Here is a weird thought I had one day while building cat houses... for people who think life is about reincarnation and that what we do in this life affects what we are in the next life, does deforestation explain population growth? I mean, if you did something to be brought back as a tree in the rain forest, (by the way what do you have to do to be brought back as a tree?) and then someone comes along and prematurely cuts you down before the 200 years you were supposed to be a tree, do you then get to come back as a person as a reward for not being a tree long enough? I'm not good with math but does the rise in human population exactly equal the number of trees we've cut down? Probably not, I was just wondering. Sorry, sometimes your mind wanders when you're building cat houses all day.
Anyway, I do not believe in reincarnation and karma, but I do believe in the resurrection of Jesus. And that he is going to raise us one day to be with God in Heaven. And that what we do and say in this life matters. Our choices, our words and our actions all matter. They affect the outcome of our life and the lives of those around us.
So if you choose to follow Jesus, it means your life is going to change. If it doesn't, well, you're not really following Him. If you choose to accept what he offers, all the other choices you make are guided by His spirit that lives in you and for you. Now maybe that sounds a little airy fairy to you, but this is what it looks like practically:
You have more than you need already but you want a new shirt. Someone you know has less than they need and they don't have a shirt. You realize you have 17 shirts in your closet so you buy that person a shirt instead, and then maybe you give him your coat as well because you also have too many coats.
My friend Dave goes on a mission trip to Dominican to work with Haitian refugees, prostitutes and homeless kids. He leaves in the morning fully clothed and comes back only wearing shorts almost every day he is there. He is literally giving the shirt off his back to someone in need. People use that catchy little phrase a lot. "Oh he's so generous he'd give you the shirt off his back." Dave is the only person I have ever met who actually does that. I have never done that, I have loaned someone the jacket I was wearing. I actually do give clothes away, but off my back? I'm too embarrassed to walk around without a shirt most of the time.
God is working on me though, he making me more humble, he is making me see the need around me, he is making me move outward instead of always looking inward.
That is how he is changing me, how is he changing you?
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