A compliment

In a recent Facebook conversation, one person said the Genesis account of creation was simply a story (not literal and not true). I responded that I believe the account to be true. And the response was, you are definitely behind the times. I took it as an insult, a put down, meaning, You are uneducated, unsophisticated, a simpleton, a backward rube. But that’s OK, I consider this to be a compliment. After all the Bible says, “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Yes. I believe in a six day creation, Adam and Eve, the Fall, Cain and Abel, a world wide flood, Noah and the ark, Abraham, and everything else in both the Old and New Testaments. Why? I wrote a Facebook note on this, Ten Reasons Why I believe the Bible is the Word of God

But ultimately I believe the Bible because I believe in Jesus. I did not come to Jesus because I became convinced the Bible was the Word of God. I had never thought about it. I had tried to read the Bible before, but it made no sense to me at all. All I knew was I wanted to know God. I can still remember the day in Hawaii when my family went to watch the sunset at Laie Point. That particular day I asked to stay home and they agreed. I was walking around the yard and suddenly I looked up into the sky and said, “God, if you are there I want to know you” and continued with what I was doing. I was maybe in the 7th grade.  And thus began a spiritual journey. When I was a senior we moved from Hawaii to Nashville where I attended McGavock High School. On one of my first days there I met a girl and when we met something in her touched my soul and I knew she had what I wanted. I was so disappointed to learn it was Jesus! But, I went to church to be with her and they prayed for me, a long haired hippie. One day I came under conviction at church (I mean, I had the strongest urge to go forward during the invitation). I had no idea what was going on so after church I took a walk to figure this out. While on this walk I became aware of a Presence with me. And then He spoke, “I am Christ. I am alive and I am God. Trust me with your life and I will take you to the true God.” Wow! The very thing I was hungering for. So I did and He did! Hallelujah!

I believe in Jesus, that He is the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God. I’m committed to doing what He says, valuing what he values, believing what He believes. Jesus believed in creation, Adam and Eve, the flood, that Jonah was swallowed by a whale, that Jacob had twelve sons etc. Therefore, so do I. But, do I only believe what He specifically mentioned? No. He believed in the Law and the Prophets, the Psalms and the Writings - what we call the Old Testament. So I do too. He promised the disciples He would send the Holy Spirit who would lead them into all truth and remind them of all that He had taught. So I believe their writings – the New Testament - are also the Word of God.

So, it all really starts with Jesus. Of course, I spent a lot of time and effort demonstrating that the Old Testament has many prophecies of the coming Messiah: birth, lineage, ministry, death, resurrection etc. That these prophecies needed to be fulfilled by Jesus for Him to be the promised Messiah. And that they were! The message of the New Testament is that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah (Christ), the Son of God. But the central message of the Gospel is this – Jesus, who was crucified, has been raised from the dead! And this I preached and taught and emphasized. Not everybody will come to Christ the same way I did. But they will have to come to Christ. And for this to happen, they will need to be drawn by the Holy Spirit, for unless he turns the lights on they will never understand.

And so it is I came to be behind the times” Scholars tell us science and evolution make God unnecessary and creation impossible. But I choose Jesus, the Creator Himself. They tell us if there is a God he is incomprehensible anyway. But through Jesus I know God. I am His child and have fellowship with Him. I may be behind the times but through Jesus I am ahead of the curve!