There was a post that basically said that the difference between Christians and atheists is that Christians won’t rob a bank because they’re afraid to go to hell because “God loves them so much” and atheists won’t do it because that’s the wrong thing to do.

Well, there are a number of reasons this caught my attention. One, is it really this bad in our society, that so few people know the true love of God? Yes, God loves us so much. We will never be able to comprehend it. It’s very similar with our parents. You know how when we do something stupid, our parents punish us? It’s the same with God, except our punishment happens to be eternity in hell. Sounds unfair, doesn’t it? But think about it. God offers us eternity in heaven with Him if believe in Him and His son and trust in Him and try so hard to do what He tells us. Now, that’s pretty difficult and it’s so easy to just go off and please ourselves, like robbing a bank, but… that’s not why Christians won’t rob a bank. So, they don’t understand that God offers us eternal happiness on the opposite end of the scale, and they don’t understand Christians. As Christians, we are called to high moral standards and actions, not to do something because we’re scared God’s gonna send us to hell. What kind of relationship with God do we have if that’s our basis? 

That’s the second thing that got to me: that current Christians are living in fear that God is going to send us all to hell. Now, yes, we are to fear God, and certainly not without reason. That’s absolutely not the kind of Christian we are supposed to be. Are we walking around, making a reputation for Christians to be uppity, snobby people who refuse to rob banks because God will send us to hell for it? Not because we love God so much we wouldn’t give in to temptation in order to remain in a relationship with Him? Absolutely not! God is amazing and awesome, and gives us so much love that it’s unfathomable and we can never comprehend it. God is so wonderful, but we shirk Him off because He demands too much of us and temptation seems better. But, trust me on this, nothing is better than God. Further, as Christians, we should certainly have a moral code and a conscience that tells us when things are right, and when things are wrong, and not just be afraid of God sending us to hell so that that fear makes those decisions for us. This made me think of all the Christians I know, and people who claim to be Christians. There’s a definite difference between the two. So the question I have for you is: Are you a true Christian, who loves God and lives for Him, or are you just someone who claims to be a Christian?