The Absolute Value

As humans, we place value on various things. And in doing so, we take after our Creator God who places various levels of value on the things which He has created. And God, who is love, has placed great value upon humanity, whom He created in His own image. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, showed the high value He places on us when He bled and died for us on the cross.

The difference between God and us is that He is the infinite Creator of everything that exists. He is the Maker and Owner of the universe. And so only He has the authority to determine the absolute value of anything. In fact, apart from God, nothing has any real value. He Himself is the Absolute Value, from which all real value is derived. And here, I am using the term "Absolute Value" in a slightly different way than it is used in algebra. I mean that the Creator is the Fountain from which all real value springs. He is the One who is infinitely valuable above all things. If it were not for God, nothing would exist. And without Him, there can be no real value in anything.

"Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture."

(Psalm 100:3; emphasis added).

But because of our fallen, sinful nature, we humans often place false value on things, or we value things more than they should be valued. And it is a great sin to value anything more than God Himself, the Absolute Value from which all true value is derived. "Idolatry" is what we call the sin of valuing anything over, or in place of, the one true and living God. And the object of such false value is called an "idol".

Writing to the church at Philippi, the apostle Paul describe how he used to value his accomplishments and his position as a Pharisee. He followed all the dos and don'ts of the religious law; but he didn't know that true righteousness comes from being reconciled with God by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. The whole reason that we, as human beings, even have such concepts as those of right and wrong, and love and goodness, is that we are created by, and in the image of our holy God who is love. If we are not at peace with our Creator, everything else is meaningless.

But when Paul was confronted by the Person of Jesus, he became reconciled to God through Christ, and learned to honestly say "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared to the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the Law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith." (Philippians 3:8-9).

What is it that we value? Fun times? Euphoria? Sweet music? Power? Prestige? Those things may not be bad, in and of themselves. But when we place a higher value on them than on being in harmony with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, we are sinning. In fact, having a relationship with Christ in this fallen, sinful world may cost us the comforts, and pleasures of this world. 

In fact Christ calls His followers to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him (Luke 9:23). And it is by God's grace, through Jesus Christ, that we are able to do that; turning away from our fallen, sinful nature in order to live in harmony with the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). And like the apostles and many other followers of Christ, we learn to value our Creator and Savior above everything else; even our mortal lives in this world.

Love, God, Hate, Sin

There are some people in the Church who think that personal holiness and social justice are some how independent from each other. They think that the practice of personal holiness in accordance with sound, biblical teaching has nothing to do with loving God and each other. But if we, the Church, have sin and falsehood within ourselves, and we encourage it in others, then all the worldly aid that we offer to those in need is 100% worthless! Because while feeding hungry stomachs, we leave souls to die in the gutter that is sin.

There are some who actually think it is wrong to even speak against sin. They get upset if you so much as recognize sin as sin. But the truth is that one must hate sin in order to love God. Don't hate the sinner; all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But definitely do hate the sin. Christ's purpose in coming was to take away our sin; to lead us to repentance - reconciliation with God. If you love God and people, then you will long for yourself and others to be freed, by Jesus Christ, from sin. 

It is an inescapable reality: everyone must love, and hate. If one loves God, the same will hate sin. If one loves sin, the same will hate God. Whoever loves God, hates sin. And whoever loves sin, hates God. God and sin are diametrically opposed to each other so that no one can simultaneously embrace both. To love the one is to hate the other.

As Jesus taught, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other" (Matthew 6:24). No one can love God and sin, both at the same time. "For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness" (Psalm 11:7). "You who love the LORD, hate evil!" (Psalm 97:10). And what does the Holy Spirit say about the man named Job? That he revered God and shunned evil (Job 1:1). He despised sin. He hated it; because he was loyal to God who "is righteous, and loves righteousness". To love sin is vile, wicked, shameful, and disgusting. To love God is to love what is good and right and pure and holy. And that necessarily amounts to hating sin. 

Through Christ, the universe was made (John 1:1-3, Hebrews 1:1-2). Everything, life and all blessings and strength and beauty and love come from God (John 1:4-5, James 1:17). He is the eternal First Cause and Owner of the universe. And He is the Absolute Decider (Standard) of what is good. On the cross, He made the highest sacrifice to free us from our sin. 

