.png)
It may sound weird, but I follow a cemetery group on one of the popular social media sites.
I have always been fascinated by historical information, and when it comes to old cemeteries, one can find out a lot of interesting history by what is written on a person's tombstone.
Yesterday, while perusing through some of the latest posts, a certain monument caught my eye. It read, "This world is my home; to do good is my religion; why did a good God create a bad devil?"
Okay. Hmm. I began to think about what this person was trying to say, and concluded that unfortunately, he or she (I did not see a name) had taken false theology to the grave...literally.
It was obvious this person still had questions and thoughts which were never biblically addressed, and that saddens me. So, I thought, why not rebuttal these things in a blog?
Probing Deeper...
First, "This world is my home," is the direct opposite of what the Bible tells us, and frankly, if this is all there is, I want a refund. (smirk)
There are many scriptures pointing out the fact we are strangers here...just passing through. For those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then we have the promise of a greater eternal home which awaits us. Take for example these:
In Philippians 3:20, Paul writes, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."
1 John 2:15-17 states, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
Even Jesus said in John 18:36, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
We know this world is not our permanent home (thank-you, Jesus!) but what about this person's next statement: "To do good is my religion"?
Well, again, the Bible is very clear on this. Isaiah 64:6 says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."
Did you catch that? All our "righteous acts" or "good" is like filthy rags in God's eyes. Why? Can He not see the things we do which benefit others...help others...? He can, but our good will always be flawed because of sin.
Sin stains, and until we accept Jesus as our Savior and allow Him to wash us in His righteousness, our good will always fall short.
Also, to make good works a religion is missing the point. Nothing can save us accept for a relationship with Christ. And, religion is worthless if it does not result in a changed life via Jesus.
Finally, this person asks a random question: "Why did a good God create a bad devil?" Actually, that's a great question! The answer is, He didn't.
God created a beautiful heavenly being named Lucifer who was a high-ranking angel in God's legion of angels, but God also created free-will. This beautiful and cherished being allowed his pride to cloud his vision and he desired to be higher than God; to be God (Isaiah 14:14).
In other words, sin came to reside in Lucifer's heart and because of that, he was thrown out along with 1/3 of the angels who also rebelled against God. Ever since, the devil (Satan) has been on a rampage against the people of God, destroying many lives in the process.
What's on your tombstone?
As I think more about this person's tombstone, I am reminded that we are all writing our own epitaph. It may or may not be engraved on a monument near where we lay, but the lives we are living; the words we are speaking; the ways we are treating others, says so much about our theology whether truthful or false.
So, what are they going to put on your tombstone? There's still time to change it.