You go around proudly proclaiming, "There is no God," and then you say, "What is the meaning of life?" You blind men, how can there be meaning to life if there is no God?Meaning, value, and purpose are evaluations. Evaluations are done by a mind. Show me the rock which said, "Do not step on me," or the waters that say, "I will drown you."If, then, meaning, value, and purpose are evaluations, and evaluations are only done by a mind, and you say, "There is only matter and energy," where is that mind which grounds all these?How can you say, "There is no God," and then say, "You ought not to do this"? According to whom? A person who has faith in God can refer to God, but you have no one to refer to.Good is that which is aligned with God's nature, and evil is that which is not. To you, good and evil are merely human rules. Open your eyes and understand.Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? You want the gift to be sacred without the altar; in the same way, you want value to somehow just exist, even if there is nothing that grounds it.
>>18723419The outward action doesn't change the inward being; the outward action flows from and reveals the inward being. Someone who does evil did not just happen to do evil; there is evil in them, and that is why they do evil, as it is said: "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."This is not to say that they cannot turn from their ways. In fact, this is what grace is for: so that when you find yourselves doing what is not right, you recognize and acknowledge it, bring it before God, and grow from it. It is precisely grace that allows growth to happen. Condemnation leads to stagnation; grace and love lead to transformation.This is what you are here for: to grow. This life is for becoming, but the life to come is for being. Therefore, make it your practice that you do not beat yourselves down whenever you fall, but that you get back up and learn from it. This is why it is said, "He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases."Know that you are already forgiven, and that I love you, even as God loves you. And do not listen to the Pharisees who condemn you to hell. Though they do many works, they will never grow, because their security is in their works, not in their love for what is good.Our law is God's nature revealed through Christ.