Jesus did what He did at the cross because He loves people. He hates sin because it separates people from Him, the Originator of life, light, love, and everything that is good. He is very patient with humanity, allowing us to live when He would have been justified in pouring out His final judgement on the world centuries ago. Jesus said that our heavenly Father made and allows His sun to shine "on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust" because He is love, and He is patient. But eventually He must judge sin because He is righteous, and He loves righteousness. Sin has to be judged.

So Jesus gave His life on the cross to pay for your sin, and mine. None of us is without sin. But we can not be saved unless we confess - admit that we are sinners; that our sin is sin. We must do this in order to rightly trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sin. No one will enter the kingdom of God until they have their sin taken away from them. And no one will have their sin taken away from them until they admit that they have sinned against God, and are alienated from Him by their sin; and are willing to be reconciled to God by His Son Jesus Christ. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). He is the Lamb of God who takes away our sin (John 1:29).

So yes, Jesus is about love, forgiveness, and compassion. But He is equally about repentance on our part and reconciling us to our immaculately holy, righteous God (Matthew 4:17, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21). And that means identifying - recognizing the sin that is in ourselves; and putting that sin to death (Romans 6:1-14, Colossians 3:1-10). Jesus had compassion on the adulteress. But He told her to leave her life of sin behind. She would have to in order to follow Him. In order to turn to God, one has to turn away from sin (John 8:1-12, James 4:7-8). 

I admit I am not perfect. But I love Jesus Christ enough to want to love Him more. And in order for me to love God more, I necessarily must learn to hate the sin within myself more. In order to love God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind; I must hate sin with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind. And I must strive, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to rid myself of sin, and urge others, for the love of Christ, to do the same. "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). And if anyone has Christian love for me, they will not encourage me to harm my own soul with any kind of sin. 

Arbitrary Or Absolute?

Apart from faith in the Creator/Owner of the universe, there is no rational basis for moral/spiritual laws. Some atheists claim that the survival of the species is the rational basis for morality. But on what rational ground is the survival of "rearranged pond-scum" (assuming that is what the species is) so important? Still, some atheists object, and say that in the Christian worldview God just arbitrarily decides and tells us what is good. But is God's standard really arbitrary? Or is it absolute?

Well for one thing, a person has only two options. One can either submit to God's standard of what is good; or go by another. So how can one say that God's standard is arbitrary, and their's is not? But since God is the Creator and Owner of the universe, He is the Absolute Standard/Decider of what is good. And there is a difference between arbitrary rules on the one hand, and the Absolute Standard on the other. 

John the apostle, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, informs us that God is love (1 John 4:8). The triune God is the eternal First Cause or Source of love. And by "love" I mean more than some fluttery and elusive emotion. Jesus described His love in this way: "I have come that they (who trust in Me) may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). As the Scriptures also say, "All things were made through Him (Jesus), and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:3-4). 

God who is love is characterized by light and life. He is the eternal First Cause of life. Jesus called Himself the life (John 14:6). He is love. And His love generates and creates life. Jesus also called Himself the light of the world, and said that whoever trusts in Him, whoever follows Him, will not walk in darkness. (John 8:12). Light is often used in the Scriptures to symbolize truth, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Darkness represents the absence of those things. 

Biblically, the verb "to love" means to have a conscious (and that means personal) determination for the good of another person. God has always existed from eternity past as three distinct Persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He has always been love, life, and light; infinite in wisdom, purity, and blessedness. Love has always existed from eternity past in the Persons of the Trinity. 

As C.S. Lewis wrote, "the living, dynamic activity of love has been going on in God forever and has created everything else" (Mere Christianity; book four, chapter four, paragraph five). And so God who is love created the universe. He owns the universe. From the astronomical to the microscopic; all matter, all space, all time belongs to God who is love. 

And He created humanity in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27) for the purpose of love. Jesus Christ taught us that the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your being. And He said that the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself". Jesus said that these two commandments summarize all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40). Every one of God's commandments stem from His righteous love. 

