40 Trillion Who Are You

40 Trillion

Who Are You?

Copyright 2018 Peter John Laskey

Published by Black Door Church Publishing Inc. at Smashwords

This book is dedicated to music, its creators, performers, and producers, with my appreciation for the millions of people who sacrificed significant time and their privacy to share a beautiful expression of love.

I was lost, and you found me.

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40 Trillion

Who Are You?

A novel by Peter John Laskey

Published by Black Door Church Publishing Inc. at Smashwords

Black Door Church Publishing Inc. Sarnia, Ontario, Canada N7T 1V1

http://www.BlackDoorChurch.com

Copyright 2018 by Peter John Laskey, All Rights reserved.

This Book or parts thereof, with the exception of the Bible verses quoted herein, may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by Canadian copyright law.

ISBN 978-1-9995670-1-9

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Research by Peter John Laskey

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or at http://www.40Trillion.com

All scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, the World English Bible version as illustrated on the World wide Web. The eBible.org site includes the following statement The World English Bible is in the Public Domain. That means that it is not copyrighted. However, World English Bible is a Trademark of eBible.org. You may copy, publish, proclaim, distribute, redistribute, sell, give away, quote, memorize, read publicly, broadcast, transmit, share, back up, post on the Internet, print, reproduce, preach, teach from, and use the World English Bible as much as you want, and others may also do so. All we ask is that if you CHANGE the actual text of the World English Bible in any way, you not call the result the World English Bible any more. This is to avoid confusion, not to limit your freedom. The Holy Bible is God's Word. It belongs to God. He gave it to us freely, and we who have worked on this translation freely give it to you by dedicating it to the Public Domain. Donations to help with the expenses of this project and thus help others have free access to the Word of God may be made to us, but are not required. Please see http://MLJohnson.org/partner/ for more about that.

Table of Contents

Start

Prologue

Introduction: In the Beginning – Sin

Chapter 1 – Hope or Not Hope

Chapter 2 – Game On

Chapter 3 – The Title – 40 Trillion

Chapter 4 – God, Time, the Future, and the Past

Chapter 5 – The Solution

Chapter 6 – The Waiting Place Is Utter Darkness

Chapter 7 – The Doctrine of Universal Salvation

Chapter 8 – Every Knee Shall Bow

Chapter 9 – The Doctrine of Selection

Chapter 10 – Destination: Destruction or Rewards

Chapter 11 – What Is Love?

Chapter 12 – Saving Other People

Chapter 13 – Adam and the Serpent

Chapter 14 – The Master Speaks

Chapter 15 – Epilogue – Journey Finding God

Chapter 16 – The Story – Heidi and Joshua

Chapter 17 – Life Before Heidi and Joshua

Appendix – Word English Bible is in the Public Domain

PROLOGUE

I did not know God. Now I do. There are only two types of people, those who do not know God and those who are learning more about him every day. I am writing this book for all people to illustrate that God has a real plan for you to enter into heaven, regardless of how defiant you are today. God has perfect patience. This book reveals information that will compel you to believe: you will choose, of your free will, to bow your knee and profess that Jesus is lord. You will love him.

This book is about God’s love for all of us. It reminds us that the Bible teaches we are all born with sin, and all of us have a choice to accept the gift of salvation through Jesus. I believe that every single person ever created will live for eternity in heaven in the presence of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Sounds impossible, but I believe this is true. The same God who created us also created everything in the universe. On a personal note, I hope eternity with God includes the freedom to explore an infinite number of planets, stars, and black holes.

This book was conceived as a result of my attempt to reconcile a wide variety of experiences. It is my attempt to provide a reasonable explanation that reconciles the view of salvation for everyone with the known events of history. Everything is linked in a comprehensive picture with reason and purpose, and is supported by the teaching that God is perfect and has perfect love for all people. This book seeks to provide a foundation for a wide variety of our thoughts about the world in which we live. We all share a common theme of love within our life experiences.

