Unbelief diminishs us

Because of our rebellious distrust of God and our subtle but passionate desire to make life work without Him, we are no longer in a relationship with Him (as we were meant to be) or experiencing His infinite love (the necessary spiritual nourishment we were created and designed to have) that gives us the sense of value, meaning, significance, delight, bliss, and strength that comes from being connected to Him. 

As a result, we are stunted in our abilities and ¹never develop to our full God given potential. We are ¹far less than we were created to be. As CS Lewis suggested, we are content with making mud pies (i.e. playing in the dirt) when we could have a vacation by the sea.

This is true not only spiritually and emotionally, but physically. As our health declines with age, we succumb to disease and eventually die. None of this was part of our original design. 

As well, our senses and abilities are only a fraction of what they were meant to be and have the potential for. In Christ, all of this will one day ultimately be reversed and eliminated. But for now everything is in bondage.

If we are not restored to God, our diminishing abilities and the negative results will continue beyond our present existence and only increase. We will become even more fragmented, diminished and entrenched in the negative dispositions we now have and display, e.g. frustration, anger, fear, anxiety, depression, indifference to or even hatred of God, etc. will increase.

Without connection and union with the Source of love and life we are like spiritual and emotional black holes collapsing in on ourselves from the void left by God's absence. We will only increase in our sense of emptiness the longer we are disconnected. This will become even more acute over time with no relief.

In our current existence we at least experience occasional but temporary relief through the use of the various good gifts that God created and we now have access to - both internal and external - but with a constant search and hope for more (this drives all our actions when we are not connected and in union with God). 

If we go into eternity without our Creator or access to His creation, we will be fully given over to our own devices and longing for more with no experience or hope of love. We will have no access to the external gifts in creation or the ability to exercise our internal abilities and skills, but only a perpetual longing and thirst for love - now occassionally masked and temporarilly relieved by the use of God's gifts. This will be our hell; a constant but unquenched thirst for life and love.

So what is our problem? 

In this life, we try to build our sense of identity, meaning, purpose, and value around ²everything but God. He is not our pursuit, His creation is - with access to and use of all the gifts this life brings to us. 

However, created things are finite and temporay,  we aren't. We were created for the infinite and eternal.

If we refuse God's offer (our choice) now available to restore us back to Himself, His love and our ³true identity, we will go into eternity continuing on this current trajectory. The difference is we won't have all the resources, blessings, and gifts we now enjoy and use to maintain our independence from God. 

Absent God, we attempt to use created things to maintain our sense of identity, meaning, value, and purpose, but also our independence from God. We are like rebellious children using all the good things our parents give us to avoid them; the very persons who gave them to us. 

If we return to God and abandon our rebellious attempts to make life work without Him, we will be restored to the true purpose of our existence, and experience our greatest potential, fulfillment, and the delight He longs to give us (you) in Him. Will you return?

"The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price." - Rev 22:17

Are we truly rebels towards God? For more click here.

Does God love rebels? Click here and find out. 

For a further discussion on why hell is our choice click here.
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¹Not unlike a malnourished child genetically encoded to be a genius or an exceptional athlete who never developed to their full potential. As a result, they developed with less than average intelligence or become wheelchair-bound because they never received the proper nourishment they needed and were designed to have.

Physical development with the necessary nutrients is an illustration of our need for spiritual and emotional "nutrients" needed to develope spiritually. Without the right spiritual nutrients we will never be who God designed us to be or experience the full potential we are created for.

²We use all the good gifts of God - meant to show us his love - to maintain our independence from God. Not unlike a rebellious child using the good things his parent provides to betray his parents.

³His beloved image bearers who are designed to partake in the community of love between the Father, Son, and Spirit - and all the delight that comes with and in it - in the same way they do (because we are like Him).