Nothing that He commands is arbitrary. Every word that He speaks is purposeful. Every judgement that He pronounces; every action that He takes is for a reason. The Ten Commandments, (Exodus 20:1-17) the Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 5-7) the Last Supper Discourse, (John 13-17) every word that our holy God speaks, and everything that He does, flows forth from His righteous love. 

In the Scriptures we learn about the fruits of the Spirit as opposed to the fruits of the flesh Galatians (5:16-26). The fruits of the flesh are counter to the love of God. And the fruits of the Spirit are in harmony with the love of God. These are not arbitrary rules that God "made up" to afflict our souls. The commands of God emanate from His love for us. His desire for us is love; and that means life, light, joy, peace, and everything that is good.

However, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Sin is diametrically opposed to everything that God is. It alienates us from the light and life of our Heavenly Father. It separates us from God who is love. God does not want us to be estranged from Him. He wants us to have everlasting life, light, and love. He wants us to abide forever in His blessings of joy, and peace. 

That is why God the Son took on human form and received unto Himself the wages of our sin. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ is reconciled to God. We are saved from the coming judgment. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

This Faith Is Reason

It is not uncommon for atheists to claim that reason is on their side. Interestingly, however, the Scriptures equate reason with faith. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul the apostle wrote to the church at Thessalonica, saying, "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith" (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2).

Atheists really are not reasonable or rational thinkers at all. They imagine that this orderly universe, operating according to orderly and intricate sets of laws, came not from an orderly Creator and sovereign Lawgiver; but from random, mindless, unguided processes. And that is a very irrational point of view. 

Cells live and operate according to complex codes of intelligible information. They read and interpret the information that is encoded in them, in order to multiply and give specific characteristics to the living organism of which they are a part. 

The human brain has to function in an orderly and intelligible manner in order to be able to make valid observations of the surrounding world. Otherwise, the five senses would not be reliable as means of observation. Thus, reason and science would be completely impossible.

The atheists, maintaining that there is no orderly Creator or sovereign Lawgiver, are unable to give any rational explanation for the existence of the laws, the intricate information, by which the universe operates. Thus, the atheistic worldview actually undercuts any rational grounds for science and reason. This does not mean that atheists are unable to conduct scientific studies. It just means that they can not provide any rational grounds, from their own worldview, for doing so.

Furthermore, atheism provides no rational grounds for any moral or spiritual laws. An atheist may hold to some code that they regard as good, though they are not in harmony with God who is the Absolute Standard of what is good. But they can not give any rational explanation as to why anything is or is not good. In fact, atheists do not believe in absolutes; except that they are absolutely sure that there are no absolutes.

These so-called "rationalists", who are not really rational at all, hold that everything is reducible to a mere collection of facts; of data, with no real, objective moral/spiritual value or meaning; other than what human beings imaginatively place on it. Of course, as already noted, if there were no orderly Creator and sovereign Lawgiver, there would be no reliable means of observing and systematically collecting any orderly data at all. 

But aside from that, these "rationalists" leave themselves bereft of any understanding of the real, objective matters of the heart and soul of the human experience - the inward, non-physical part of a person. Follow the t.v. show "Bones" (which I do actually enjoy - believe it or not) and I think you'll see what I mean.  The mean character frequently says "I don't know what that means." when an emotional/spiritual expression is made. This destitution of the soul and spirit is not rational or reasonable. To be truly rational means having the wisdom to evaluate all known facts and understand their spiritual significance. 

As the preacher at my church noted in his sermon this past Sunday, wisdom is the ability to view earthly things from a heavenly perspective. King Solomon the Wise taught us that reverence toward the LORD is the beginning of both wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 9:10, & 1:7).

Christians have a rational basis for expecting the universe to operate in an orderly manner that can be systematically observed and studied. And we have a rational basis for holding to moral/spiritual laws as well. The universe was created by an orderly Creator and sovereign Lawgiver, who sustains it in a consistent, orderly manner. Not only is this so, but God is love (1 John 4:8). And He created us in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27) for the purpose of love (Matthew 22:37-40). Our Creator is the only Reason that science and goodness have on which to stand. 

The heavenly Father Himself has said, through the prophet Isaiah:

 "'Come now, let us reason together,"

Says the LORD,

"Though your sins be as scarlet,

They shall be white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They shall be as wool'"

(Isaiah 1:18; emphasis added).

