Picture of Richard Dawkins and the Atheist Bus Campaign
Some people think that serving God is a waste of your life. Instead, the advocate that you enjoy the life that you have and not worry about what happens after you die. They advocate this attitude because everything they have seen and experienced is based in this world. However, it is easy to forget that there is an eternity before us and after us and we are like the flower in the field, we appear for a very short time then we are gone.
The interesting thing about this comment is that is says to enjoy life and not to waste it. Well this is what serving God is all about.
The word enjoy comes from the word joy, and the bible tells us that joy is a good thing that comes from God. Just because I serve God, doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy my life.
What is there that unbelievers can do that I or any other believer can’t do? The answer of course is sin and so the real question that is being asked is “Stop believing in heaven and enjoy a sinful life”
If you think about it, we all have the freedom to enjoy good things if we have access to them. No one is saying that we should deprive ourselves of good things. God is not a kill-joy, rather he is the giver of joy. He created us to share the good things that he has made. But to enjoy sin, that is something that a servant of God should obviously keep away from. And whether you are aware of it or not, sin is the cause of all known problems in peoples lives and rather than sin giving us joy, it actually destroys joy.
James 1:14-15 says,
“but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Hebrews 11:24-25 says,
24 “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.”
So yes you we are free to enjoy good things. However, I admit that you can also enjoy sin, trouble is sin only last for a while and then its all downhill thereafter. When we enjoy the good things that God has for us, then we are blessed and walking in God is an uphill journey that leads to the ultimate destination, Heaven. Heaven is a place of much joy, whereas sin bring misery in the end.
So I say to you do you really want to enjoy life, or do you want to enjoy sin which leads to death.
In Romans 6:23 it says,
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”.
Think about that. The gift of God is eternal life. Believe it or not, people actually get sick of living in this world. Existing here forever would drive people mad. The fact that God offers eternal life in his kingdom means the life he gives is good enough to expereience forever. In fact it is the most enjoyable experience that we could ever know. It is an absolute privilege to live with God or should I say for God to live in us.
1 Corinthians 2:9 says:
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”
What God has waiting for those that love him is beyond our experience and is many times more wonderful than anyone could ever imagine. If you try and imagine how wonderful Heaven is, then your finite imaginations will fall far short of what the eternal God has made for us. Of course God himself is greater than his own creation, so we cannot possibly imagine how wonderful it would be to exist forever in God’s love.
God is the Most High and the creator of all good things according to scripture.
It should be pointed out that just because we serve God doesn’t mean life today will be a bunch of roses however. In fact many righteous people suffer at the hand of sinners and God also disciplines us for our own good.
Hebrews 12:7-11 says,
“7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
As you can see God’s discipline is for our good and it leads to peace, holiness, and righteousness. If you really want to enjoy life, then we need to turn away from sin because sin leads to pain, misery, and death. We all need salvation, which is life everlasting with the Eternal God, who loves us beyond our understanding. So I return this question with a question.
Do you want to enjoy sin for a time and then reap the fruits of that sin which is misery then death?
Or do you want to enjoy life forever?
The 2nd option is only possible with God.
