Hope or prefer if........

[Shadow]

...

[claypot]

If life wasnt forever i just dont see the point.  (God has set eternity into the hearts of man).

It's funny, eternity has NEVER been in my heart, but nonexistence has, I would far rather to cease to exist than live forever, I find life to be an effort and and a burden, and have for as long as I can remember

I think you speak for untold thousands and thousands of people, Shadow. I know I'm hearin ya, thus the purpose of this thread.

cp

[ducktapehero]

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

I've been reading this and studying it. I don't believe that God "created" evil. Could it be that evil is simply the lack of good(God). Like heat and cold. Heat is caused by molecules moving. Heat is something that can be measured. However, cold cannot be measured. It's simply lack of heat.

Another way to look at it.

The NIV records this verse as

"I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things."

In this verse he creates disaster. A disaster is certainly "bad" for us but it isn't evil in itself.


I don't know, I'm new at this please excuse me if I'm looking at this wrong.

[sparrow]

ducktapehero,
I don't think you're looking at it wrong.

I see evil as being non-love.
When you turn off the light in a room, what rushes in to fill the void? Darkness.
Darkness is "created" when the light goes off.

I think that God "created" evil by having us be in this world where non-love is possible.
Evil is "created" when we move away from the light of love, into the darkness of non-love.

God is taking RESPONSIBILITY for this creation of "evil", because He is the Creator and is ultimately responsible for the creation.

I can understand people not wanting to exist. I have been there so many times in my life. In fact just the other day I said to myself.. "I just want to find an "on/off" switch somewhere on my my body and just switch it to OFF!!!" However, this wanting to not exist is coming from us human beings who have a limited perspective. Imagine a huge beautiful painting, and you can only see a 1" x 1" square of the painting. It's not going to make a whole lot of sense. As you walk through this life, God can uncover more and more of the painting little by little, but you're still not going to be able to see the painting in it's entirety. Not being able to see the whole big picture can make you want to just not exist. But when you see more and more of the picture... that feeling of not wanting to exist starts to fade away. Because fear and despair start to fade and hope and excitement start to blossom. Part of that blossoming sometimes is still revisiting that "I just want to not exist!!!" feeling. Like I said, I just experienced it again the other day. Yet, today I have so much hope and faith and just this ANTICIPATION, excited anticipation because I know that God is good. I think about the quote in my signature...

I know that one day, everywhere I look, I'll see a wonder there...
I see wonders all over the place now!
I can't imagine what He has in store for us living in a world where LOVE rules...
Where night has been turned into day.
Where darkness has been completely chased away by the light.

Most of the time now when I think of just "not existing anymore".... I try to think of this verse:

Psalm23:2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3018/2916665577_41766b5cd8.jpg)

and imagine in my mind, LITERALLY (not just symbolically)but LITERALLY having God take my hand and letting me just lie down in a patch of sunshine on dewy fresh grass beside a little pond... knowing that I am ON THE BRINK, but God will let me just rest first from all this time spent on this earthly plane dealing with so much darkness.

This thought makes my "where is the on/off switch??" thoughts fade into oblivion....
Into oblivion... the destiny of all darkness, all NON-love.

[Tim B]

If life wasnt forever i just dont see the point.  (God has set eternity into the hearts of man).

It's funny, eternity has NEVER been in my heart, but nonexistence has, I would far rather to cease to exist than live forever, I find life to be an effort and and a burden, and have for as long as I can remember

I think you speak for untold thousands and thousands of people, Shadow. I know I'm hearin ya, thus the purpose of this thread.

cp

Ditto. :P