The root of my motivation to write is to share something that is good. None of us can be certain about what is right or what is wrong, but it is easy for us to remember something that hurts. We have all experienced emotional and physical pain, and regardless of our own experiences, we all manage to cause others pain. Since we have all been on both the giving and receiving end of pain, I believe this book has something good for everyone. It reinforces a hope we already possess. We all hope there is a place with no pain and suffering. I believe all people are created by God and that all people find that for which they hope.

I have considered the diverse collective efforts to spread the good news about God and found that amongst believers there is evidence of the enemy, the thief, Satan, who causes loving people to slander one another. From time to time, every good person is also a bad person. Recognizing you are bad and need a saviour, and wanting forgiveness for your sins, are the cornerstones of salvation. Yet after being saved, people who believe in God continue to hurt others who believe in the same God. On a micro scale, these slights are typical events, where normal human emotions clash. On a macro scale, there are many factions in numerous organizations, each with significant differences in the foundations of their faith-based worship of God.

A significant division among Christians regards the number of people who will be saved. One side of this argument is that only a small number of people will enter heaven after death and be in the presence of God. This view is sometimes called the doctrine of selection. The other side of this argument is that all persons ever created will enter heaven and be in God’s presence. This view is sometimes called universal salvation. The Bible’s Book of Revelation causes readers to feel they are present during the described events. Some believers, so convinced they will be present during the events of Revelation, preach with desperation that the end times are imminent and even try to predict the dates. What is interesting is the common theme that these people are alive and that the date they predict is near the end of their long lives. However, how many times have predicted end times dates come and gone?

Salvation for everyone was what my heart told me was true the first time I read the New Testament section of the Bible. However, eventually I learned about the doctrine of selection, which describes a different truth. It states that there is a limit to the number of persons who will gain entrance to heaven. I was surprised to see truth in the verses supporting both theories. The doctrine of selection relies on a large number of Bible verses that I believe are true. For a long time, in my heart, mind, and soul, I endured life with two opposing truths.

Therefore, I present a method that shows how God can unify the people from both sides of this significant religious argument. This book presents reasons for all people to reconsider whether what they believe is true. It is written to teach people about God, both those who do not know God and those that are believers. I prove both sides of the argument correct and unify the divergent views of people from the two sides of this religious argument, one that has been extensively debated since the birth of Christianity. I will illustrate a simple concept. God has provided a way for the Bible to be true for all people, despite these two opposing views.

In the Book of Revelation (chapter 2, verses 7, 11, 17, and 29; chapter 3, verses 6, 13, and 22), Jesus tells us the same thing seven times: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. I cannot make you believe what I write, and I cannot make you believe the Bible. This book might be fun to read and even entertaining. It may also introduce you to a definition of God that you did not previously know. Maybe the book will stretch your understanding of God and lead you forward—or it might serve as a reminder that you still haven’t found what you are looking for. My simple point is that God loves every single person. He has a perfect plan that includes unconditional love for every single person that ever was, is now, or ever will be.

This book includes references and quotes from the Bible. Therefore, as a resource, I have chosen an old version of the Bible. It is from an Internet publication (http://ebible.org/web/FRT01.htm) of The Holy Bible – World English Bible version. Its description and introduction are reprinted in the appendix. The comments describing this version of the Bible as well as permission to quote from it are self-explanatory.

I will refer to several Bible stories and include many direct quotes from the Bible. You may have experience with expository study and teaching and, if so, may be hungry for me to present an expository text to support every statement. However, I will not be including this level of detail. The book does not include all my thoughts on these matters, extending to an exposition of all Bible verses. It is my experience that each person will gain new knowledge every time they read and reread the Bible.

To help some readers unfamiliar with the term expository, I present the following. Expository preaching is done simply to expose the meaning of the Bible, verse by verse. As a method, expository preaching differs from topical preaching and textual preaching. Expository preaching details the meaning of a particular text or passage of scripture, explaining what the Bible means by what it says.

The Bible is true. People who reject God will not go to heaven when they die, but God is perfectly patient. The Bible says that every knee will bow, and every person will profess Jesus Christ as their lord and saviour. Therefore, everyone will be saved; not one person will be thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur for eternity.

