Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. -Genesis 3:7 (NIV)

In May 2018, a 17-year-old high school student in Santa Fe, Texas, shot and killed two teachers and eight students in his school. Some raise a heavy question: How can there be a God who would allow such things to happen? The answer requires going all the way back to the beginning.

In the beginning, God spoke the universe into existence. He also made a perfect world, and a man and woman to tame and tend it. There was no death, no disease, nor sin. Heaven was on earth, where God even walked among us.

God also gave man free will to choose to love and respect Him and His very simple rule about right and wrong, or to choose his own way apart from God and define his own standards–and the consequences. From the very first two people created, they chose sin, instantly separating themselves from God, and Heaven and earth no longer overlapped.

This pattern of man choosing his own way multiplied and festered all over the planet, even to the point of God flooding the earth to start anew…but then the pattern just started again. Man just seems hellbent (indeed) on choosing the very things God never wanted him to choose.

Fast forward to May 2018. The high school killing in Santa Fe continues the pattern of sin first exhibited by Cain, the world’s very firstborn son, and repeated many millions of times since then.

Back to the question

This agent believes the question of why God would allow for evil to occur has two underlying points:

1. Nonbelievers would argue that the presence of evil means there is no God, because of…
2. The assumption that God could only exist if there were only no death, disease, or sin. (Even believers can wrestle with this.)

The answer and solution

God does indeed exist, and offered the perfect, spotless world to mankind from the very beginning. Man chose (and continues to choose) sin and separation from the Lord, and so we continue to reap the suffering and pain sown by sin.

Seeing that man was incapable of realigning his path with God, Jesus (God’s only son) came down to dwell among us, introducing the overlap of Heaven and earth in Himself, and increasing that overlap with every heart that turned to Him. Through that overlap, Jesus is Jacob’s ladder to Heaven for those who believe in and follow Him. And one day, when He returns to judge the living and the dead, Heaven and earth will be reunited again.

The solution is the same as it has been since the beginning: to follow God and His intentions for how we should live our lives as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to Him. As we believers are His pockets of overlapping light in this very dark world, perhaps others will be drawn to the light–and add to the light in this world as well.

Today’s video

The excellent Bible Project video on Heaven and Earth explains the overlap of the two, how man split them apart, and how Jesus brings them back together.

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” -John 4:13-14 (NKJV)

For thousands of years, legends of a fountain of youth has captivated young and old–especially the old. The fountain would allegedly restore the youth of the one who drank from it. Most famously, 16th century Spanish conquistador Ponce de León was charged with locating Beniny, the supposed location of this fountain. Needless to say, he never found it.

I look back at the thousands of years of enthralled wonderers and wanderers–of which I was one–who marveled over the promise of the fountain. I could stay young forever! I would never die!

What I see today, now that Jesus is in my life, is that such legends are just distractions from the answer that’s been under our noses even longer than the mythical fountain: the true fountain of youth. The true source of everlasting and eternal life.

It’s not found at a secret hidden spot in this world. You could quest for it and die trying. No, the spiritual location springs forth in your heart, after you’re ready to unlock it and let Jesus in. And once you do, the true living water that becomes in you a fountain will indeed grant you access to the very best outcome: eternal life, in the presence of God.

Today’s soundtrack

“Born Again” by the Newsboys is a passionate anthem for believers who have partaken of the true fountain of youth.

Did the song supercharge you the way it did me? Get it on Amazon Music »

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. -Acts 20:24 (NIV)

Have you ever thought about how to encapsulate your whole life into a few words, like an epitaph? What would it say?

There’s a funny picture circulating on the internet where the subject, when deceased, would want their friends to wear FBI jackets and sunglasses to their funeral, to make it seem like they had a mysterious and thrilling secret life. There are many humorous photos like that, but they all concentrate on people remembering and elevating the deceased.

For true believers, however, it’s not so much about a legacy we leave in this world, because anything of this world will eventually crumble and be forgotten. It’s all about making God known to the world, to bring attention to Him through the sweet-smelling sacrifice of our lives, not to put the spotlight on us.

