Not About Karma
(c) 2010 Carolyn R Scheidies
The demons begged Jesus not to order them to go into the bottomless
pit. A large herd of pigs was feeding on a mountainside. The demons begged Jesus to let them enter those pigs. So he let them
do this. --Luke 8:31-32 GW
We take sin lightly. We're too embarrassed to witness for Christ. People
are lost because 1) we don't live for Christ, 2) we don't tell others about Him. We think God winks at what we do. After all,
shouldn't Karma--defined as our good deeds balancing our our bad ones--come into play?
If life is about Karma, then our acceptability is up to us, up to our choice. All
this point of view shows is our lack of understanding about peace,
hope and eternity. Unlike many who believe in Karma, there is no second chance after death. The choices we make here determine
our eternal future, yet we act as though eternity doesn't matter.
Heaven is not about balancing the good and bad (not about Karma). It
is about accepting the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. It is about living for Him. It is about taking the need to bring
others to Jesus seriously.
God isn't about Karma, about winking at sin, or using a scale to weigh good deeds
with bad. Truth is, our sin will outweigh the good, because salvation isn't a balancing act. It is freedom, knowing salvation
is a gift of grace. Of forgiving us even when we don't deserve it, because Jesus died for our sin, all of it, on the cross.
All we need do is accept His gift and follow Him..
Hell is so awful not even the demons want to return. If even demons dread
this place, how much worse is it for you and I? Karma will not lead us to heaven or hope, Jesus will.
Do I live as though eternity and Christ matter? Do I really think in
terms of Karma--or that my good deeds truly outweigh all those things I think, say and do that are in no way good?
Or, do I bow and allow Jesus to give me His light within and know grace?