The foundation of my idea is the concept that by reincarnation, God places your soul, the essence of you, back into the world, reborn, for another chance to make a free will choice to accept his plan of salvation. I will show you how every single person ever to exist will make a free will choice to enjoy eternal existence with God. The book walks you through the opposing arguments and their duality, providing support for its conclusions.

I believe God has a plan to ensure that his gift of salvation is willingly accepted by every person ever created. God has been asked the question about when the end of time will occur and how everyone will be saved. God has kept the answer to himself. No book has ever accurately described all the facts of the end of Real Time events. Evidence this truth is kept and known only by God is revealed in the Bible’s Book of Daniel.

Daniel chapter 12, verses 1 to 13: ¹ At that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people; and there will be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. At that time your people will be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. ² Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ³ Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the expanse. Those who turn many to righteousness will shine as the stars forever and ever. ⁴ But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many will run back and forth, and knowledge will be increased.

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on the river bank on this side, and the other on the river bank on that side. ⁶ One said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, How long will it be to the end of these wonders?

⁷ I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by him who lives forever that it will be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have finished breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things will be finished.

⁸ I heard, but I didn’t understand. Then I said, My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?

⁹ He said, "Go your way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. ¹⁰ Many will purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked will do wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand; but those who are wise will understand.

¹¹ "From the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there will be one thousand two hundred ninety days. ¹² Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred thirty-five days.

¹³ But go you your way until the end; for you will rest, and will stand in your inheritance at the end of the days.

Verse 9 says, Go your way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. It is important to note that Daniel heard a direct, relevant question, and God denied to answer. God has been asked the question, and no one is to know except him. Therefore, I cannot be certain I am right; therefore, you cannot be certain I am wrong.

Verse 2 mentions some waking to shame and everlasting contempt. Suffering shame and everlasting contempt is a lot less dramatic than being thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, to be tormented day and night forever and ever. There is a difference—an extreme difference. God’s word, the Bible, elected to use the words shame and everlasting contempt, because God knows that everyone will be in heaven. If my premise were true, the people alive at the time of the writing of the Book of Daniel would naturally feel shame and contempt for eternity, since they had not yet accepted Jesus as their saviour after being given several chances.

I believe God has a plan, with perfect patience and perfect love, to ensure that every person is saved. I will detail the plan for universal salvation, a plan that God can accomplish.

This book is prepared for you, by me. Therefore it includes reflections on my experiences along with suggestions of how to navigate some of life’s many challenges. It also includes a story, a short story, which was born from a desire to understand my own life and my emerging desire for a relationship with God.

INTRODUCTION: IN THE BEGINNING – SIN

The Bible teaches us that the first person was Adam. Then Eve was created using a rib from Adam. The consequence of Adam’s and Eve’s one sin was their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. This one sin is inherited by all people who ever live, since all people are descendants of Adam and Eve. The Bible teaches us we cannot be in the presence of God if we have sin in us. However, God, who created us, is perfect, and he has a perfect plan to reunite us with him. Read this passage as an introduction to the next discussion.

Genesis chapter 2, verses 7 to 9 and 15 to 25: ⁷ Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. ⁸ Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil… ¹⁵ Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. ¹⁶ Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; ¹⁷ but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.

¹⁸ Yahweh God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him. ¹⁹ Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature became its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper comparable to him. ²¹ Yahweh God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. ²² Yahweh God made a woman from the rib which he had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. ²³ The man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man. ²⁴ Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh. ²⁵ The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed."

These Bible verses teach us that God spoke to Adam (verse 16) while he was in the Garden of Eden. We do not know the length of time God spent with Adam. Genesis chapter 2 verse 19 teaches that Adam had the opportunity to meet with all the animals and birds, name them, and determine that they did not meet all his needs as a companion. It is safe to assume that Adam would have explored a relationship with each animal in a manner that is similar to what you or I would do. If you have ever had a pet, maybe a bird, rodent, dog, or cat, you know something about naming animals. Adam had some interaction similar to the experience we have with pets. In the Garden of Eden, there was peace between man and animals.

How much time do you think Adam spent with each animal? How long would this take? Did Adam have conversations with the animals? Reading the Bible creates many questions that are not answered. God, who created us, is presumed to have control over the Bible and its contents, and he allowed for its form of presentation. The Bible is an example of God’s perfect grace, perfect patience, and perfect love. Remember the fact that people wrote the Bible. God created people, and we are not perfect, but God uses the Bible to accomplish what he chooses to accomplish. Reading more of the Bible provides answers to your questions.