While we’re here on this earth, we want to live our lives well and to the fullest, which is done through the overflow of His Spirit in us. People will see supernatural grace, perseverance, love, hope, and faith in true believers who live what they profess to believe, not just talk about it.

And at the end of my fleeting time on this earth, I hope my epitaph would speak of a servant of Christ who finished the race to His glory. Though I may stumble during the race, I will get up with His help, and live my life well…and finish it well.

Today’s soundtrack

“Live It Well” by Switchfoot sums it up well: we want to live our lives well for Him.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” -‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14:12‬ ‭(NKJV)

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. -Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)

In my last post, I talked about how I watched my father slip away, and that only he and God knew which path he took. I had presented him with the Good News just the day before, which was the last time I saw him conscious.

When belief systems collide

As the oldest son and lone Christ follower in a mostly Buddhist family, I knew what was looming: the ancestor worship ceremony in a Buddhist temple, with my mother and siblings front and center before a large crowd of mourners. Monks would be chanting, and lots of incense would be burned and offered up to ancestors, along with food for them in the afterlife.

Two commandments come to mind: that we are to have no other gods before our God; and that we are to honor our parents. I am prayerfully asking God and fellow agents for guidance on how to proceed, hoping there is some graceful medium where I can pay my respects for my father, but not dishonor the Lord. I know that standing up will result in serious short-term and long-term friction.

In truth, how I feel is I want to run and hide. I don’t want to deal with any of this. I don’t like confrontation. But believers don’t live by how we feel, but how God has commanded us to live. We are to be unashamed of the gospel. He presents this time as an opportunity to honor Him before men…even in the temples of other gods and belief systems. Confrontation is imminent.

It helped me to think of it another way: If my son were a devout Muslim, I would not expect him to come into my church and worship the Holy Trinity, which would be blasphemy to him. It would not be sufficient for me to say, “Just go through the motions because you don’t believe it anyway. Just do it for me.” Why bother with religious convictions at all, then?

Only one road passes through the narrow gate

This agent does not ascribe to the universalist view that all gods are okay, and that all roads lead to God. Was Jesus lying when He said the only way to the Father was through Him? Of course not. Jesus is God’s inerrant Word incarnate. Why would He even bother talking about the narrow gate, if everybody and anybody could take whatever gate they choose into heaven?

The hard road is the one with the richest reward at its end. And part of that hard road is obedience to the Lord above all, even when it’s not convenient or comfortable. Even if it means being shunned and condemned by family.

Being cafeteria Christians is too easy, picking and choosing what only what we want to fit our comfort level. God doesn’t call us to go the easy route. He calls us to make Him known before men…and you can see the heat that followers of God endured throughout Scripture. Early Christians lived inside of pagan cultures, and were persecuted for sticking to their guns.

There is immense pressure to conform, to compromise and alter your belief system so that everyone can get along harmoniously. But the gospel is truly offensive to the world because it makes its followers like nails sticking up that are begging to be hammered down.

In today’s “you’re okay, I’m okay, everyone is okay” (as long as we all compromise) world, Jesus calls us to drop everything and follow Him…not do whatever we feel is comfortable, but do what is right and God-honoring. His standard, not ours or the world’s. And when we follow Him and His standard, we can completely trust that He’s flanking us the whole way.

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. -‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55:10-11‬ ‭(NKJV)

I’m typing this a little past midnight as I wait with my mother for the funeral services staff to come and collect my father’s body.

Yesterday, my father’s condition quickly declined, and he was taken to the emergency room, and then the intensive care unit of the hospital. After the seemingly interminable wait to get him situated in his room, the doctor told us it would be just hours. He was put on a norepinephrine drip to keep his body functioning till my brother and uncle could arrive.

After yesterday’s post about me secretly witnessing to my father, a couple of agents both pointed me to the verse above. In addition, the Spirit pointed me to the Parable of the Sower.

In following God’s lead to take the opening He presented for me to witness to my father, He used me to sow the seed of His Word. Though my father rejected my witness at the time, only he and God know whether the seed grew in him so he would accept Jesus.

