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Deep down, I understand that God doesn't expect us to be perfect. I am well aware that human willpower cannot change the personality; it can only influence our actions. Mental sins, such as pride, selfishness, greed, jealousy, and cynicism, are sins which arise naturally from the personality within, over which we have little voluntary control. Some people are naturally more inclined towards certain negative traits than others, because of genetics, early life experiences, and the mysterious way God has created us with unique individuality. We can fight the sinfulness in our heart and we may make some progress, but we can never completely change who we are. That's up to God and His plan, not ours. I wondered, why doesn't God immediately change me into the person I want to be -- sinless, perfect, with a personality that always inclines me to goodness rather than wickedness? Why won't He answer my prayers for transformation of character? Lord, help me, please help me to be more like Christ! As I was walking down the street, thinking these things, I saw a boy rolling down the sidewalk on a scooter. When he reached the curb, he slipped and flew forward, landing face-first on the hard pavement. "Ow!" he yelled out in pain. Then I watched as the hurting boy's father came running across the lawn to help pick his son up and attend to any injuries he might have suffered. Several other family members were close behind. I kept walking, thankful that the boy got the loving attention he needed during a time of suffering. I was instantly aware that this incident was a metaphor for life itself, and I resolved to write an article about it. God had taken the misfortune of one person and used it as an educational experience to remind me of His love and care for all people, including those who are fallen. Since becoming a universalist, I have struggled to reconcile the Good News I now know to be true from the Bible -- that we have a Heavenly Father who is saving all of us in due time -- with the bad things I see in my own life and the world around me. This cognitive dissonance is the substance of faith: the fact that we do not yet see God's salvation fully manifested, but we believe it is coming. As Paul the Apostle wrote, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (1 Cor. 13:12). God knows who we are, and He knows we need His help. No one is capable of saving oneself, because all of us are fallen, just like the boy who fell off his scooter and hit the pavement. The truth is, inside of all of us -- everyone, without exception -- there is a sinful nature lurking. In some people this may be stronger than others, for various reasons. It may come in different forms depending on the individual. And some people choose to fight their inner sinfulness while others allow it to flourish and be translated into concrete actions. But there is not a single person alive whose heart does not contain the cancer of evil, at least in some small way. Paul teaches this fundamental truth when he says, "through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners." (Rom. 5:19). The first man, Adam, passed down the tendency of wickedness to all of his descendents, the entire human race. Just like our hair color, eye color, and other physical traits are determined by the genes, so too are basic features of human personality. Modern science confirms this. Notice, though, what Paul says in the rest of Romans 5:19. He goes on to say that "through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." Because Jesus Christ was a man who was perfect, without any trace of evil, there is a pattern by which God may transform all of us to become perfect, uncorrupted human beings. In the same way Adam's sin resulted in all people becoming sinful, so too does Christ's obedience to God allow all people to become sinless. The important thing to understand is that it is God who is responsible for saving us from ourselves. Self-salvation is impossible. In fact, the idea that people are responsible for saving themselves or else face damnation is one of the most pernicious lies of the Adversary. We are all like children, who make mistakes and fall. That is our nature at this point in time. We all have a Father in heaven who will come and comfort us and lift us up again, and help us to grow so that we will learn from our mistakes and not make them again. Sins are nothing more than mistakes. Because it is in our nature to sin, we therefore make mistakes. It is in God's nature to give us Fatherly love and whatever correction we may need on the path of spiritual growth. Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 18:3). The nature of a child is to trust in its parents for the necessary assistance to reach maturity. So, if we have no trust in God to raise us up from our current condition of imperfection and immaturity, then we have no faith in Jesus. It is only when we stop trying to seek salvation through the self that we can ever be ready to enter heaven. Trusting in God's help means accepting that we do not have absolute free will to determine our own fate. We are not completely in control. Some people have been given different problems to wrestle with, but nobody can overcome them unless God changes us. The primary way God works to change us in this life is through experiences that teach us spiritual lessons. But the transformation will not be complete until we get to the other side of the grave. Then, in the afterlife, we will be free from the sinful influence of an animal body and brain which is programmed for the natural selfishness of "survival of the fittest." If we have learned our lessons on earth, when we get to the next world we will no longer be like the beasts but instead like Christ. We will no longer be patterned after the man of flesh, but the man of Spirit. Lustful people will no longer hunger after the pleasures of the body. Gay people will no longer crave unnatural sexual activity. The thirst of the greedy for money will be gone. The gluttonous will be freed from a compulsive desire to eat. The depressed and mentally ill will finally enjoy the happiness of a sound mind. The fearful will find peace. All of these things will be accomplished by God. In this life, we may not necessarily see them happen, but in the life hereafter, they will become our glorious reality. Those who need corrective punishment will find it, if they did not learn their lessons on earth. And those who need comforting and love will have it, if they felt lonely and beaten down during their life in this world. The Beatitudes of Jesus Christ tell us the real story: that it is in heaven that we have our hope, no matter how hopeless our life on earth may seem. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.... Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matt. 5:3-4,6). If we ask God to change us into the image of Christ, He will do it for us. We will not see the end result of this process until we are in heaven. Until then, we will have to struggle with our sinful nature, the desires and personality traits we wish to change. We cannot do it alone. A little boy falls down and his father comes running to help. That is what God does for all of us. Just because we are still hurting, still weak, still not the mature spiritual beings we would like to be, does not mean God isn't there for us. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Rom. 10:13). In fact, that is the only way to be saved. And it is something everyone will eventually do -- either in this life or the next -- when they realize they cannot ever be saved through their own efforts. As Paul wrote so eloquently, "For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on them all." (Rom. 11:32). The wickedness within us was placed there so that we might call out for God's help, recognizing that "from Him and through Him and to Him are all things." (vs. 36). This is the Good News. If it were all up to us as some Christians erroneously teach, in tune with popular "new age" beliefs that emphasize self-salvation, then we should truly despair. Some things about the self were made by God and can only be changed by God, through the power of divine grace. Praise Jesus, all things are in God's hands -- and His hands are the hands that uplift the fallen. That means all of us.
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Christian Universalist Index of Articles and Resources:
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Heavenly Father, please bless this ministry, lead multitudes to this website, and help them see the truth of Your love and forgiveness for all people through the power of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the whole world. Open their eyes to Your true nature, take away their fears, and fill their hearts with the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. |