Read chapter 3 of the Book of Genesis as an introduction to a deeper discussion about Adam, Eve, and consequences of sin.

Genesis chapter 3, verses 1 to 24: ¹ Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?

² The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, ³ but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’

⁴ The serpent said to the woman, You won’t really die, ⁵ for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too. ⁷ Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves. ⁸ They heard Yahweh God’s voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.

⁹ Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you? ¹⁰ The man said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. ¹¹ God said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? ¹² The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it. ¹³ Yahweh God said to the woman, What have you done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

¹⁴ Yahweh God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. ¹⁵ I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.

¹⁶ To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bear children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.

¹⁷ To Adam he said, Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and ate from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life. ¹⁸ It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field. ¹⁹ By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

²⁰ The man called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living. ²¹ Yahweh God made garments of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.

²² Yahweh God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever— ²³ Therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So he drove out the man; and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Verse 1 begins with the introduction of the serpent. There is no statement in Genesis that names the serpent as Satan. All the reader can do is conclude that a talking snake deceived Eve. The chapter brings many questions to mind. For example, did Adam and Eve have regular conversations with all the animals after Adam named them? Reading the whole Bible provides many answers. The following verses from the Book of Revelation tell us Satan had previously taken the form of a serpent. Therefore, we have logic upon which to rely when concluding Satan is the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

Revelation chapter 12, verse 9: The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.

Revelation chapter 20, verse 2: He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years.

Genesis chapter 3, verse 8 verifies God walked and talked with both Adam and Eve. We do not know how much time Adam and Even spent in the Garden of Eden. Important to my explanation in this book is the fact that Adam walked and talked with God. Adam has a personal relationship with God. God is, always was, and always will be a Trinity; therefore Adam has a personal relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. However, we know that sin separates man from God. Adam and Eve sinned against God (verse 6). We also know that Jesus lived and walked among us. Jesus, born from Mary, was both man and God. Jesus takes on the form of man, knows man, is baptised by John the Baptist, is crucified, dies, and therefore is a sacrifice made on our behalf. If we believe in him, we are free of sin and able to have a righteous relationship with God. At the time Adam and Eve were forced to leave Eden, they were not given the option to return.

Jesus teaches us this fact in John chapter 14, verses 6 and 7: ⁶ Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. ⁷ If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.

Consider this for one moment: In the Book of Genesis chapter 3, we are told that one simple act of eating fruit from one specific tree resulted in the enduring consequence, for every single person ever born, of living life away from the presence of God. The Bible teaches that accepting Jesus’s invitation is the only way to return to a place that is in the company of God but not until after we die. Is it possible that all the comments in the Bible regarding punishment refer to the same punishment given to Adam and Eve? Adam and Eve were punished by being banished from Eden and forced to live here on Earth. God’s punishment includes men sweating from the brow and women having pain in childbirth. One sin, one act in opposition to God’s command, and Adam and Eve are sent out from the Garden of Eden as a form of punishment. I find it simple to believe that life here on Earth is punishment. I know that I am capable of making the same mistake that Adam and Eve made. I also know I need forgiveness, the gift of salvation provided through Jesus Christ.

I am not perfect, and despite my best efforts, I judge people and say and do things every day that are in opposition to God’s commands. Read the following passage from the Book of Matthew.

Matthew chapter 7, verses 1 to 29: ¹ "Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. ² For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.

"⁶ Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

"⁷ Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or who is there among you, who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! ¹² Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

"¹³ Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. ¹⁴ How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.

"¹⁵ Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them. ²¹ Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ ²³ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’

²⁴ Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. ²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching, ²⁹ for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.

God knows I am not perfect and that I sin. The Bible provides encouragement and gives each of us incentive to make good decisions. The words in verse 14 (How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it) can be interpreted for application to our daily decisions. I have learned that many of my decisions to do well or to be good result in my feeling excluded and even lonely. This choice is a narrow path, with few to accompany you when you choose well. Here on Earth, outside of heaven, it is a narrow path.