So while it’s true that, in the moment, my father did not immediately take to the seed, God’s Word would bear fruit. As is often the case, I may not understand how and when it will, but God’s Word will yield fruit in seasons to come. For me and other agents, this is a tough season, but God will most certainly use these times for the good of His children, as we have seen over and over in Scripture…and as we will see in our own lives in hindsight.

I write this to testify that God, whether directly or through fellow agents, continues to teach us, especially in tough times, if we listen and look for Him. He shows me that sometimes what I want will be aligned with what He has willed, and sometimes what I want isn’t. But, His Word and the outcome of His will are surer bets than anything of this world.

If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. -Luke‬ ‭14:26-27‬ ‭(NKJV)

So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. -Romans 10:17 (NLT)

If you were born and raised in a family of believers, count your blessings, because being spiritually on the same page makes all the difference between unity and discord when our time on this earth draws near. All the difference.

Want to hear a true story that’s stranger than fiction?

I was raised by Buddhist parents who were a lot like some Christians who only attend church on holidays or other special events. So, my siblings and I were never spiritually grounded. That led to many, many years of confusion and lack of direction…lots of wandering.

As readers of this blog well know, God called me to Him in my 40th year (a number associated with testing in the bible), and everything changed for me. The wool was pulled from my eyes. I was unplugged from the Matrix. I could now see like other believers: above and beyond the surface of this world.

As the only believer in my immediate family, I knew that could mean friction when it came time for my parents’ passing. Aside from funeral ceremonies and arrangements, there would be another hot point (pun intended): witnessing to my parents on their deathbeds in the hopes that they may truly accept Jesus and not end up in hell.

I have an aunt and uncle who approached my dying grandmother to follow them in the sinner’s prayer. But my grandmother told them that she could not do it, or her daughter–this agent’s mother–would never speak to her again. I also learned that my mother would speak to my grandmother after my aunt and uncle left, and tell her that it was too late for her to accept Jesus. She told her, “once a Buddhist, always a Buddhist.”

And now, I will face her as I witness to my father.

This is spiritual civil warfare: family against family.

On the advice of another agent, I have prayed that my father may be spoken to by the Lord in dreams or visions. In addition, because the choice is my father’s alone to make, I first will approach him discreetly with the choice. Honestly, what is there to lose if he accepts? He has only to gain eternal life! I’m prepared for serious heat should my mother discover this, so please pray that this stealth mission will succeed.

As the oldest son, once my father passes, it is my duty to conduct and take part in the Buddhist funeral ceremony…which includes ancestor worship. I’m prepared to take additional heat for politely refusing the role, which directly contradicts God’s first commandment. I’m also prepared to face a lifetime of disownment from my mother, should she choose to do it. (Remember, I come from a family where grudges have been held for decades…past a person’s death!)

Why? Because true believers follow Christ so loyally and resolutely that, in comparison, their own family relationships are like hate. We are to drop everything–everything–to bear our crosses and follow Christ. No matter what we bear, it’s nothing compared to the sins of the world He bore to save us.

As a true believer, you love your family, but you love Jesus even above them. And if you love them, then there is no worldly discomfort that should discourage you from making Him known before them.

So, whether you are surrounded by a family of believers or are the black sheep, know that you are His sheep, and He is your shepherd. With Him in your life, even if every single person turns on you, you shall not be wanting for anything. Christ fulfills your every need, all the way to the murkiest depths of your aching heart.

One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. -Psalm 27:4 (NIV)

Today, I and many other agents attend the passing of one of our own. While we do mourn because we wish the deceased would continue journeying with us, we have supreme comfort and peace knowing where she went.

As true believers, we know that this Christmas season holds a far deeper significance than gifts or decorations or even time with friends and family. It’s about our belief in faith that God packaged His infinite power into a mortal bundle–an infant–to grow up among us and to eventually be killed by us…to be sacrificed…so that we may partake of His free gift: forgiveness of our sins, making a way for us to be forever in His presence when we pass on from this world.

We’re pilgrims and travelers who are just passing through this world to the next. We also know that Jesus is the only bridge from this world to the next, and that only belief in Him and His works lowers the bridge for us. To know that our passage has been secured ahead of us is comforting to remember as we get scraped and scarred during our journey.