And He has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill this promise (John 1:29). This, by the way, sets Christ apart from all other religions. We have confidence that God Himself took on human form and lived a humble, human life in Israel. He Himself endured the brokenness, the sorrows and hardships of the human experience, and was crucified for our sin (Isaiah 53). Everyone who places their trust in Jesus Christ is reconciled with the heavenly Father. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

If God Let Everyone Into Heaven

If God were to let everyone into Heaven, it would become just like it is here on earth. It wouldn't be Heaven anymore. Heaven would become a broken world, ruined with sin; just like this world we live in today, filled with broken families, divided communities, and warring nations. 

Heaven would become like this world filled with all kinds of malice, corruption, selfishness, hatred toward God, hatred toward the righteous. There would continually be conflict among people, and inside of people. It would be like this world filled with crime, violence, poverty, and excess. It would become like this world filled with all manner of ungodly people, corrupters, liars, thieves, murderers, and abusers of women and children. 

If God let everyone into Heaven, it would not be Heaven anymore. And so God has a standard. He Himself is the Absolute Standard; the Absolute Decider of what is good. And He is perfect. He is holy. Sin can not dwell in His presence. Sin can not be allowed in Heaven (read Psalms 15 and 24). That is why God, in the middle of speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, against the king of Tyre, began describing Lucifer in the following way: 

"You were the seal of perfection,

Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

You were in Eden, the garden of God...

You were the anointed cherub who covers;

I established you;

You were on the holy mountain of God;

You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones

You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,

Till iniquity (wickedness) was found in you...

You became filled with violence within, and you sinned;

Therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God;

And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,

From the midst of the fiery stones

Your heart was lifted up (self-exalted, prideful, arrogant) because of your beauty;

You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor

I cast you to the ground,

I laid you before kings,

That they might gaze at you.

You defiled your sanctuaries

By the multitude of your iniquities...

Therefore I brought fire from your midst;

It devoured you,

And I turned you to ashes upon the earth

In the sight of all who saw you" (Ezekiel 28:12-18).

The prophet Isaiah used the same poetic devise. He spoke by the Holy Spirit against the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:3-11). But in verse 12 it becomes evident that the rebellion and fall of Lucifer is being described. So there is a parallel between the wicked kings and Satan. God wrote these poems to the kings of Babylon and Tyre because those kings were committing the same sin that Satan first committed long before them; the sin of pride, attempting to put himself in place of God. And that is what every sinner does who rejects God's standard of what is good and tries to make their own. They are little satans, rebelling against God. 

And those who are willing to defy God's standard of right and wrong in order to have their own way, need not leap far to also defy the sanctity of human life and personal dignity in order to have their own way. That is what abortion does. It defies the sanctity of human life and dignity in order for the unloving to have their own way. It is infanticide. Everyone who participates in an abortion is a murderer. Everyone who defends abortion, defends murder. And all sin defies the sanctity of human life and dignity because God is the original, eternal first cause or source of all life and love and dignity; and sin separates us from God. Those who begin by rejecting God, will end by devaluing every last thing that is right and good in the sight of God. 

God's holiness emanates from His love. God is love. And that is precisely the reason why He is holy. All real, true love is holy because sin corrupts. Sin is corruption. Sin alienates. Sin ruins. Sin kills. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Holiness excludes sin. All real, true love is holy. And therefore, only what is holy can abide in Heaven.

But here's the rub; "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "There is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). And so, by the Absolute Standard, none of us are good.

"As it is written:

There is none righteous, no, not one;

There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one" (Romans 3:10-12).

And so, on a hill called Calvary, aka Golgotha (The Place of the Skull), just outside of Jerusalem, the Son of God showed another expression of His love for us. There, God in mortal human form, laid down His life on the cross, receiving to Himself the wages of our sin. And then He rose victorious over death. He did this so that, having paid for our sin, He could give us the free gift of salvation and eternal life. 

He has made it possible for us to be reconciled with Him (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). Everyone who places their trust in Christ is reconciled to God. His Spirit lives in us now. We are no longer little satans. We are now little christs (the word "Christian" literally means "little christ"). And by His Holy Spirit, we are growing to be more like Him in all righteousness (read 1 John 3:1-10, and also Colossians 3:1-17).We are being made holy so that we can be with our Friend, Savior, and Everlasting Father forever in Heaven.

