DOES GOD HAVE A PASSWORD?
You never know what kind of conversation you’ll have when taking your 2-year-old grandchild to the neighborhood park. Meetings like this one remind me, we can discuss differences and still respect one another.
As his 2-year-old son played on the slide with my granddaughter, he freely shared he was from Egypt and his wife from Wisconsin. I grew up in Wisconsin and hadn’t met too many Egyptians, so was curious how they met and how he ended up in the U.S.?
Love for scuba diving, experiencing other cultures and love for each other brought them to the place of 5 plus exciting years together and now, enjoying their precious son.
Interested in his perspective concerning mid-east politics, I asked him if he was Muslim. “Yes,” he smilingly shared but was quick to follow-up with, “but I’m Sunni, not Shiite. The Sunni believe in the Bible, the Koran, Moses and the prophets. The Shiite teaches things that aren’t in the Koran and want to dominate the world.”
I asked him, “Do you read the Bible and what do you believe about Jesus?” He replied, “Oh yes, I read the Bible and the Koran. We believe Mary was the mother of Jesus but we don’t believe Jesus died on the cross.”
I questioned, “Do you believe all human beings sin or do bad things sometime in their life?” “Oh yes, of course,” he replied. Curious, I responded, “What does a person do with sin if there’s no belief in payment of sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus?” His face went blank without an answer.
About that time, my granddaughter summoned me to the swings and his blank look told me the Spirit of God would have to explain about sin and Jesus. We wished each other well and gave our attention to the children.
Having recently read GOD’S PASSWORD, by Ray Campbell, I reflected on the diversity of beliefs concerning God, sin and Jesus. It was a pleasure to dialogue with this cheerful gentleman, without animosity, as the children enjoyed playtime.
Guilt, shame and fear of the future no longer occupy my thoughts because I’m clean and forgiven. Being a good person and doing good things never gave me peace like receiving Jesus. During my years as Hospice nurse, I saw people breathe their last breath, believing their goodness would usher them into heaven and God’s presence.
If God does have a password, I believe it’s His Son’s name, Jesus.
If we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. (NLT: 1 John 1: 7 – 11)