“Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me.” – 1 Samuel 17:8
There are giants in the daily lives of all mankind. We face problems with finances, health, addictions, pornography, rage and selfish pride on a daily basis. The problem is that we have become so complacent to these things that it’s no longer alarming to pick up the newspaper and read about death, destruction, perversion and the suffering of people all over the globe. “If it doesn’t hurt me, who cares what they do.” has become a common mantra of some these days. Is there a common moral code, a version of absolute right and wrong in this world or have we become so tolerant that living in the grey is a safe place to be?
Goliath walks amongst you to this day. I see it on TV, I hear it on the radio and read it in major newspapers every single day, the taunting, the ridicule and the challenge to defend the faith that I hold dear to my very existence. Human nature is such that we rebel against authority in general. I find that people criticize and challenge that which forces a certain behavior and action in life. I look at children and see the tendency in their spirit to do that which they have been told not to do, because in their mind they do not grasp the consequences. Likewise, as we age and mature, it is natural to question that which we do not understand, so that a well-informed decision can be made. The problem is that not all things can be explained in a manner that is understood.
For centuries people have tried to prove that Jesus either A) never existed; B) was just a man or C) never rose from the dead. All of these have been attempted in an order to put an end to the body of believers called Christians. Every attempt has been based on man’s knowledge and ability to discover facts to prove the case one way or the other. In this effort their proof has been broadly publicized, documented and demonstrated as fact, calling out the Christian church to defend against their discoveries. What has always been missing though is the basic acceptance that Christians don’t believe in Jesus Christ because it has been proven to us, we believe in Jesus Christ because of faith.
I’ve been to Israel on a few occasions. I’ve seen archeological digs in Jerusalem, Bet’shean, Capernaum, Caesarea, Qumran, Jericho and Bethlehem. I’ve walked the supposed footsteps of Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemane to the courtyard of Caiaphas house and seen the empty Garden tomb and the Church of the Holy Seplecure. But none of this, not a single step I took in Jerusalem made me believe that Jesus Christ was the Savior of the World. My decision is strictly based on faith that God is real, the Holy Bible is God’s divine word, and that Jesus Christ is who God says He is. In this acceptance, I have come to know Jesus Christ lived, died and rose again on the third day as a means for my salvation from the inherent sin in my existence.
Life is not all of a sudden roses and cupcakes. People are still dying, starving, hurting themselves and others without remorse and we don’t know why. That’s not going to change, but having a faith that there is a God and accepting that He is in control helps me to understand that just because I don’t know the answers to this world’s questions, He does. I trust that One day, all will be made clear and Goliath will be put to rest for eternity.
© Sondove Enterprises, 2011
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