By John Larkins
“Repent and believe the gospel.” Followers of The Way, as they received the sign of the cross on their foreheads, on Ash Wednesday earlier this week, reflected on the time our Savior spent in the desert prior to His humiliation and death to establish our eternal salvation, hearing these words.
As the truth of The Way has been provided in these columns over the past several weeks, it has been said that this God caused a source of truth to be written. This collection of God’s instructions is the foundation of what can be called “true.” Regardless of whether we accept this source of truth or not, there is no other. Our entire civilization follows the Judeo-Christian formulation of law. The sickness, turmoil and disfunction in our culture resulted, as many opted to turn against God and the Bible, as well as the one true Church He founded.
In the process, many citizens in the world, and especially in America, have become what a fair and honest psychiatrist would categorize as “insane.” That is, they have no ordinarily accepted patterns of behavior that guides critical decisions about human life, such as developing into mature people capable of supporting themselves, building a career, establishing a family and becoming functional members of society. Tragically, these people have not been told that they were created by a loving, eternal and all-powerful God who wants them to be His children for life in this world. Furthermore, they are ignorant of His plan to offer them eternal life in an everlasting paradise.
So, for many people, life is a mystery that has no valid rules except for rampant power that rewards the most powerful. First of all, in lacking the example of Christianity, boys have little chance of becoming men and girls have few models of women. Americans must especially be conscious that our whole rule of law stems from the fact that our freedom comes from our God, not the many evil men and women who are bent on enslaving us. At one time, it would have been thought impossible that Americans would turn their backs on Jesus Christ and embrace dictators of the same ghastly ideas as we had freed other people from – the corrupted Germans or the misled Japanese, for example. When their dictators were removed, these countries rejoiced in our friendship. Some with these same ambitions are now thirsting for our blood, and we seem eager to abandon our God for oblivion. Every form of dictatorship is an attempt to replace God as our fundamental Leader.,
We must be reminded that the Son of God – who came to us 2000 years ago as the Son of Man and the Lamb of God – developed and established The Way for our salvation in this world and the next. By deliberately defying His instructions to follow the teachings and teach His Way to all nations, we are daring Him to destroy us, both in this world and the next. In just one extremely important aspect of our dismal decision making, consider Jesus’ provision to forgive our sins. This act abolishes our guilt, which we are very sensitive to, despite our braggadocio at being equal to God and therefore do not need His forgiveness. Look at Matthew 9: 2-8, where Jesus on earth wanted to make the point that a human (Himself, as the Son of Man) COULD absolve sins. Later in His teaching, He would give this power to the Bishops of His Church (2 Corinthians 5: 17-20). This power to expiate our guilt and reset our relationship with God makes us capable of being virtual saints! Before you die and test the validity of your decision, please consider repenting and believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
John Larkins was born in Oklahoma to an U.S. Army family. His education was in the Catholic Church and teaching in the United Methodist Church for 10 years. After 50 years of various positions in federal service at home and in Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, John and his wife Carol live in Gadsden. His formal education includes a BS certified for science teaching, an MBA from the University of Missouri and an MPA from Jacksonville State University in public administration and environmental management. For the past 15 years, John evangelized on the street, door-to-door, in tent revivals, and church situations. Contact him at johnlarkins@bellsouth.net.