I'm so sick of this debate. Seriously....who cares? I have my opinion, but let's be totally honest – none of us definitively knows the real age of the earth. Whether the earth is 6,000 years old, or 482,000,000 years old, I don't care. I still believe that God created it, and that it's only my temporary home.
2. Global Warming
Maybe you think it exists, maybe you don't. Maybe you think we've caused it, maybe you don't. Guess what – I may or may not agree with you, but I don't care what you believe about it. We're supposed to be good stewards of God's creation, so.....let's just do that, ok?
3. Dinosaurs
Clearly, from the fossils we've unearthed, we can conclude that they existed. How long ago that was and whether or not they lived during the time of Adam - I'm not going to debate that with you, because it doesn't matter. I believe God created them, because I believe he created all things. They were here, now they're gone, and my kid loves them. Enough said.
4. The Da Vinci Code Theory
In case you're unaware, or have been living under a rock, the Da Vinci Code was a book written by Dan Brown (later turned into a feature film starring Tom Hanks). It poses the theory that Jesus Christ took a wife and fathered children, hence leaving a divine bloodline here on earth. There are some people who believe this to be true, and see it as evidence exposing Jesus as a fraud. All I have to say about it is this: Jesus could have come to earth and been a celibate, single male, or, he could have had a whole tribe of children. Newsflash - he's still the son of God, in the flesh, who lived among us. What he did while in that form doesn't change who he was, and is. So.....drum roll......I. Don't. Care.
Yes, I said it – the “E” word. I have my thoughts and opinions on this issue, but that's not what this post is about. Maybe I'm right, and maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you are. But you know what? I don't know for certain that either of us is one or the other....and I don't need to. I believe that God created this earth, and everything in it. How he did it? The intimate details of how every single thing went down? Good questions, but I don't presume to know the things of God. I may never know the answer to those questions until I meet him in heaven, but for now, it doesn't matter.
So....how is it that I don't care about these things? I mean, these are all things that are intensely debated amongst us Christians – surely I have to pick a side, right? I'll clue you in:
I don't care about them, because what you, or I, or anyone else believes about these things doesn't affect my salvation one bit.
I'm not making any assumptions about your faith and your relationship with God, or your “rightness,” based on what you think about these things, and I would hope you're not making assumptions about my faith either. Furthermore, these are all hot button issues. Ones for which people are willing to die on a hill, as if their immortal souls depended on it....as if they have all the answers. None of us has all the answers, and I don't think we're meant to. I think that God has purposely made it so that we don't know everything....so that we couldn't know everything, because not knowing, and believing anyway, sans definitive proof......requires faith.
We humans are seekers. We want to figure things out, know where they came from, and how they work. We want to have an answer - a RIGHT answer - for everything. I think we are created this way. How clever of God to create us with such thirst, but put us into a realm where we couldn't possibly quench it by our own will. We want indubitable, absolute understanding. But if we fully understood everything, there would be no need for faith. The fact that we don't have all the answers, and we can't explain everything, and yet we still believe – that is what warms God's heart. I think of John 20:29 where Jesus said to his disciples, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.” In this instance, he was speaking about their belief of his resurrection, but I see a correlation here. If we only believe what we can see....what we can prove.... what kind of a faith is that? If the only way I can believe in God and call myself a Christian is to prove that I'm right and everyone else is wrong.....what kind of faith do I really have? In The Message translation of the bible (admittedly, not my favorite, but relevant here), Hebrews 11:1 reads, “....this trust in God, this faith, is the foundation under everything that makes live worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see.” This faith. Our handle. That's what's important.
For me, it comes down to salvation. There are things that are simply not salvation issues, meaning....they have no bearing on me having a relationship with Jesus and being with him in heaven one day. Sadly, we fallen humans take things that are not salvation issues, and use them as reasons to divide ourselves. We use them as pillars to stand on and say “I'm right, and you're wrong.” or “If you're a bible-believing Christian, you have to think THIS way.” I'm pretty sure that God's not keeping people out of heaven solely for thinking one way or the other on any of these topics, not to mention a myriad of others. I don't care about these things, and I don't think God does either. What he DOES care about, is our hearts. That's all he wants. He wants us. He wants us to follow him, and to make him the most important thing in our lives. He wants us to show his love to the world. He wants us to proclaim his glory. I can do that without having all the answers to these silly, divisive issues.
You wanna sit and have a conversation about Jesus? Fantastic – let's do it! But, you won't find me trying to disprove a theory, or debating something that I couldn't possibly know for certain.....not when there are more important things to be done. Salvation things. I'm here to build the kingdom of God, and that has nothing to do with knowing it all. And I'll tell you something else - I'm glad that I don't have to know everything about everything. I'm thankful for faith! I'm thankful for the fact that God doesn't require anything from me, but.....me.