You will not enter Heaven unless you willingly, consciously trust in Jesus Christ to be your one and only Redeemer, to take away your fallen, sinful nature; to reconcile you to God. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5). And the heavenly Father will give you the Holy Spirit to live in you; teaching you righteousness and making you holy and  from the inside out. Will you trust Him today?

Why God is Superlatively Great

From the astronomical to the microscopic; all matter, all space, all time belongs to God. He is the Creator and Owner of every soul, and every spirit. God is the Lord and Judge of every thing, creature, every person that exists. He is the Absolute Decider of what is good. He is the Absolute Standard of goodness.

After revealing Himself to humanity through nature, and through the Old Testament prophets; the Creator of all things took on mortal human form and came personally into the world that He created (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus Christ is God in Person. He died on the cross for the sin of humanity, though He Himself has no sin. And He rose victoriously over death. 

By accomplishing these works, Jesus made redemption; forgiveness of sin, and eternal life, accessible to every human being who places their trust in Him, and follows Him. Anyone who wants to can personally know the Creator of the universe as their Friend, Savior, and Everlasting Father. 

Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength (Dueteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37-38). God is love in three Persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (1 John 4:8). The reason that we as human beings even have a concept of love and of goodness is that we were created by, and in the image of God who is love (Genesis 1:26-27). 

Anyone who truly loves, as we were created to love, will love God who is love. And Jesus Christ is God in Person. Therefore anyone who truly loves will love Jesus Christ. "Let loving hearts enthrone Him". But as fallen human beings, all of us have sinned, and have not loved God who is love, and who created us in His image for the purpose of love. 

"But", Paul the apostle wrote, "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). John the apostle wrote, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins...We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:10 & 19).

I stated that God is the Absolute Decider of what is good; the Absolute Standard by which goodness is measured. Some wicked people accuse God of being wicked because He judges sin. By accusing God of evil, these evil people manifest (show, reveal, demonstrate) their own evil, wicked, fallen nature. God is God. People are not. God is the One who decides what is right and what is wrong. He is the One who decides what is good and what is evil. 

Because He is good, He judges and condemns sin. But also, because He is good, God has provided salvation from sin through His Son, Jesus Christ. No one has to be condemned for their sin. As I stated before, anyone who wants to can be redeemed. All one has to do is trust in the salvation that is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1-2). Those who do, receive His Holy Spirit who is now begun to work in them to reform them, conforming them to holiness, to righteousness. 

Life and Death (The Relative and the Absolute; and Mutual Exclusion)

Eleven Winters ago, I wrote a song that expresses what I had been thinking about during the course of the preceding Autumn months. That song is called "Till I Reach the Other Side". To explain what the song is about: at all times, through the duration of this life, I ought to be drawing nearer to God the Father, and the Son, in the Holy Spirit. I ought to be doing the kind of works that Christ did; works of love toward God first, and to other people second. And this means that I ought to be continually in the process of having all my fallen, sinful, human nature put to death; with all of its unrighteous, un-Christlike inclinations. So that's what the song is about.

And this death must take place in order for the new life, which is in Christ, to come to fruition. And in the Morning when I arise as a new creature in the presence of my Savior who died for me, and in whom I have been put to death, then I will share also in His eternal life. And every day is a step in that procession. Each time that I look to Christ in worship, and set aside the old nature to practice the new nature; the old nature dies a little more. And the new nature becomes a little more alive. I become a little more like Jesus.

In the beginning of chapter eight, book four of Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis tells us that this is the entirety of what Christianity is all about. He goes on to accurately paraphrases Christ as saying "I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it...I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours". He wrote, "[Jesus] never talked vague, idealistic gas. When He said 'Be perfect,' He meant it. He meant that we must go in for the full treatment".

In chapter nine, book four of Mere Christianity; Lewis goes on to say that "Some people seem to think this means 'Unless you are perfect, I will not help you'; and as we can not be perfect, then, if He meant that, our position is hopeless...I think He meant 'The only help I will give is help to become perfect. You may want something less: but I will give you nothing less...Make no mistake' He says, 'if you let Me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that'". The last sentence of chapter reads, "The process will be long and in parts very painful, but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said". 

