Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, special ones.

I can’t believe how late it is already. This kind of writing is just plain hard work and very time-consuming. But I like the benefits it yields to me personally—and to Becki and me relationally—even if it benefits no one else.

The day looks like another big complicated full one—juggling multiple jobs at the same time. Since multi-tasking is not my forte, there is some potential for stress. But, so what else is new?—that seems to be the unavoidable stuff of life. Good. Just saying that has knocked off a few pounds of stress. I suppose we all need a measure of stress. After all, how well would we perform if there wasn’t any?

Be encouraged. Be blessed. He is Much. And you’re not so many

love, Dad/Ray.

If this is a true statement, we are presented with a very narrow and exclusive salvation equation. And it poses a serious technical exception to the platitude heralded by many that God’s love is unconditional. So if Jesus is the Supreme Condition, and personally believing that He is Who the Bible presents Him to be, the perfect once-for-all sacrificial “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), including my own sin, I face the biggest CONDITION for fulfilling God’s purpose for my being that I could ever imagine. I also face the most powerful motivation for evangelism that could ever move me to action in promoting Jesus Christ as everyone’s essential personal Savior and Lord. I want everyone to “believe in the Son” and have “eternal life.” How could I not want that if this is true?!?! To be sure, I would not wish anyone to “reject the Son” and face the ugly ominous fate of one on whom “God’s wrath remains.” Terrible beyond words. There can be nothing wimpy about Sovereign anger.

If, however, this statement is not true, then all we have in Biblical Christianity is another RELIGION. Yippee! That’s all we need on planet earth!—another RELIGION—another cause for conflict and debate. In this case, we would do no harm to simply toss these Bibles in the trash—and go chasing after anything we feel like chasing—because when the dust settles, that’s really all we’ve got—just a big pile of meaningless chaotic dust! It only makes sense to me that if there are no divinely-established moral and spiritual absolutes then there are no real rewards or consequences beyond this life—leading me to resonate with the conclusion I’ve heard before that, “IF THERE IS NO GOD (Sovereign Rule Maker) THEN ALL THINGS ARE PERMISSIBLE”—and nothing really matters much. If my thinker is not working right, and you absolutely know what’s wrong, please be kind enough to offer a repair.

Meanwhile, I am persuaded that believing in the Son, and believing this body of Biblical revelation as truth, offers wonderful benefits—meaning and purpose in this life, empowering the believer with authority and strength beyond themselves to think and live right, as well as providing mind boggling meaning and purpose in the life following—an awesome dimension of life that is unending. My little mind is re-boggled just reiterating this basic bottom line of our Biblical faith.