Embrace The Cross

Why treat men with so much dignity,
When of all God's creatures he's most the fool?
The rulers of earth they pretend to be,
Yet history shows men the weaker tool.
Man rises so important in God's clear sight
That the universe was made just for him.
If men had remained unmade, the devil might
Have been long chained, no prey easy as them.
But God loves men; in His image they're made;
God gives grace to them only, of gifts
The best; but if good works bloom, they soon fade;
God holds His patience, and ever uplifts.
Some good men, by free will, redeem the race;
They choose Christ as Lord, and the cross embrace.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke to a large crowd who had come out to hear Him teach. (Matthew 5-7) He used the occasion to describe how a Christian should live so as to enter the Kingdom of God. Near the end of His talk, He made a curious remark that is extremely important for us all to keep in mind. By far the greatest number of people who live on earth will be lost; only a few will be saved. He said it in the following words.

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

Well, you might look around and try to gauge whether you are in the large crowd instead of going it on your own, because if you're going with what everybody else is doing, you could be on the wrong road. If you choose to follow Jesus and learn to love as He loved, you will be in a very small crowd. Furthermore, the Bible tells us that in the last days, many Christians will fall away by being deceived by great lies spread by Satan. All the members of any church are not truly going to be saved, even though they might think so. Maybe less than half of church members are traveling the narrow road.

God created man by first creating the entire universe and solar system. He did all this knowing exactly how few men from among the billions who have lived on the earth would actually take advantage of Christ's offer of salvation in return for their free will choice of the narrow road.

What is important to God about man is that each one has free will and can choose for himself which road to follow. He did it all for the few and doesn't regret it one bit!

Why? I think, because Satan has wanted God's throne for himself and God lets him freely roam earth and do his best to deceive men into choosing the wrong road. God knows that the few who choose His way did it freely; they are worth everything He paid, including the life of His own Son. If Satan ruled, he would give no free choice.

Islam is a religion based on fear. If America lets herself come under Islamic rule, each of us will be forced to worship Allah, a god that gives no free will.