When I was growing up, I was extremely shy. I didn't want any interactions with anyone except from my direct family, let alone that I would ever do anything that would draw attention to myself outside the home.

I had to learn the hard way, in school, that this in fact was the very thing that did draw attention ...my shyness.  

And it attracted those who offered the worst kind of attention ...confrontational.

When confronted, I certainly did not want to participate ...but I also didn't want to run, as that also would draw attention.  So, I just remained quiet ...and at times got beat on.

All of us kids were taken to church on Sunday, and I dreaded seeing some of the school kids there too, but I felt secure enough to know they wouldn't try anything with parents around.

So, I would just sit quietly ...listening some, but mostly daydreaming.

When they talked about angels, I recall some mention of guardian angels.  I was intrigued by this thought, as I would daydream of a guardian angel protecting me ...against the troublemakers at school.  But, my thoughts did not stop there ...as I began to daydream beyond that.  I imagined becoming an angel one day when I'd get to Heaven ...and becoming a guardian angel, so I could protect someone too.  

I look back at that time when I was just a young kid ...and I understand why my thoughts drifted as they did, but my adult thoughts are much different.  I know that I will not become an angel ...and I have no desire to either.  

Let's do a little imagining together.  Pretend we are still young kids.  The fact is, there are troublemakers and bullying does go on.  Most school have cliques, and some get carried away ...forming small gangs.  But, most will grow out of it ...yet, meanwhile, let's assume that the students take a real stance.  The parents are not in favor of anything that is going on ...but, it happens anyway, and one third of the kids go to Hell.

One third?  That's an unimaginable situation, with unbelievably devastated parents ...and whatever impact that statement was going to have, it should have already had, so let's be honest.   First of all, no individual goes to Hell, based on the criteria of actions while in their youth ...or even actions as they get older.  But, the fact is, good and evil do exist.  They are perhaps better defined not by individual acts ...but by their source.  Only God is good ...so good comes from God, and if we direct our path to follow, we get involved with good.

Also a fact, though, is that evil does not just go away ...and to be rid of it, and it's source, there has to be a place for it to go.  That place is real also, and a reality that many of us try not to think about ...but it's the same reality that calls people to give up everything they could have on earth, to go out to people who have not heard, and tell them about Jesus, so they can have eternal blessings.   These missionaries give up much, so others can have so much more.

In summary, good and evil do exist ...evil does not provide peace, and the two must be separated for there to be peace.  Heaven exists ...and Hell exists, however you define them, does not change the environment of their atmospheres. And it is not pleasant to think anyone would go to Hell, but some do ...and we don't know the number who will, nor do we have any business attempting to guess it.  But there is one thing we don't need to guess about, because it is clearly our business ...because Jesus said it is our business, that is, if we claim to work for Him.  We are clearly told, "Go into all the world to teach the Gospel ..."

Just like when I was a young kid, and imagined that I'd one day become an angel ...I am a parent now, and we have our own kids ...and I'd not be comforted to think of them as angels, anticipating that a third of them would be going to Hell.

Yes, the fact is, one third of the angels joined Lucifer in a rebellion against God ...and that third will later join Lucifer.  Lucifer would also hope many of you would join him too.  That seems fairly clear to me.

My mind is beginning to wander again, into things that are not clear.  To clarify something I said, I mentioned that evil does not provide peace ...but sometimes it temporarily does, and that is called deception.  I was also wondering if my dreams of becoming an angel, hold the awesome good in the fact that I am not one.  I would not want to imagine, in being an angel, whether I would be tempted to be more than I already was.  I am thankful that I don't have to imagine where I'd be in that third/ two-thirds split.  I also listen to people's claims today ...and wonder whether I would have listened to the prophets, or just thought they were a bit arrogant and blowing their own horns.  The worst of it is ...I wonder if I'd lived during the time that Jesus lived on earth, whether I would mumble, "Who does he think he is?"

I feel we have a real advantage to believe.  I can read the entire Bible, and gain wisdom from the mistakes of others ...while at the same time, gain the tremendous power of understanding His Word.  And the point I was trying to make earlier ...is that I believe we were the ones God had originally in His plan, before He created the angels, even though I believe He created the angels first.  I believe God gave us the loving design ...in having us born helpless, not as pathetic creatures, but as set beautifully into a relationship.  We have caregivers, most of the time being parents.  And we develop relationships ...parent-child, being one of the most significant.  When developed in a healthy fashion, that can help us develop other healthy relationships.

We can imagine that the angels had just about everything.  We also see parents who want to give their kids everything ...they have the best & most toys while they are growing up, then they are gifted with a car & a free education, and when they are married they are given a house.  Others kids grow up having to learn to do without, and later have to fairly much earn everything they get.  If these two types of upbringing exist under one roof ---within one household---it can create a big divide.  A child can become spoiled, and experience one definition of love ---not entirely, but most of it exclusively involving what centers upon self.  Others could become bitter, for not benefiting from being spoiled.  Of course, these also exist in spite of the supposed best of upbringing.  In general, as people look at their lot in life ...and how they view their status, sometimes it weighs heavily upon their comparison to how others view it.  Gratefulness, on the other hand, can be taught ...but it usually flourishes on its own, irregardless of its popularity.  That is mostly because of its source.

Not by status, but by what we learn from relationships is what makes us the person we become.  And it makes the whole difference on whether we learn from the Person who created us ...or if we learn from the expert of deceit and destruction.

We can learn so much in this world, but it is most critical that we learn this.




One more thing ...I don't think that TV is teaching you much.