And in the first paragraph of chapter ten, book four, Lewis writes, "The change will not be complete in this life, for death is an important part of the treatment. How far the change will have gone before death in any particular Christian is uncertain. 

Now, since the time that I wrote "Till I Reach the Other Side", I have often considered that that song was perhaps the most personal song I'd ever written. I wrote it as a prayer because of my awareness of my own shortcomings. 

And in the last eleven years, there have been times when I have turned around and fed the old nature, which is of the flesh; instead of the new nature, which is of the Spirit. And the result of that has always been trouble and misery. And in my spirit I have felt, at times, as though I might as well be dead. To be alive to sin is to be dead to God; and vice versa.

And so I image, in my mind, a great Curtain hanging down and separating two Expanses. The Expanse on the left is the "life" that this world has to offer. It is the "life" of the old nature. And it corresponds to this mortal life in this fallen world. On the other side is the Life of the new nature, which is Christ. This Life corresponds to the World into which Christians are passing until they have entered it at the end of this "life" (Colossians 3:1-4). 

And the Curtain between them, is called "Death".  And so, in order to cross over from either side to the other would be a process of dying. When Jesus took on human form and was born in Israel, two thousand years ago, that must have been like a kind of death for Him, even though He remained sinless. 

He left behind the ineffable glory of His heavenly kingdom with the Father, to be born into a cold, fallen, broken world. He took upon Himself the whole human experience, which means He bore the same curse of sin that is upon all humanity, even though He never committed any sin, nor did He have any sin in Him. He
bore our griefs and sorrows, and He died on a Roman cross for the sin that we have in us (Isaiah 53). 

And for us to become alive to the new nature requires us to die to our old nature. "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Romans 2:20). We have to go through that Curtain.

So to be alive to God is to be dead to the world with its desires. And to be alive to the world with its desires is to be dead to God. Paul the apostle wrote:

 "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14; NKJV). 

 I also like how it's worded in the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB). 

"But as for me, Heaven forbid that I should boast about anything except the execution-stake of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah! Through him, as far as I am concerned, the world has been put to death on the stake; and through him, as far as the world is concerned, I have been put to death on the stake".

Now no one can be living to God and sin both at the same time. The two lives; the "life" of the world with its desires, and the Life of God, are mutually exclusive. But here, relativity must give way to the Absolute. Here is the superiority of the Life of God. The Life of God is truer and better than the "life" of the world and its desires.

The "life" of the world with its desires is a false life. It is both fake and fleeting. It is a cheap imitation. Its reward is eternal damnation; eternal destruction, atrophy, ruin, and death! The Expanse on the left, the "life" of the world with its desires, is True Death. Those who partake of it grow in depravity and dehumanization.

The Expanse on the right; Life of God, is True Life. His reward is eternal grandeur, blessedness, joy, peace, love, and real, everlasting Life! Those who partake of Him grow in the perfection of who He is.

To understand this, it may be of help to remember that a word can be used in more than one way. For example, the word "light" can refer to a light-source, such as a flashlight, or even the moon. 

The moon is an indirect light-source. It reflects the sun's light onto the earth. That is the purpose for which it was created by God, on the fourth of the six literal days of Creation. And therefore, it can rightly be called a light.

But the same word, "light", can also be rightly used to refer to the waves/particles of light that  come from the light-source.

And it is the same thing with this word "death". It refers to the Curtain through which we Christians must pass to enter the Kingdom of eternal life. And the same word, "death" also refers to the process of going through the Curtain; a process that every Christian in this mortal world is in right now. 

And the same word, "death" also refers to the result of passing through the Curtain, except that if one were to pass from the Kingdom of eternal life, to this side, they would be approaching, and entering into real, absolute death. Whereas, one passing from this side to the other is going to be met on the other side with real, absolute, eternal life.

One might even be right to think that the Curtain itself is a  projection of this fallen, broken world on this side. If this world, on this side of the Curtain were not fallen, there would be no Curtain between this world and that Kingdom.

