What a beautiful day as I see the snow is finally coming to existence in the city of Vancouver. There weren't a lot of snow for the past years, but some. I remember 4-5 years ago, when I was still living around Oakridge, snow piled up to my thigh. I'll never forget the amount of the snow that I had to go through. However, we should be grateful that it finally snowed. Some of us expressed interest in the snowfall, and when it does start snowing, we complain. How ungrateful are we.
My Christmas Break has already started ever since I finished my last final exam on Friday. Most of us will be enjoying this Christmas seasons as we get together with family and friends. At the same time, there are some people who will be grieving and possibly not enjoy this Christmas seasons because of the shooting at Connecticut. I heard that news 3 hours prior to my final exam, and I was grieving over the pain and the lost of 20 children and couple of teachers and adults. When these kinds of events do come up, we begin to ask, "Why would such a thing happen?"
I remember after the riot of the Stanley Cup, my friend, Kevin Thomas, walked up to a staff, who worked/works at the store that got rioted, and ask him what he thought about the EVIL that was committed by people. The staff replied (I'll paraphrase what I remember), "It's not necessarily evil, but it was just stupid people doing stupid stuff." In the culture we are living in, we reject words such as evil and sin because they're religious and don't help make sense with the society. When events like 911, the shooting of Virginia Tech, the shooting in Aurora during the release of the Dark Knight Rises, and finally, the shooting at Connecticut, how are we to try to make sense of these or how do you explain these events to people? People aren't just stupid or aren't just mentally insane, but are inherently evil.
Let's not just pick on murders, but on ourselves - liars, adulterers, idolaters, thief, the proud, and etc. We too are inherently evil, deep down inside. Once you have broken one of God's law, you have already committed this act called sin. Sin is not just disobeying God, but outward and inward rebellion against God in thought, speech, deed/motive, and action.
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
(Psalm 14:1-3)
When we choose to walk away from God, we become corrupt, meaning we become evil and distorted. We are evil, and we sin by nature and choice. Because of this, we are separated from God and we will deserve justice based upon our sinful deeds - hell. "For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23)
And we desperately need a solution for our problem. How can we be good? No, that's not the question. The question is, "WHO has the solution?" It's not just a simple solution, but it's a divine solution for mankind. Jesus Christ is the divine solution for man's sinfulness and evil. During this Christmas season (or whatever time He was born), Jesus stepped down into human history to be born by a virgin teenager (Mary). He was born not in the hospital or in a King's palace or inside a comfortable building, but in the lowliest place (at a manger) in Bethlehem. What a great humiliation that was for King Jesus! He lived the perfect and sinless life that we should've lived. He obeyed all the commandments of His Father that we should've obeyed.
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
(John 1:29)
Jesus is the perfect spotless lamb that went to the cross to be slaughtered, executed, and murdered by men. It was horrendous and it was evil. He's the one who takes away the sin of the world. He's the one who forgives sin. He's the one who rose in the 3rd day to conquer Satan, sin and death. This is good news!
You might ask, "So how is that a solution for evil?"
First of all, you need to recognize yourself as a sinner. The bad news is that you're lost and hopeless without God. You need to recognize that you're heading towards hell. You need to recognize that you don't have absolute control of when you'll face death. Just like the events I have listed above, it can happen anytime all of a sudden without warning or notice. When you die apart from receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will surely be separated from God for all of eternity. Are you ready to face death right now? And this is not a threat from me, but it a warning from Jesus Christ Himself.
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
(Luke 13:1-5)
Second of all, you need to have a personal relationship with God. You need to repent from sin and turn to Jesus and respond to Him - the good news! He gave His life for you. He is the only hope for man's sin. He is the only way to the Father. Respond and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. When you genuinely surrender your life to Christ, God changes your heart and give you a new desire. You'll grow to love Him and His people. It doesn't happen at an instant, but God will continue to work in you and change you daily. Once you experience Him, you'll know that Jesus Christ is the hope of this nation, and that's why we celebrate Christmas.
I went off on a tangent as I was blogging. Anyhow, what am I doing this Christmas Season?
- Read the Bible
- Read Systematic Theology
- Hangout with friends and family.
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