The tail-gunner in Superfortress Enola Gay pulled over his eyes the opaque goggles ordered for all crew members. Seconds earlier the Little Boy A-bomb had dropped from its bomb-bay. Seconds later it detonated in a firestorm 18 inches above ground over Hiroshima. Seconds after that an angry cloud burgeoned from the explosion. Quicker than the gunner could think, massive rays of light filled his goggles, closing his eyes. His experience has a spiritual lesson. Too-bright a light can blind before it illuminates. That’s why the spiritual light Jesus Christ possessed and SHONE on his world, and SHINES on ours, makes him the most controversial person in history. His brilliance offends unbelievers. They allow his goodness, but deny his Deity. They concede his zeal for God, but consider it different only in degree, not content, from other religious leaders. Where believers fall on their faces before him as the God-Man, critics turn from what they consider a colossal fraud, to seek solace in alternative religions. How do we account for the difference? EASILY. The former compare Christ’s claims with Christ’s life and find perfect harmony and seamless consistency—possible only in a Perfect Being. The latter see the same consistency, but in a turmoil of defiance decide NO ONE can be that perfect. Rejecting what they decide can never be, however bountiful the evidence THAT IT ONCE WAS in Jesus Christ, releases them to seek a faith of less mystery and more comfort. In that sense Christ’s teaching in John 6:40, 43-46, can best be understood. God doesn’t choose some to be saved while consigning others to Hell. The Spirit’s WORK, not God’s predestination, glows in those verses. Indeed, the Holy Spirit expects all mortals, believers or unbelievers, to at first be bewildered by, confounded by and dismayed when viewing Christ’s blinding light in the Gospels. The Holy Spirit goes further, however. He also promises that if:
Humans make the choice: investigate and accept the evidence Jesus left of his consistency, leading to Faith in him as the God/Man; or quickly scan the evidence and discard it. The former leads to peace with God through forgiveness of sin. To robust daily discipleship that overcomes problems. To fearless confrontation with death. Into an endless REALITY when God opens the Gates to the New Jerusalem. The latter faces:
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