When you ask, “Why is this happening to me?”, who is the centre of your universe?

When Jesus was dying on the cross at the hands of brutal people, was the question from the cross, “Why me?” or a plea to “Pay them Back?”?

No. Jesus did not die for self. Jesus died for others, even as they sinned and abused and mocked the Saviour Who died to save them.

If anyone loves God with heart, soul and might (Deuteronomy 6:5), and others at least as much as they love themselves (Leviticus 19:18), Jesus would be the centre of their universe, in good times and disasters.

Would such a person not come to realize that the question is not, “Why me?”, but “How can God save or strengthen those around me?”

Life from The Spirit is not for what I can get out of it, but how I can, in all things, shed the Light of Christ into a dark and broken world.

As a disciple of Jesus I already have the ultimate reward, salvation in this world and eternal peace and life in the next. What more do I need?

Why do I want a life that feeds my temporary ego/flesh instead of bringing hope and healing to people at the working of The Spirit?

Jesus came into the world to bring eternal life to all who believe, not temporary personal pleasures.

A soldier concerned only with personal pleasures and ego-stroking would be useless. So with us.

“The Lord isn’t slow to do what he promised, as some people think. Rather, he is patient for your sake. He doesn’t want to destroy anyone but wants all people to have an opportunity to turn to him and change the way they think and act” (2 Peter 3:9 God’s Word Translation©).

Does this verse also describe your life goal?

That’s a good question.

Sometimes God reveals divine wisdom and knowledge directly to a person, through dreams, visions, speaking to their spirit, insight reading (or remembering) Holy Scripture. Sometimes God’s revelation comes through preachers, both those alive now and those whose sermons and teachings have been written down and passed on to us, as well as through faithful scholars who translate the Bible and/or study under The Spirit to discover deeper insights from Scripture seen in history, language, context and writings of past Christians of all ages and in multiple languages. Sometimes God’s message comes through another person’s prayer, or comment, or question, or spiritual act, at times when they don’t even know God is speaking through them! Sometimes God inspires us through creation and the wonders of animals and plants which the hand of God has brought into being and sustained. The Gospel is plain and simple so that even the simplest person can grasp it and pass it on, yet it is so profound that even the most intelligent person can find newness every morning, walking by faith and not sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 ESV) and so The Spirit works all the time in every way to win every person everywhere!

Salvation is foundational. Among Christians today there is a conflict about what that is, though! Some teach ‘universal salvation’, which states that, when Jesus died, everyone everywhere at all times was saved. This conflicts with those who hold that everyone must make a decision and accept Jesus as their personal Saviour to gain eternal life in heaven.

To start with what we know, God’s grace is bestowed on everyone in this life. (A)

So God acts like God, Who is love, because that is what God does. This is grace.

The Bible makes it clear, however, that not everyone is saved. (B) So how can both be true?

Grace is unconditional, being the activity of God alone.

Salvation, on the other hand, is a covenant between a person and God. If a person refuses to sign on to the covenant (like a contract), then salvation is on hold and the conditions are not in force.

While the blessing is readily available to anyone (C), not everyone will accept the conditions Almighty God sets forward. (D)

God calls everyone from the cross. Each person has the choice for life with the Saviour here and in the hereafter, or not.

Bible References
(A) “But I tell you this: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. In this way you show that you are children of your Father in heaven. He makes his sun rise on people whether they are good or evil. He lets rain fall on them whether they are just or unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45 God’s Word Translation©).

(B) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who does what my Father in heaven wants. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we force out demons and do many miracles by the power and authority of your name?’ Then I will tell them publicly, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you evil people’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23 God’s Word Translation©).

(C) “The Lord isn’t slow to do what he promised, as some people think. Rather, he is patient for your sake. He doesn’t want to destroy anyone but wants all people to have an opportunity to turn to him and change the way they think and act” (2 Peter 3:9 God’s Word Translation©).

(D) Such as “all of you must serve each other with humility, because God opposes the arrogant but favors the humble. Be humbled by God’s power so that when the right time comes he will honor you” (1 Peter 5:5b-6 God’s Word Translation©), and “I’m giving you a new commandment: Love each other in the same way that I have loved you. Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other” (John 13:34-35 God’s Word Translation©).

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