The seventy-two returned with joy and said,
“Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” So He said to them, “I saw
Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
I have thought long and hard on this for many
years. We all think that if we go to heaven, it will be peaches and cream.
Well, that may not be the case. Satan was in heaven. He was supposed to be God’s
favored angel at one time, yet, as the legend goes, he grew jealous and wanted
to be God himself. He convinced other angels to turn away from God as well and
they were hurled to earth.
We face the same decision here on earth every day.
Do we follow God or do we turn from him? Are we more worried about making
others happy, or God? If we were in heaven at the time Satan turned, would we
stick up and defend God or would we join Satan?
Think about your life. When confronted by atheists,
Muslims, and others hostile towards Christianity, what do you do? Do you defend
your faith, or do you worry about offending those who hate Christians and Jews
(God’s chosen people)?
It’s one thing to be civil to others. It’s another
to refuse to defend God.
I was once asked by a loved one whether an all
powerful God needs defended. The answer is yes, and this is why.
We are here on earth as a test. The bible tells us
that we will be judged in the end and those who have denied Jesus will be denied
by Jesus. Those who have proven to be unworthy will be burned like chaff. This
is where we prove to God that if another Satan were to arise, that we would
side with God. If we cannot defend our faith and stand with God here, then how
can God expect us to do so in heaven?
There are a great many things about God and heaven
that I don’t understand, and I hope someday will be answered by the “boss”
himself. Until that time, I will do my best to defend my God and my faith,
especially in today’s environment of utter hatred for our Lord and Savior. I
know it will be hard. Even St. Peter wept bitterly after denying Christ three
times.
1 comment:
Thank you Eric. You make some good points. I think about those things too. My Mother would have enjoyed talking to you so much. She thought about all of these ideas. She wore out several Bibles with underlined verses, question marks, comments and insights. Have you read the Bible much? One thing that was great about confirmation school, we committed many verses to memory, and I remember them today, and they come to my memory often. I do't remember where each verse is found, but the verses come back to me. From ages 12 to 14, we went to school all day Saturdays for confirmation. This was besides church on Sunday and Sunday School. I think Holy week we were there every day, and Lent of course. I am not proud of the fact that I rarely get there now, and I do miss it. This is not public, is it?
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