God's Not Dead

I finally saw God's Not Dead the other day. Wow, what an amazing film. The character of Josh Wheaton played by Shane Harper was an astounding portrayal of a young man coming into his own as a Christian defending God against a harsh, anti-theist professor.

I am a Latter-day Saint, otherwise known as a Mormon. I know Jesus Christ lives and that He is the Son of God. There is no doubt or question in my mind that after commending His spirit into the hands of His Father, that He rose from the dead three days later in the garden tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, his great-uncle. When Mary came to grieve, the stone was rolled away and two angels were there asked of her, "Woman, why weepest thou." They went on to tell her that Jesus had been resurrected. And then the Savior appeared to her. 

Mary ran to tell the apostles and we have far more than three witnesses who testified that our Savior and Redeemer had not only paid for the sins of all of Heavenly Father's children, but He had broken the bands of death. The grave could no longer hold the children of God. Thomas was the only one who doubted, which is where we get Doubting Thomas from, but even he, when faced with the resurrected Savior, believed.

God is not dead. He was resurrected and He will return in all glory where every knee shall bow and tongue confess that He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The promised Messiah, and the King of Kings.

As I mentioned, I am a Mormon. We know that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are all three distinct separate personages who are one in purpose, mind and heart, but not in body. The Plan of Salvation, also known as the Plan of Happiness, tells us who we are, where we came from and where we are going. We are children of the most high God, our Heavenly Father. We have a divine destiny and we have the right to choose whether to follow Jesus Christ, the Son of God, or to throw it all away. Free will is an eternal principle. The war in heaven described in Revelations was about the freedom to choose. Satan wanted to force us all to return, but Heavenly Father's plan provided the freedom to choose.

Freedom and liberty are eternal principles that man has subverted for millennia. Only in America, the grand experiment, did we recognize those gifts come from God and man should never take those away. Growth comes from choice. It comes from failing and getting back up and enduring to the end. It comes from our ability to decide what path we choose to follow. Some follow Jesus Christ. Some follow Satan, although wickedness never was happiness and it never will be.

For me, I choose to follow Jesus Christ, who does what His Father commands. Only through Jesus Christ will we find the path to our heavenly home. Only through Jesus Christ will we be forgiven and cleansed. And only because of Jesus Christ the grave no longer holds the children of God.

God is not dead. He lives.

 One of my favorite songs from the film was God's Not Dead by the Newsboys:

 

God's not dead. This I can promise.

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Copyright 2016. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima.