Humanity has evolved to live in peace with each other and with other species. That's the vision of Star Trek,
our dream, the human dream. But how could that dream become reality? Humaity is thousands of years old, during which
there have been wars, cruelty, murder and genocide. This seems to show us something about our human nature.
Concentration camps have ceased to exist in Germany more than 50 years ago. The majority of Germans can't even
remember them. Apparently humaity has learned. But there were concentration camps in Serbia only a couple of years
ago. The last witch
was burnt centuries ago. But has humanity evolved from that? Still, in many countries,
people are being persecuted, tortured, even killed for what they are, for what they think, or for what they believe.
Maybe you're realizing all these problems, but they don't touch you too much, as you've personally evolved from such deeds. A guy called Stanley Milgram tested ordinary people like you and me if they'd put someone else to death under extreme circumstances. The result was surprising and shocking at the same time. Seven out of ten would put someone else to death. It's quite frightening if you think that there's a 70 % chance of you being able to put someone to death, isn't it? But I know all of us are in the remaining 30 %... If we're not the ones killing other people, we might still be the ones electing politicians who enable weapon manufacturers to deliver tanks to the Syrian army etc. So our hands don't seem to get really dirty.
Now what about our own relationships? Have they ever evolved? What about your relationship with your neighbors, your parents, your teachers, your colleagues, your partner, your kids? Don't we find small versions of the big scale wars in everyday life?
It's my conviction that humanity can never reach that level of evolution displayed in Star Trek. It is an illusion and completely differs from what experience shows us. The equivalent of the United Federation of Planets, the United Nations, does exist, maybe one of the best hopes for peace, health and justice worldwide. But we're far away from that dream of a peaceful human race. I'm not going to present a solution for the problems of the world here. But I've got faith of the heart that a single human life can be changed: Your life!
There really is quite some text on this page. But it may be important stuff for you. There's one question at which I urge you to decide whether to continue reading. Do you want to go to Heaven? Do you want to be in paradise for eternity?
I can think of three possible ways to respond to that question:
No-one's good enough to enter Heaven. Try to be completely good for a single day, and you'll know what I mean. Once the first corrupted thought crosses your mind, you've lost. Working your way to Heaven by being good is an attempt condemned to fail. Even if you go to church, to the mosque, to the temple, the shrine or wherever else every week. That's the hardest lesson to learn; it took me ages and a lot of effort to understand.
Jesus Christ was the only human being who lived a perfect life, completely good, full of love. He was God coming
to us as a person. Still He suffered and died one of the most cruel deaths one could imagine. That was Him taking
the punishment for our broken relationship with God and between ourselves. Almost with His final breath He whispered
to God blessing His torturers, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.
(Luke
23:34) But that was not the end. Jesus rose to life again finally defeating death and the devil completely.
There was a guy hanging on the cross next to Jesus. We don't know what exactly he did to receive the death penalty, but he even confessed he deserved it. He could have been a murderer, definitely a criminal. Now, that guy turned turned to Jesus asking Him for a place in Heaven. This was His answer (Luke 23:43),
I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.
That guy surely did not go to church every Sunday. He was not baptized. He did not keep the ten commandmends. But the moment he turned to Jesus, he was changed. First, he realized he was guilty. Then, he realized he couldn't pay off the debt for whatever evil deeds he had done in his life. Finally, he realized that the man next to him can do, and accepted Him as Lord over his life.
In the same way, you can expect to be changed when you turn to Jesus: Open your life before Him. He already knows
what packages you're carrying around with you each day. Ask Him to fix it, and to take over as Captain of your
life. If you want to do so, but you can't - for whatever reason - don't hesitate to look for people to help you.
Look among churches, Christian student groups, or get in touch with me. You can trust that God then is going to send
you someone to help you. And read the Bible! There are many good translations in a modern language, easy to read for
beginners, such as the New Internatonal Version
, the New Living Translation
and the New Revised Standard
Version
.
When you look for a church, please keep in mind that some of them might be rather strict, boring or traditional. Just keep looking for one that reflects your own style of worship and is welcoming and loving!
© Copyright 1996-2017 by Jan Krohn
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