It never ceases to amaze me how the most brilliant people in the world seem to have all the answers to all the questions in the world except the answer to the most basic and important one “how do you obtain eternal life?”

Seriously, why does anything else even matter if you know you are going to die in a few years and leave everything behind to someone else?  This was the question Solomon pondered in Ecclesiastes 1:14 “I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind”.  The point the wisest man to ever exist was trying to make is that without a personal lasting relationship with God, what you do in this life is meaningless, it is vanity, it doesn’t last and it doesn’t satisfy.  Solomon expounds on this reasoning for 12 chapters and concludes with this in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

 13The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

This is the way Old Testament believers related to God, with a reverent “fear” and respect toward God for their life.  OT believers, believed that they would one day rise from the dead because God would send a Messiah to pay for their sin.  Today we know that the Messiah has come and died on the cross for our sin and Jesus has risen from the dead.  Today God wants us to call Him “Abba Father” and have His Holy Spirit live in us so we will know Him personally as a child knows his own earthly father.  This is the purpose of life, to be free from the death penalty of sin and have eternal life in Christ.  And once you are born again in Christ Jesus everything in the world looks different through resurrection eyes.

The Born Again Christian has eternal life in Jesus Christ and sharing this good news with others is their most important issue in the world and every other issue become secondary in importance.  Therefore when someone argues passionately about an issue but they do not relate their issue to how it helps obtain eternal life in Christ or how it helps to faithfully serve Christ, then this effort is really just a matter of “majoring in the minors”.  You see, all the issues of the world are “minor” in comparison to the “major” issue of how to obtain eternal life, which is only possible by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  This is why there is so must conflict between Christians and non-Christians.  Christians are trying to get people to see that they need life in Jesus Christ while non-Christians are trying to get people to see they need to extend their life on planet earth by their own means.  A Born Again Christian is trying to get people of the world to see their need for salvation and praying for God to solve problems so God gets the glory while the people of the world are trying to get a Born Again Christian to shut up about sin, death, repentance and eternal life in Jesus Christ and focus on solving problem by human reasoning and will power so man gets the glory.

A Born Again Christian sees and addresses issues of the world through resurrection eyes.  Take for instance the issue of “Global Warming”.  The argument that people of the world make is that this is the most pressing issue for the world and therefore we need to do everything we can to cut back and eliminate carbon gas emission that is causing Global Warming.  Yes, a worldwide meltdown is a critical issue but the Christian knows that God is going to one day restore a new earth by passing the current one through fire (2 Peter 3:10) … this is a real global warming effect!  Look, I am not trying to make light of implications of Global Warming or relinquish my responsibility to be good citizen of planet earth but my primary responsibility is to be a good citizen of Heaven by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The biggest issue facing planet earth is not Global Warming but “Global Cooling“, the condition that is occurring as the love of man grows cold toward God and one another.  Read this article from Pastor Clay, about Global Cooling.

Here’s a chart comparing the earth’s temperature for the last 20,000 years, which from a Bible perspective doesn’t make sense but you can see the temperature is rising exponentially: https://xkcd.com/1732/#

And here some information from a Bible perspective on why the earth’s temperature is rising.  It’s judgment from God and another sign of the approaching end times.  http://www.lorendavis.com/news_articles_warm.html 

For the sake of argument, let’s say that planet earth is warming up and the warming is caused by green house gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) that man is producing.  Quiet frankly, it has always made sense to me to use renewable energy resources like solar and wind power to lessen pollution and our dependence on foreign oil.  I have never understood why America has not done more to develop renewable energy sources, although I expect it has a lot to do with the big business of oil and the special interest groups that lobby for it to prosper and the big banks that want to keep us in debt to them. 

Back in the 70’s when we had the oil crisis and stood up the Department of Energy to remove our dependence on oil, I thought our problems were soon going to be solved.  Now, 40 years later after dumping billions of dollars into the DOE we use more oil, drive bigger cars and are more dependent on foreign oil than we were in the 1970’s.  The way the government has turned a blind eye to the issue of being energy independent or acted incompetently for so many years makes you cynical to believe the government really wants to do or is able to do anything to help solve the problem of global warming.  And for all those who are buying electric cars today with the intent to “save the planet”, this guy in this video has some bad news for you.

Besides, the number one creator of carbon emissions is not developed countries like America but in undeveloped countries were they burn wood and coals for every day heating and eating.  Therefore, the number one issue of how to solve Global warming become changing the lives of all the poor people in the world so they can live like a developed country.  How do you educate billions of people and change their economy so they have a life style that is like a developed country, especially with all the class conflicts and cultural differences that exist in these countries?  Suddenly, the scope and complexity of the problem of global warming starts to overwhelm you and you realize man can’t solve this massive problem without the cooperation of the whole world.  To the non-Christians, they look to the United Nations or a One World Government to solve the problem but to the Christian the answer is obvious, we need the miracle and wonder working power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the only One who can help change lives from the inside out.  Jesus is the only One who can bring real peace and cooperation among men.  Jesus is the only One who knows the real problems and how to fix them.  Jesus is the only One who can give a person a new eternal life and then works inside that person to direct that person to change the world for God’s glory and reach others to bring them the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.  This is the Born Again Christian method to solving world issues, come “first” to Christ!  

There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. – Proverbs 14:12

There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. – Proverbs 16:25

So when everyone gets mad and starts yelling about how important their issue is in the world, I ask how does their issue relate to bringing others the good news of eternal life in Jesus Christ or being faithful to serve Christ?  If you can’t answer that question then you are not on the same page as God and your issue is “minor” compared to the “major” issue of being faithful to do God’s will.  Sure, the issue may matter a lot to you and effect your comfort on earth and your position of importance in this life but it is not important to God and it will not grant you eternal life or rewards in Heaven for faithfully following Christ.  Look, I don’t expect the conflict between the way “resurrected eyes see the world” and the way non resurrected eyes see the world to ever be resolved until all eyes are turned upon Jesus. 

+8^)  Rogersings

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Helen H. Lemmel, 1922

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