One of methods in my problem-solving is to "Google" my problem and hope that someone has posted somewhere a simliar problem (and solution!). In this case, I Googled "Paint Shop Pro initializing tracker" because one of the problems was that PSP was freezing on start-up while it was trying to "initialize the tracker" (whatever that means). I could not find my specific problem - and several hours and numerous Google-searches later, I stumbled upon a solution for "Initialising Tracker."
WHY didn't this come up the first time.......?
Look closely... "initialising tracker" - the person who had posted the solution had MISSPELLED the word "initializing!" Hours of my time could've been saved if that person had spelled the word correctly... *sigh* Sure I understood what this person was talking about when I read his post... but in my quest to solve a problem... a simple misspelling got in the way of actually finding his solution.
So what is the point of this post? Was God was telling me that I need to spell-check my blog posts? Will one day... some everyday, ordinary person be searching for God, and something I have posted or will post will NEED to be spelled right so they can find it?
Maybe. (That would be cool, wouldn't it?!)
However...
My lesson today is NOT really about spelling...
In grade school, my Mom used to say that "the easiest test in school is a Spelling Test... because you know all of the answers ahead of time." Nowadays, with "spell check" on nearly every computer program or an online dictionary just a "Websters" search away, the only two reasons one might misspell a word is LAZINESS and IGNORANCE. Either that person is too darn lazy to look up the correct spelling... or doesn't actually know that the word is misspelled.
Can you afford to be lazy or ignorant about God? Do you think that you will have all the time in the world to invite Jesus into your heart? At best, you (and I) have long years ahead of us with a quiet, peaceful end due to "natural causes." Maybe there will be a lingering illness that affords us the time to be introspective and follow a windy, albeit s-l-o-w, road to Christ. But... it's entirely possible that our end will come with a Mack truck and a split-second.... with no 2nd chances.
Ignorance is just plain "not knowing." So if a person has never heard about Jesus at all - he or she doesn't even know to follow. I don't know how God deals with that - I'd like to think that our loving God has a place for people who never had the chance to know Him... not because they chose to turn away, but because they just plain had no idea. However with evangelical Christians and missionaries spread out all over the globe... with the availability of the Internet and the thousands (millions?) of Christian websites... with a Bible in nearly every hotel room you can find... it's hard to find an isolated place to stay ignorant... but I suppose it's possible...
Which leaves us with LAZINESS... and that is another matter altogether. A lazy person has heard of God... has heard of Jesus Christ and the miracles and sacrifice of His life... a lazy person may even attend a church - sitting with her friends, snoozing during the sermon, doodling on the bulletin - but not really taking action to understand or learn more. A lazy person may say, "Hey - I'm a good person... I follow the 10 Commandments... mostly... it's not like I've killed anybody... surely, I'll go to Heaven?" But the lazy person isn't taking the time or making the effort to learn, and understand, and know Christ.
And the lazy person might argue that there are so many different religions in the world, how do I know I'm picking the right one? It's not about YOU picking teams... God already picking YOU when he sent his Son to live on earth and sacrifice Himself for our sins. You've already been chosen... all you have to do is accept. It can't get much more effortless than that!
And as for the argument about "all of the other religions," well...
I would rather live my life as if there IS Christ, and die to find out there isn't...
than live my life as if there isn't, only to die to find out there is.
What's your choice?
The answers have already been given to you... the "cheat sheet" is called the Bible. You can buy one. You can borrow one. You can Google one. You can find one in just about every hotel room in America. Probably, if you just asked, any church would flat-out GIVE you one for free. So the only excuse now not to find out more about what Christianity is all about is laziness.
And, laziness is a poor excuse for not finding salvation.
I wish you peace and answers in your own faith-journey...and I thank you for walking along with me today. Of course, I hope that all of your Google searches are successful... and that you ace any tests where the answers are already given to you... :)
♥Mags
Some interesting links on this topic...
- The Good Test - find out once and for all if you are "good" enough to go to Heaven (if you've paid attention at all... you know that there is no such thing... but go ahead and try it...! :)
- 2005 ABC News Report about "IS THERE HEAVEN?" - by Barbara Walters - lots of fodder for future blog posts!! :)
- Want to double-check your spelling? Visit the Top 100 Misspelled Words and Tricks to Remember Them! :)
3 comments:
Okay... it was pointed out to me by my husband that "initialising" can be spelled with an "s" if the person is British... but that still didn't help me find my solution in a timely manner!! :)
Great post...it is good to encourage people to get up and grow their faith.
Actually it would have been nice if you had shared where you found that solution, because when I use Google to search for the same thing it points me to your blog.
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