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Have you ever seen a dog that is doing what he was bred, born
and raised to do? Most pure bred dogs were bred to serve some specific
purpose - to hunt raccoons, or retrieve ducks or herd sheep, and so on.
If you've ever seen one of these dogs actually doing what he was bred
and trained to do, you've seen a dog in absolute bliss. They are in "Dog
Heaven." They are beside themselves with joy. They just love doing what
they were bred and trained to do. If we do something that we think God
would like us to do, we feel good. Here's the really interesting thing. I have talked with many
people from all walks of life, from preachers to prisoners in a penitentiaries, and they all identify with this. They all nod
their head and say, "That's right." So, if we all
experience this, and we all like to feel good, then why don't we
all do good things all the time? Why would we do bad things,
when that makes us feel bad?(Even if we don't believe in God, we still usually have some idea of what God would like us to do and not like us to do) If we do something that we think God would not like us to do, we feel bad.1 So why do we keep doing things that make us feel bad? Why wouldn't we be like a Labrador
Retriever who gets to retrieve ducks all the time?
The reason is, we have this aspect of our being that makes us think we know how to make ourselves feel good, and that makes us think "I am going to do what I want to do. No one's going to tell me what to do." We are trying to please ourselves, rather than trying to please God. This is selfishness. We care more about what we want than we care about what God wants, even though when we do what He wants, it makes us feel good. The Bible calls this "sin", the definition of which is doing what we want rather than doing what God wants. The Bad News: Even worse than that, since God is perfectly good, he can have nothing to do with anyone or anything that is bad (sinful). If you just once do something against what God wants, he can have nothing to do with you. The Bible calls this separation from God, "death." It also calls the opposite of being separated from God, "life." This "life" or "death" is permanent and extends into eternity. The Really Bad News: We are stuck with this sin problem. It's part of our very nature. We can't overcome it even if we want to. We are slaves to it. We can't escape it. Even if we want to always do things to please God, we will fail. But there is a solution. There is good news!
You can have your sin problem cured, once and for all, by simply telling Jesus that you want this free gift of salvation that he's provided for you and that you want to live to please Him. When you pray that prayer, Jesus will come into your life and you will experience this "joy that surpasses all understanding." Don't want to believe? Still have questions about this? Check out the answers page, or e-mail me at mark@markboyd.info 1) If you're doubting this, just think about your own life. I'm sure you've done some good deed. You helped a person in need, or did something right and proper even when you didn't have to. It felt good when you did it, right? And I'm sure you've done things that you know God wouldn't approve of, and deep down, you felt bad about it. It may have provided a good physical feeling (pleasure) but it didn't provide a deep down good feeling (joy). In fact, deep down, it felt bad. |
It seemed good before me to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done with me. How great are His signs! And how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His rule is from generation to generation. (Dan. 4:1b-3)