“Jesus replied, ‘The most important commandment is this: “Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” The second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”’” (Mark 12:29-31 NLT)
Today I will share with you a letter I wrote to a neighbor with whom I’d had a conversation a few days before. He is an atheist and very closed to anything regarding the Christian Faith. I had a brief video by an atheist who had committed his life to the Lord that I wanted to show him, but he shut me down and said: “I’m not interested in seeing it.” We talked for several minutes, but I continued to be frustrated by my inability to formulate my thoughts and respond to his questions. Afterwards, I felt like I’d failed God and literally cried over my “failure” to get through to Him.
But after my brief “pity party” ended, the Lord explained to me that while our conversation was disappointing to me, it went exactly as He’d planned it would and that I should just trust Him to do what only He can do in my neighbor’s heart and life. What follows today is what the Lord gave me as a follow-up to that conversation. It’s lengthy, but I believe it’s better to let you read it in its entirety than to break it up over two days.
I’m sharing it for two reasons. First, the Lord prompted me to share it, but, secondly, I believe it may give you some material to use in reaching those who are lost in your spheres of influence. I sincerely appreciate the time you take to read these articles and pray this letter will prove helpful to you. Blessings, Ed 😊
So, here is what I wrote:
Thanks for the time you took to speak with me a few days ago, it was disappointing to me in some respects, but very helpful. As you quickly learned, I don’t think well on my feet and struggled to make sense of any kind of reasonable answer to your many questions. But as I ponder our conversation, it seems odd to me that you shut down the idea of God so easily, as He is the One who gives you the capacity to question Him in the first place.
Just because you don’t believe something doesn’t make it not true. For centuries people thought the earth was flat, but it didn’t make it true, there were just things they didn’t yet know or understand. One day, on this side of eternity or the other, you’ll understand. I sincerely hope and pray it’s on this side.
Of all of God’s Creation, mankind is the only one who has the capacity to think, to reason, to question and to decide our own fate. And the irony is, our ability to ask is only half the equation. We fail to have the ability to understand the overall plans of God. They can only be given by revelation of His Spirit. An answer you don’t yet believe but is nonetheless true.
You asked me where hell or heaven is? While this isn’t the whole answer, there is a sense in which they are extensions of what we choose to believe while we’re here on earth. What does that mean? It means, on the one hand, though I have a debilitating illness, I choose to believe that’s just part of the deal. Why shouldn’t I get sick? I’m a human being, and human beings are all going to die…of something! Why not Alzheimer’s? But sickness, suffering, and death here on earth are only a very small part of the equation which will be explained and eliminated on the other side. I don’t question the Lord; I’ve learned to trust His judgment and believe what He says in the Bible is true. I’m staking my eternal life on it and so should you.
But, unlike other species of creation who will also die, we have a choice as to what happens, not only after we die, but before. Many people, like yourself, are walking, talking dead people. You have physical life, but your soul is dead. You can’t understand spiritual truth because it’s only given to those who are willing to believe God exists and ask for His revelation of what is true.
I know, that seems hard and, in some respects, seems like a copout, but it’s Biblically accurate and fully true. The whole of Scripture is a picture of life on planet earth and the forces of good and evil and what happens when evil wins (in this life) and when good conquers (in the next). We’re not basically good as some people believe. We’re evil to the core and incapable of sustaining any measure of goodness without God. The Bible says, as you may recall: “There is none righteous, no not one.” (Romans 3:10) (He had mentioned to me that he’d read the Bible)
Why is that? Because we’ve chosen our own way over God’s and the sad truth is, hell isn’t some horrible place God makes us go when we die, it’s the eternal state of life we choose for ourselves in this life that extends into the next. The only difference will be, after we die our spiritual “eyes” will be opened, and we’ll finally understand what we ignored and rejected when we had the chance in this life. If you want a picture of this, check out Luke 16:19-31. It’s not pretty, but it’s where you’re heading and that breaks my heart. If you don’t have a Bible, Google it.
Please don’t allow Satan to blind you to what’s true. What you believe is the accumulation of a lot of information you’ve gathered and accepted as true over the years as you’ve sought to deal with a lifetime of things you haven’t liked and didn’t understand and you’ve turned to human reasoning to find answers. There are no lasting answers except in God’s Word, the Bible. Don’t allow the pain you’ve suffered to harden your heart to the only true and living answer – faith and hope in the Lord Jesus.
Please read the Bible again, beginning in the Gospel of John in the New Testament. John was Jesus’ best earthly friend, the one to whom Jesus entrusted the care of His mom when He was murdered. John’s writings reflect His firsthand account of what life was like when Jesus walked the earth. He’s the only one of the original twelve disciples who died of natural causes, but he’s also the author of The Revelation, the last Book in the Bible that explains in figurative language what’s going to happen when life ends on this planet.
The other 10 original disciples, besides Judas who hanged himself because of his betrayal of Jesus, all died as martyrs, unwilling to deny that Jesus was exactly who He said He was – God’s Son, God poured into human flesh who walked among us and showed us firsthand what God is really like. Those men were not morons; they were men ignited by a love of God that only comes through faith in what and Whom is True. Would you die for something you knew was a lie?
Please read John, then go back to Matthew (also an original disciple who gives his firsthand account of Jesus’ life and gave his life in death for his faith), the first book in the New Testament, then read straight through the New Testament, including John again, in a modern speech translation. The New Living Translation is the best, it’s the one I use for my daily reading. I will gladly buy you a new Bible if you’ll agree to read it or you can download a free Bible app that has multiple versions. As I said, I like the NLT.
You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Please. What if I’m right? (You know in your heart that I am 😊)
It may seem corny to you, but I love you and it grieves me to think of being in heaven without you. I’ve walked with the Lord for more than 60 years. I’ve heard all the arguments for and against belief in God and I’ve chosen to put my faith in the One whom I’ve come to know as real, alive, and trustworthy. You’ve asked me, “How can I be sure?” Because I speak with Him every day and He speaks to me, primarily through the Bible, but in more personal ways also. He’s the One who has guided me in writing these words for you.
With love and respect,
Your neighbor and friend,
Ed 😊 (I also included my phone number)
P.S. I have one small favor. When I die, will you come to my funeral? It’s all I ask. I believe it will give you insight you can gain in no other way why I believe what I believe and why I’ve been so persistent in wanting you to believe it too. My wife will let you know when that time comes. I can’t wait! 😊
Walking With Jesus 