I didn’t know the deceased personally, but one thing I did know about her was the only thing that mattered: that she believed in who Jesus was, and what He did. Because of that, we know that she now resides–free of all infirmity–in the most desirable place, which is in the house of the Lord for all eternity, in His presence.

Each time the Christmas season rolls around, those of us who have lost a loved one will feel it in our hearts, but time will give us the healing, comfort, and perspective to know that they’ve accepted the greatest gift the world will ever know.

If our pilgrimage on this earth were a book, we can say we don’t know what will happen on this page or the next, but it’s an amazing comfort to know how our story ends: rejoining our loved ones, where there is no more sorrow and no more pain…only eternal bliss in the presence of the Lord.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. -John 14:1-4 (NIV)

Every single believer in this world will be called when He is ready for us. But it’s not goodbye.

When our travels through this world, and the missions God needs us to accomplish, are complete, we go on to the next. We go on to live in our Father’s house, which has many mansions in it.

And when we pass through to His house, we are freed from the shackles and pains of this world. But for those who are still behind on earth, it can be very, very hard. But before we go, what can we tell their aching, sunken hearts, to give them comfort?

I would tell them that this is not goodbye, that I would see them in a little while. I’d tell them that, because God will heal me completely, I will never will be sick or in pain again, and that they would no longer have to feel stressed over my health. I would tell them that I am on my way to the very best place in the universe–total bliss–in the presence of our Heavenly Father, whose face I will finally get to see.

I would tell them that I’ll be smiling and waiting for them on the other side. I would thank them for loving me in my time with them. And I would assure them they need have no regrets, because living on this earth is hard enough without adding to our own burdens.

I would ask them to, if they can, be excited for me, and to be excited to join me when God calls them. And in the meantime? To live every moment to the fullest to make God smile. Thank and praise Him for the overflowing abundance of blessings in our lives.

I would tell them to not look to where I was or where I am, but where I’m going. I would tell them to always look up to God, no matter how dark and low things are…because He is with us even now, and we’ll all be with Him when He calls.

I’d tell them that God is happy with my completed work here on earth, and to trust that God still has amazing and wonderful plans for them ahead. This isn’t goodbye. This is just the beginning of eternal life.

Today’s soundtrack

“This Is Not Goodbye” by Sidewalk Prophets tells our loved ones that we’re not telling them goodbye, but giving them an “I love you” to take with them…and that we’ll meet again.

You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer. -Job 14:5 (NLT)

Twenty years ago, around Easter of 1995, I was driving down the freeway one night on the way home, about 65 mph (104.6 kph). The freeway was empty, except for an SUV parked on the shoulder…and a man standing outside of it in the shadows.

As I approached the SUV, I noticed the man made a throwing motion. Next thing I knew, something had crashed through my windshield and would smash me in the face. In that instant, I turned my head slightly to the right, and the object smashed my left jaw. Glass and blood were everywhere…in my mouth, eyelashes, and all over the interior of the car.

I rolled down the car window and blasted the radio to keep myself from blacking out, and managed to eventually drive home and recover. The object was a large chunk of concrete, which probably would’ve killed me if I hadn’t turned my head.

A few months later in the same year, I was sideswiped when I was about to get out of my car, which had overheated on the freeway. My car was totaled, and to this day, my knee has never been the same.

Twenty years later, in December 2015, I was visiting family in the hospital, but security stopped me and other visitors from leaving the lobby to get to our cars. It turns out that someone was shooting people in the back of the hospital, so no one could come in or out. A few minutes later, security did let a few of us go to our cars, so I headed home.

Some would say that I am really lucky, or cheated death, or avoided death, but as believers, we know we have nothing to do with determining our time of death. And we also know that there is no such thing as luck.

God knows exactly when it’s our time to go. We don’t ever need to worry about how and when we will leave this earth, but instead take comfort in knowing that He does, and that if we believe in His Son and His saving work for us on the cross, that we will pass on from this world into the eternal ecstasy of His presence.