Like the rest of the world, the horror of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan has stayed with me since I first heard news of it early Friday morning. As of Monday morning, responders were only beginning to count the dead, but some estimated casualties of at least 10,000. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around such a number in the context of death. We know, of course, that every one of us will die one day. One day. Not today, we figure. Someday when we're in our 90s, after months of slow decline. In our sleep, we hope. Certainly not all of a sudden while we're walking our kid home from school, mowing the grass or arguing with our boss. I mean, 10,000 people gone in a matter of minutes. These aren't just numbers; they're moms and dads who kiss their babies night night. They're grandparents who you'd get agitated with because they fed your kid nothing but candy. The good friend you laughed so hard with the day before your stomach muscles ached. They're people with heartbeats and souls. And I'm sorry, but if knowing that their lives are suddenly over doesn't make your heart hurt, I'm not sure you have one. What makes it hurt worse for me is wondering about the condition of their souls.
Let me be clear, I don't know why God allowed this to happen to Japan or to any one of those people who lost their lives. Only He knows. This much I know: Believers in Christ are called to respond to this sort of thing with compassion, not only with material supplies and monetary aid, but with truth spoken in love. In the days to come, we will give our money and do what we can from the other side of the world to help. But for now I'm going to do the only thing I can contribute from a distance: share the Gospel.
Chances are that if you are reading this, we know one another. Have I told you I love you? I do. Have I told you how much God loves you? I know you may not feel it, but He does. He made you and wants the very best for you. The very best thing for you is to know Him because that will mean that when you die you won't have to bear the consequences of your sin. Romans 6:23 says the consequence of sin is death, an eternal separation from God.
I know sin and death probably aren't concepts you want to dwell on, but you will in fact die and, yes, you do sin. I know you're a fabulous person who does many good things, but you sin. You may have never killed anyone, but you've sinned against them.
God is holy and cannot be in the presence of sin. For generations, men offered unblemished animals as blood sacrifices so they could be reconciled to God. Over and over, they would sacrifice these innocent creatures because they couldn't stop sinning. So about 2,000 years ago God provided the only sacrifice that would cover our sin permanently: His only son, Jesus. Jesus was fully God and fully human, tempted as we are tempted but did not sin. Jesus was crucified, died and was entombed for three days before resurrecting. More than 500 people saw Christ after His resurrection; some touched Him, others ate with Him. He ascended to Heaven, where He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. He will return to the earth to gather believers and will judge both the living and dead.
The world will tell you there are many paths to God, but that isn't biblical. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the only way to salvation. Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9)."
You cannot earn your way into Heaven by your good works. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast" (Esphesians 2:8-9). Isaiah 64:6 says "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." The Pharisees, who were the religious teachers of Jesus' day, thought that by keeping the law they would be considered righteous, but Jesus called them hypocrites because their hearts weren't devoted to God. "You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness" (Matthew 23:27-28).
You will not go to Heaven simply because you believe God exists. James 2:19 says that even demons believe in God - and shudder. There's a difference between believing in God and believing God.
It all boils down to Jesus and your relationship to Him. That wasn't a popular statement 2,000 years ago - He was crucified for claiming to be the son of God - and it's not popular now. But that doesn't make it any less true. Either Jesus was a liar, a madman or he was the son of God. You have to decide who you believe He is, and after being reminded last week of the brevity of life, I suggest you do it as soon as possible.
