sentences in which it occurs.

It sometimes seems that the longer a person has been a Christian, the less spontaeous and genuine become their public prayers. In a church where I was a member, a mature man came to Christ. His early prayers were rich in their heartfelt and artless nature; it was a blessing to be present when he prayed. Time passed, and now his prayers are a shopping list of familiar phrases:

• Father, we just… (beginning of most sentences)
• Lead, guide, and direct…
• Forgive us where we fail You.
• Hide our pastor behind the Cross.
• Bless the gift and the giver.

The Creator of the universe and the Savior of our souls deserves reverence when we address Him. Doesn’t He also deserve words from our hearts, rather than just our heads?

Many Christians who would gladly adopt the "pro-life" label seem to place a somewhat lower value on the lives of young adults, the ones who are sent to fight and die in war. They applaud the United States’ military incursions in other countries and consider the loss of young life a worthwhile price for whatever is being accomplished. Their prayers for the safety of military youth do not include the military youth of the invaded countries. Evidently, the value of U.S. life is considered higher than that of other ethnic or national groups.

I’ve not always been equally pro-life for all humans of whatever age or location, but I am now.

I think of all the senior adults in my church who seem to be just "marking time." Oh, they may be faithful churchgoers, prayer warriors, and enjoyers of family and social life. But their work is over, they’re retired from their jobs, they’ve raised their families. Other than attending church, their time is largely occupied with gardens and grandchildren. And if the answer to the above questions is "yes," then how young can you be when this happens?

I just turned 69 and am wondering if there are no more dragons to slay, no more mountains to climb. That age will probably seem ancient to you, based on the demographics of the blogosphere, but my ancestors have usually been active into their 80s and 90s. If I stay healthy, I have time for another decade of productive work. But does God have another work for me to do?

If you’ve read this far, I invite you to add your thoughts on this.

We see Christians suffering from the same illnesses, tragedies, and disappointments as non-Christians, and it doesn’t seem due to sin, lack of faith, or lack of prayer. Why is this? As I type this, my 90-year-old mother is slowly dying. She is suffering and getting little pleasure from life. Why doesn’t God take her home now? Why is it so hard for a young father to answer his child’s question, "Daddy, why did Mommy have to die?"

God’s original creation was "very good," but sin brought degradation to everything. All of God’s creatures, not just those who have rejected God, suffer from the effects that sin had on our world. This is the source of all the unpleasantness that we experience and see around us.

The Bible has many records of healings, resurrections, and the amassing of personal wealth, but when seen in the light of all of human experience, these occasions seem to be exceptional, rather than the norm. What is responsible for these rare interventions into the workings of a sin-damaged creation?

The miracles of Christ seem to have been aimed, not at human comfort, but at the establishment of his position as Messiah, Son of God. He didn’t raise everyone who died, he didn’t heal every sick person he saw, and he didn’t feed every hungry person in the world.

All of this seems to indicate a general principle of nonintervention: God does not intervene in natural events unless there is a spiritual victory to be won. He decides, based on His wisdom and goals, whether the victory is worth the intervention.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 ESV

Does God love everyone? Many Christians would say He loves only those whom He chooses to love… and He doesn’t choose to love everyone (limited atonement). Furthermore, those whom He loves are forced (irresistible grace) to "believe in him," so all of them have eternal life. If "world" in John 3:16 really means "world" and not "some of the world," then the above interpretation seems incorrect.

The Apostle Peter makes this even clearer:

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

Does that mean that everyone who has ever lived, no matter when or where, is loved by God and may be saved from the punishment they deserve?

Some Christians would say no, that before Jesus came and paid the price of sin by dying on the cross, only the Jews could be saved by following the Law. They would also say that, since Christ’s time, only those who hear the Good News and accept it can be saved. With that viewpoint we would have to say that the non-Jews of B.C. time and those whom missionaries do not reach during A.D. time are not loved by God… or at least not to the extent of making salvation available to them.

That doesn’t sound like "loved the world" or "not being willing that any should perish" to me. Are we therefore left only with the belief that everyone will be saved, no matter what? No, John 3:16 makes it clear that only those who believe in Jesus will have eternal life; it is not enough to have been born.

The teaching of the Bible indicates that "believing in Jesus" means recognizing Him as the divine Son of God who took on human flesh and by dying on the cross, paid the penalty for the sins of the world. It also means accepting that we need that payment or we are doomed. Finally, it means the acceptance of the paid-for gift of eternal life and the recognition of Christ as our Lord and Master.

So how can it be possible for everyone, no matter where or when they have lived, to have eternal life available to them? I can’t prove it from Scripture, but if the Gospel were preached after death to those who did not hear it before death, then it seems that all would have the opportunity of receiving God’s forgiveness. There are two Scriptures that suggest this possibility:

For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. 1 Peter 4:6

and

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison. 1 Peter 3:18-19

Where was I? We old guys have a tendency to get side-tracked. Oh, yes… well, when I did a Google, I found this website in Google’s index. So I decided I should start putting something here if people were going to find it.

I hope you find something of interest, and I hope you’ll add a comment if you feel so inclined.