Day 2802 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Romans 1:19 NIV

Denial. It's a truly powerful thing to be able to go through life and manage to remain oblivious to the reality in which we exist. To be able to ignore the goings on around us is truly one of our more impressive human abilities. But for all of our ignorance we run the risk of following a delusion all the way to the grave, and ultimately, far beyond. And yet, no matter how many stand up and cry out to those being washed away in the flood, society just keeps on funneling happily toward their demise.

We really can convince ourselves of just about anything if we want to believe it badly enough. As we discussed yesterday, humans are on a collision course with God's vengeance. The things people are doing down here are in no way acceptable, and yet society accepts them. Sin is praised, and I know that I sound like a broken record at this point with that statement, but it's true. Everything wicked is applauded as if it’s some monumentally courageous act to give into filthy perversions. It's like the world has degraded into some kind of sick parade in which the evils continue to grow more blatant and jarring as the prior falls out of style.

And all along the way, there's a crowd clapping their hands and cheering like fools for those who display their wanton disregard for God's truth, and authority, and divinity, and power, and judgement.

I think it's because of what I mentioned yesterday. The truth, God's truth, is legitimately too terrifying for people to believe. We all know there is a difference between right and wrong. And though that line be blurred these days, it's still the responsibility of every person to make their choices based on that distinction. And the fact is, we've all gotten it wrong plenty of times. We've all made the wrong choices. We've all done things we know shouldn't have been done.

But with humility being such a rarity, humanity is left with no option but to ignore that truth. They ignore their wrongdoings because they simply can't bring themselves to admit that they actually deserve to be punished and should honestly get their act together. People are truly terrified of the thought of an all-powerful God who has the ability to end their party at any given moment. People are horrified at the possibility of hellfire and torment charged to their eternal account due to their choices to avoid self-control. People are scared to death of the judgement that they know full-well is fully deserved.

Yet, rather than admit that and accept the truth and make some changes and stop being idiots, many just concoct this lie that tells them God's not there. They use all these witty excuses and 'evidence' to support their theory in the effort to continue to convince themselves that they have nothing to worry about, or fix, or change, or stop, or seek forgiveness for having done.

You hear folks say that God doesn't speak anymore, and yet they either don't have a Bible or it remains closed and dusty in that same place on the shelf where it’s been for a decade. They say that there's no proof of God's existence, and yet they ignore the testimonies of those who have been radically changed in ways that are simply beyond human ability. They claim that it's all fairy tale, and yet they fail to see that all the lies they've chosen to believe in order to escape the dreadful reality of their fallen state amount to the biggest fairy tale of all.

You see, what may be known of God is clear. It's available to everyone. It's in Scripture. It's in the sharing of the Gospel. It's in the willingness of people to stand up and recount their misdeeds. It's witnessed in people witnessing to others about the massive transformations they've experienced in their lives. It's in the tiny miracles that go largely unnoticed while we're all busy paying attention to our hopes and dreams. It’s in the ability to hope despite our circumstances. It’s in a willingness to admit guilt when much of the world tells us we’ve done nothing wrong.

It's in the fact that we've been given a roadmap written across thousands of years by numerous authors who themselves were eyewitnesses to the stories and teachings and prophesies that all pointed to events that actually, historically, legitimately occurred which were given to them from a source they could not see and yet still chose to believe which all culminated in the cross that reminds us of a love we still can't explain or deny.

It's not that God is hard to see. It's not that we can't hear Him with our ears. It's not that there's no evidence or proof of His power or existence. It's just that humanity has largely chosen to deny it all. People choose to never read the Bible and still say that God's not speaking. They choose to never pray and still say that God doesn't answer prayers. They choose to willfully live in sin and still say that God doesn't heal or change or save.

People refuse to let Christ into their lives and say that He must not be there. Not because He isn’t, but because He just isn’t welcome in their lives.

Friends, we live in a world that is truly, wholly, completely lost in the clutches of sin. And the worst part is that so many just don't care. They don't want to change, and when you don't want to change, you'll have no trouble finding plenty of reasons and excuses to avoid doing so. And that's exactly what we see in this place today. A gross unwillingness to accept responsibility which has led to millions of hearts fully hardened against the truth that warns them of the dangers in not doing so.

What maybe sucks the worst is that those of us who do believe and want to help make a difference are stuck in this place that simply doesn't want to be different. That's the burden of our faith in this faithless world. It's the same burden borne by those who have gone before us. It's the same burden borne by Christ as He carried that cross up that hill knowing what was coming. It's the miserable feeling found in knowing that no matter what we do or say, there will be many who simply reject the offering of salvation which leads to peace all because it demands repentance.

But we keep trying. And we'll keep trying. And we'll never stop trying because the most incredible evidence of all is found in the hope that we've managed to stumble upon which can only come from somewhere other than ourselves. It's in the knowing that we're perfectly loved by a perfect Savior despite all of our imperfections. It's this sense of peace we find when peace shouldn't be possible. It's reading through Scripture and getting to a verse that stops you in your tracks because it's so real you can't explain it.

As I said yesterday, God is not dead. He's not weak or disinterested or unable. He's patient. He's kind. He's willing to relent at the plans He has to display His authority for all to see so that people have a chance to turn back to Him and accept His forgiveness before those plans are unleashed. If the world wants to take this time for granted, so be it. Again, each of us are responsible for the choices we make. And choosing to believe that God's not there or that He doesn't care about what we do or that He won't punish us because He's just a really nice guy are all sadly common. But that doesn't make them true.

Friends, I know it's hard to believe. It's even harder to believe when you're in a place that simply refuses to believe. It’s hardest of all to believe when you’re in a world that makes fun of those who believe and offers up so many reasons not to believe. But just look around. Not through eyes of desperate doubt that are unwilling to see. But look around and you will see evidence of God. He has made it all plain. He has made it clear. He has made it easy. We've just made it hard. We've clouded His truth by things like science and opinions and emotions and all sorts of other human arrogance.

But one day, that arrogance will be humbled and those who chose not to do so beforehand will finally find all the proof they need that God is as powerful as He claims to be. But they'll find that proof in a verdict that they can't debate or avoid.

I reckon what I'm saying is deny at your own risk. Personally, I want everyone to find the hope I've found. But, realistically, I know that will never happen. Just know that the proof is there if you feel the need to have evidence before opening your heart to believing. But "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Because they're the ones who get to live these lives filled with hope and peace while much of the rest of the world lives them in fear and anger.

The fact that there are so many who exude this radiant joy in such a dark world is all the proof anyone needs. Because to be different, to be joyous, to be thankful, to be hopeful in a place where all those things are unvalued and unwelcome just shows that there’s something different inside that this place doesn’t offer and can’t comprehend.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold