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Not every person. Tell that to kids who died in the Holocaust, babies born with severe deformities and illness who don't live to be even a year old. Or people who are born intellectually disabled with no hope of living a full independent life. Plus there is no certainty that this rewarding afterlife is even real.
In the end, we each have the specific live we're given, lived one day at a time. Sure, we have the freedom to see and dwell on all that seems wrong or an injustice. But, we also have freedom to make the most of every day.
Maybe an attitude shift is needed. Maybe just avoiding the junk and unpleasantness is the start. You don't have to figure out the universe and how it all works - that can come later - just make daily moves and adjustments towards progress and positivity. That alone should unclutter your mind and spirit, and start opening up possibilities. Then maybe seek spirituality, not religion.
Yeshua doesn't really give a interpretation of this parable.But its more of a believer and believer parable story. My little hypothetical is believer and non-believer
Sometimes progress towards happiness is not in what you add to your life, but what you remove. Clear the plate of junk, start fresh and anew, and seek new paths.
Sometimes progress towards happiness is not in what you add to your life, but what you remove. Clear the plate of junk, start fresh and anew, and seek new paths.
That’s exactly right
We can’t change the past but we can change how we view things and how much we let the past control how we approach the future (and each other)
We are to add good things and remove bad things
We all have baggage and things that we dislike about ourselves, our circumstances, the people we deal with, and what we have been dealt in life and all the experiences that have been unpleasant
That is part and parcel of being human and a natural and carnal creature
I grew up with autism, recently got an ADHD diagnosis that explains many things looking back. Throughout my formative years I struggled socially/academically and these things persisted into adulthood. I am nearly 23 and starting college over from scratch, and have never had a girlfriend and still am not in a great place financially/mentally for it anyway.
I wasn't really bullied, but the constant loneliness and embarassment for my cringiest moments still eats at me and can ruin my mood for the day. Plus the ADHD has made adulting hard: lost a couple jobs, mismanaging money, and even my hobbies are mucked up. I get frustrated and anxious due to constant procrastination. With family, my family has always been pretty dysfunctional. Suicidal sister with violent outbursts and has been hospitalized several times. Police were also here various times, once 4 times within 2 months. My dad was abusive at times, loving at others with apologies/love bombing thrown in. He died from COVID nearly 2 years ago, and not being on the best terms at the time it still gets to me, among other family BS. My mom is very stressed/burnout from it all.
Just to be clear: I am not a savant nor do I have autistic ''special abilities'' or whatever. ADHD doesn't make me quirky. These things along with my troubled home life have been purely obstacles, not advantages. There is no benefit to having gone through this stuff that would make it worth the opportunities in relationships, work and life in general that I have missed out on. And the effects on my mental health due to the lingering anger, regret, sadness and emptiness sometimes ruin my mood for the whole day, harder to visualize a better future.
The idea that all this, along with things like molested children, kids born with severe birth defects, people dying en masse in things like earthquakes, floods etc make it hard for me to swallow that God has a good reason for letting things like this slide. Was it's God's plan that a scumbag friend(from conservative Christian family) molested my sister and used me even before that? Why did I have to struggle so much for certain things while others hardly tried? I have friends and associates who are neurotypical and/or had a far better family situation than me and are good, productive people. So the idea that trauma makes you a better/stronger person is BS. Especially considering some traumatized folks never get over it, some turn to alcohol/drugs, and some commit suicide(no intentions of doing that, but you get my drift).
Sometimes I like historical Jesus, but among other things heard he didn't fulfill all necessary prophesises to be the Messiah, among other things.
Overall, I just don't know.If there is anything going on ''behind the scenes'', it is hard to wonder where I and those less more fortunate than average fit in. Especially without certainty that all this is true. And then the idea that to most Christians people who don't believe for these reasons will recieve further torment for ETERNITY seems to go beyond God being apathetic to just cruel(but according to some Hell isn't a biblical concept, and Jews don't believe in it).
Thoughts?
If you want to be a child of God's and Jesus to be your personal Savior and Teacher, then you have to get his teachings in the New Testament and do what he says to do.
Never give up give out or give in no matter how long it takes for Jesus to save you and show you the truth.
I grew up with autism, recently got an ADHD diagnosis that explains many things looking back. Throughout my formative years I struggled socially/academically and these things persisted into adulthood. I am nearly 23 and starting college over from scratch, and have never had a girlfriend and still am not in a great place financially/mentally for it anyway.
I wasn't really bullied, but the constant loneliness and embarassment for my cringiest moments still eats at me and can ruin my mood for the day. Plus the ADHD has made adulting hard: lost a couple jobs, mismanaging money, and even my hobbies are mucked up. I get frustrated and anxious due to constant procrastination. With family, my family has always been pretty dysfunctional. Suicidal sister with violent outbursts and has been hospitalized several times. Police were also here various times, once 4 times within 2 months. My dad was abusive at times, loving at others with apologies/love bombing thrown in. He died from COVID nearly 2 years ago, and not being on the best terms at the time it still gets to me, among other family BS. My mom is very stressed/burnout from it all.
Just to be clear: I am not a savant nor do I have autistic ''special abilities'' or whatever. ADHD doesn't make me quirky. These things along with my troubled home life have been purely obstacles, not advantages. There is no benefit to having gone through this stuff that would make it worth the opportunities in relationships, work and life in general that I have missed out on. And the effects on my mental health due to the lingering anger, regret, sadness and emptiness sometimes ruin my mood for the whole day, harder to visualize a better future.
The idea that all this, along with things like molested children, kids born with severe birth defects, people dying en masse in things like earthquakes, floods etc make it hard for me to swallow that God has a good reason for letting things like this slide. Was it's God's plan that a scumbag friend(from conservative Christian family) molested my sister and used me even before that? Why did I have to struggle so much for certain things while others hardly tried? I have friends and associates who are neurotypical and/or had a far better family situation than me and are good, productive people. So the idea that trauma makes you a better/stronger person is BS. Especially considering some traumatized folks never get over it, some turn to alcohol/drugs, and some commit suicide(no intentions of doing that, but you get my drift).
Sometimes I like historical Jesus, but among other things heard he didn't fulfill all necessary prophesises to be the Messiah, among other things.
Overall, I just don't know.If there is anything going on ''behind the scenes'', it is hard to wonder where I and those less more fortunate than average fit in. Especially without certainty that all this is true. And then the idea that to most Christians people who don't believe for these reasons will recieve further torment for ETERNITY seems to go beyond God being apathetic to just cruel(but according to some Hell isn't a biblical concept, and Jews don't believe in it).
Thoughts?
Lord have mercy! A lot to unpack here. Autism is very much heavy cross. But by carrying and overcoming it with God's grace your rewards would be great in the kingdom to come.
There's quite a few other things to address here and I'm just going to list them for clarity's sake:
1.) Only God can turn evil into good. People have said "where is God? How could God let this happen?" right from the crucifixion onwards, but a lot of good did come out of the crucifixion not just because it fulfilled messianic prophecy but also because by establishing the Church it gave the nations a chance to come near to God which was not possible before.
2.) God is not a dictator. This follows on with my previous post, God allows people to do bad things because He gave us free will, and He respects that free will. It's a very delicate balancing act between nudging people towards their salvation and things that are best for them in the life to come while still respecting that they can choose not to do it.
3.) Hardship and struggle very much are purifying forces. Take for example the stereotype of the spoiled rich kid. Never had to struggle, always had his way in everything, was always given everything he asked for, etc. How do such people turn out? Awful! That stereotype exists for a reason because it tends to be true. Now imagine being that way forever.....yikes!
4.) You can't know what is in someone else's heart. Someone might seem to be a "good person" on the outside, but inside their spirit is quite dead. You also don't know what challenges they might have had in their own life too, it's quite possible they've had to overcome many things of their own.
5.) Hell is the rejection of God's love. The light of God doesn't shine in hell, the people who rejected Him don't want it anyway, but God is everywhere present, including hell. That's what makes it hell, imagine being locked in a room with someone who loves you dearly but whom you hate....forever. Sounds like hell to me. The living water and the lake of fire are, in reality, one and the same.
6.) Universal salvation is very much a heresy for a good reason. Should Satan be put into the same place as the children he caused to die?
7.) You can only know the Truth of God through spiritual experience, and it has to be done in a certain way with guidance otherwise you will possibly be lead astray. Then you will know that paradise and hell are real places. Faith comes from the spirit, not the mind.
Hope this addresses your points. Feel free to message me as well if you'd like and I'll be happy to answer any other questions you might have (here or in private).
You say theirs no benefit in going through what you did. You might not see if now but im sure it is. Life's hard, easier for some, harder for others, but either way life's hard. I see not having a girlfriend yet probably bothers you,I was a virgin till i was almost 24. Now im almost 40 and still struggle financially at times.
I was a opiate addict for 16 years and did horrible things to my family for money. Even stole money from the church. But i grew and learned from all those mistakes. Most importantly God forgives me for it all. God also supernaturally saved me one night when i was blacked out high.
And what prophecy did Yeshua not fulfill? Scripture said the Messiah would come before the destruction of the 2nd Temple. Well that Temple was destroyed in 70AD.
And what if for a free trip you had to write a 2000 page paper, sacrifice time from your family, work for 3 years, etc. When the time comes you get the trip. But what if this other guy who did none of it, didnt sacrifice anything, got that same trip. That wouldnt be right would it.So is God cruel or just for not allowing people who cared less about him to allow them to spend eternity with him? Eternal separation from God is definitely a biblical concept.
I am late replying to this, but what benefit to all the stuff I have been through is there aside from making the best out of a bad situation? Plenty of people have decent or good childhoods without abuse or mental health issues among other things, and not only become productive members of society but compassionate human beings as well. That alone disproves the idea that trauma is a prerequisite for to becoming a good person. And would you say what you said to a victim of human trafficking, someone who was molested since they were a small child, or was horribly maimed/disfigured in an accident?
I grew up under a tyrant, alcoholic, Irish Catholic career cop who was an ex-Marine. Chain smoker, too. So I quickly acquired asthma. Mind you: when someone grows up Irish and Catholic, GUILT and SHAME is the world we inhabit. MANY years later, in pursuit of an advanced academic degree, I discovered through testing that I am dyslexic. No wonder everything was so difficult along the way. On top of all of that, my MBTI group is the smallest (INFJ,) comprising barely 2% of the general population. And I am a MALE INFJ, which means I belong to the tiniest splinter group within the tiniest sliver of the population. .... In short: NO ONE thinks the way I do; no one approaches the world and Life the way I do. I'm always a minority of ONE, in any group. I do not fit-in, anywhere.
It sucks. But I have processed it. Some of it I can even count as a blessing, ironically.
I have found that to "carry one's cross" is not a thing that is imposed on us. It is a thing each of us DECIDES to do, deliberately. Devote yourself to carrying your cross. Devote yourself to a life of self-sacrifice for the betterment of others, in whatever way(s) you choose. That's where satisfaction and happiness can be found.
I grew up with autism, recently got an ADHD diagnosis that explains many things looking back. Throughout my formative years I struggled socially/academically and these things persisted into adulthood. I am nearly 23 and starting college over from scratch, and have never had a girlfriend and still am not in a great place financially/mentally for it anyway.
I wasn't really bullied, but the constant loneliness and embarassment for my cringiest moments still eats at me and can ruin my mood for the day. Plus the ADHD has made adulting hard: lost a couple jobs, mismanaging money, and even my hobbies are mucked up. I get frustrated and anxious due to constant procrastination. With family, my family has always been pretty dysfunctional. Suicidal sister with violent outbursts and has been hospitalized several times. Police were also here various times, once 4 times within 2 months. My dad was abusive at times, loving at others with apologies/love bombing thrown in. He died from COVID nearly 2 years ago, and not being on the best terms at the time it still gets to me, among other family BS. My mom is very stressed/burnout from it all.
Just to be clear: I am not a savant nor do I have autistic ''special abilities'' or whatever. ADHD doesn't make me quirky. These things along with my troubled home life have been purely obstacles, not advantages. There is no benefit to having gone through this stuff that would make it worth the opportunities in relationships, work and life in general that I have missed out on. And the effects on my mental health due to the lingering anger, regret, sadness and emptiness sometimes ruin my mood for the whole day, harder to visualize a better future.
The idea that all this, along with things like molested children, kids born with severe birth defects, people dying en masse in things like earthquakes, floods etc make it hard for me to swallow that God has a good reason for letting things like this slide. Was it's God's plan that a scumbag friend(from conservative Christian family) molested my sister and used me even before that? Why did I have to struggle so much for certain things while others hardly tried? I have friends and associates who are neurotypical and/or had a far better family situation than me and are good, productive people. So the idea that trauma makes you a better/stronger person is BS. Especially considering some traumatized folks never get over it, some turn to alcohol/drugs, and some commit suicide(no intentions of doing that, but you get my drift).
Sometimes I like historical Jesus, but among other things heard he didn't fulfill all necessary prophesises to be the Messiah, among other things.
Overall, I just don't know.If there is anything going on ''behind the scenes'', it is hard to wonder where I and those less more fortunate than average fit in. Especially without certainty that all this is true. And then the idea that to most Christians people who don't believe for these reasons will recieve further torment for ETERNITY seems to go beyond God being apathetic to just cruel(but according to some Hell isn't a biblical concept, and Jews don't believe in it).
Thoughts?
Let me ask you this? Have you ever read the whole bible, cover to cover? Based upon what you wrote I would say NO. How do you even know who Jesus is? Read the whole book then decide.
Let me ask you this? Have you ever read the whole bible, cover to cover? Based upon what you wrote I would say NO. How do you even know who Jesus is? Read the whole book then decide.
A person can read the Bible from cover to cover a hundred times and still not know who Jesus is.
We know Jesus after we obey him.
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