And now I am reminded of the curtain in the Temple at Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. This curtain seperated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. And at the moment of Christ's sacrificial death, the curtain was turn in two.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews, in the New Testament, says that this literal event is also symbolic of the fact that Jesus, entering through the curtain of death, had opened the way for all of us who trust and follow Him to do the same, and enter the Kingdom of God.

And why does the Christian's death have a different result than the non-Christian's physical death? Because the one who remains alive to sin, when he passes through physical death, will be confronted by a holy, righteous, perfect God. That sinner then will be met with condemnation, and ruin.

The Christian, in this life, is going through a deep process of having the old sinful nature put to death, so that when we stand before God in His Kingdom, He will see the righteousness of His own So in us. And so He will meet us with His approval. As the author of Hebrews tells us, we can, therefore, approach Him with confidence in Christ.

Here are the lyrics to my song which I wrote eleven winters ago:

 "Till I Reach The Other Side"

In the evening when the sun goes down

And You look down on me, do You where a frown?

Did I do all the things You wanted me to do?

Or in my heart, did I fail to stay true blue?

'Cause I don't know which way to go

And then when I know

It's just a hard row to hoe

Let me be a tool in Your hand

And make me useful to Your plan

Fill me with Your Spirit Lord, and let me walk with You

Till I reach the other side

And in the autumn when the leaves are brown

And all the dead things are falling on the ground

Is my heart turning around

Death to Self, Life to God; truly found

'Cause I know well which way to go

But though I know

 It's just a hard row to hoe

Father, make me like Your Son

And let me not vainly run

Drive Your dagger deep into my heart and set me free

From the selfish part of me

EPIC GUITAR RIFF: RIGHT HERE

And in the Morning when I rise

Lord, deliver me from lies

Let Your word give light to my eyes, my eyes

And let me gaze into You big blue sky

Teach me, Lord

Which way to go

And when I've learned, help me to hoe the row

Jesus, fill me with Your love

With peace and joy from above

Drive Your dagger deep into my heart and set me free

From the sinful part of me

Let me be a tool in Your hand

And make me useful to Your plan

Fill me with Your Spirit Lord, and let me walk with You

Till I reach the other

Till I reach the other

Till I reach the other side

Subjective/Objective Reality

[Note to reader: If you read this post, make sure you also read my later, August 2013 post titled Rethinking Reality; in which I consider a different view].

Reality is made of both objective and subjective truth. But there may be some confusion as to what the words "subjective" and "objective" mean. Subjectivity might be confused with relativity, and objectivity with absoluteness. But these are not the same things.

A thing that is objective belongs to the realm of material objects. It is a physical thing; whether it be a granite bolder at Devil's Den in Gettysburg, Pa, or a neuron inside one of your brain cells. 

A thing that is subjective belongs to the realm of the intangible. It has no physical substance, or material form. It can not be seen with the eye or touched with the hand. It can not be put under a microscope. A thing that is subjective has to do with thoughts and feelings. It has to do with the mind. And that includes the mind of God.

The laws of right and wrong belong to the subjective realm. You can not see a moral law with your eyes. Nor can you touch is with your hand. It is not a material object. It is not a physical thing. It is subjective. But it is real and absolute if it comes from the mind of God, who created all things. The love and righteousness of God are not less real because they are subjective.

C.S. Lewis knew the importance of subjectivity in evaluating reality. He found pure objectivity horrifying because it leaves out considerations of beauty and emotion. Objectively speaking "It is what it is". And if you leave subjective reasoning entirely out of the picture, you will find no reason why anything should or shouldn't be any different.

This is one of the main things that brought Lewis out of atheism, and eventually into Christ. As he pointed out in his book, Miracles, if all our thoughts were merely the product of random processes inside the physical brain, there would be no reason to believe that any of our thoughts could be valid observations. 

But then, as he continued, there would be no reason to suppose that our thoughts really were merely the product of random processes inside our physical brains. It would be "a proof that there are no such things as proofs - which is nonsense" (Chapter 3, paragraph 6). 

He came to realize that the mind is something more than the physical brain. It transcends the physical world, and thus provides a window into, or a connection to spiritual realities. By God's grace, it can even be the channel by which we learn of Him.