We know we are born with sin. We know God has declared we cannot have a righteous relationship with him without a blood sacrifice from a perfect offering. Jesus was perfect and is considered the lamb, a perfect offering, who was crucified, was buried, and rose again; so if we choose to believe in him, we are free of the consequence of sin, past sin, present sin, and future sin. We can be reunited with God for eternity in a righteous relationship with he who created us.

I will show you a plan that provides the necessary opportunity for every person ever created to choose to accept Jesus as their lord and saviour and to bow their knee at his name. I include a real explanation of God’s love for you and his perfect patience. This book shares good examples to help you define love. You already know a great deal about love. I believe you have hope I meet all your expectations.

CHAPTER 1 – HOPE OR NOT HOPE

No person is perfect. Every person will hurt another person. You need to hang on, because life will deliver to you both joy and sorrow. I don’t know the reasons why you will have these experiences, but I am positive that you will know joy and will know an unfair amount of sorrow. It is easy to remember moments of your life that were unfair and lacked justice.

Within myself, I know more about my potential than I have ever succeeded in exemplifying. I have never met a person who is perfect, so how can I know something to be true if I have never previously seen it exist?

Consider this idea: You are not perfect, and no person you know or have ever met is perfect, yet both you and I possess knowledge of perfection.

All my searching and questions always lead back to the same thing; they all lead to God. The Bible tells us God is perfect. The Bible tells us God is our creator. I have never seen God, but I know it is true. Everything I know always leads back to a perfect source. There was a time when I began to freely consider these ideas, after my youth expired; the spontaneous mind of my youth did not care to consider these things for more than a fleeting second. I don’t know whether I had been taught these things and chose to ignore them, or if no one had ever told me about them. Whatever the case, I am here today, and these are things that I now know.

Today, I am a person who cares, loves, and believes God is my creator and that Jesus is my saviour. Those who knew me in my youth, if you met me today and learned all about me, would you change your opinions? Rather than hate me, would you love me, the person I was in my youth? Can you simultaneously love me and hate me? No, you cannot. It is one or the other, but definitely not both. You might change your mind from moment to moment, but you will not love and hate at the same time. Do you have a failed relationship and wonder if they would love you today? I ask you to consider this question. What kind of person would I be now if someone had loved me enough to see past the person I had been and love me regardless, and shared their truth through example and words? The person I used to be was foolish. Would I have listened to your words or believed your actions? Could you love me when I was foolish? Would you have had enough patience? Could you endure the repeated rejection of a foolish person? Would your life be different if one person had enough patience to endure your repeated rejection?

The person I have become is a person who loves you. I love you now, I love the person you will be tomorrow, and I love who you were yesterday. In fact, I love who you were at every moment of your life. I know you have opinions that are different from mine. I know that you have deep personal beliefs that are not the same as mine. That is okay. I love you.

Why? Because one God created me, and that same God created you. My God is your God. With all his perfection, he created you, just the same as he created me. Therefore, everything he has given me he has also given to you. God is not done giving, and he never will be done giving his love to me or to you. I will exist forever, because God is perfect and has the power to give life forever. He does not change. The fact that God is perfect and that he created every single person means every single person will exist forever. You will exist forever.

We can agree that I am not perfect and you are not perfect. We both have sin in our lives. We can explore our hope and God’s love for us. Our memory of failed relationships and unfair treatment is a reminder that we know perfection exists. We desire it for ourselves, and we want it to be present within our relationships.

Every person you meet is a person created by God. When you meet God and learn things that none of us currently know, what reaction might you have? If you pause to think about this, you have to humble yourself. God will reveal that he knows everything about you, and every other person and event that has ever occurred.

Consider these simple concepts that are perpetually difficult to grasp:

God has existed throughout all eternity.

I did not know God, but he loved me.

I learned the truth, and now I love God.

I learned that God created me,

that God loves me,

that God will always love me.

I now know that God created you,

that God loves you,

that God will always love you.

God is perfect and loves everyone equally.

Other people hurt you yesterday and today, and will hurt you tomorrow.

You hurt other people yesterday and today, and probably will tomorrow.

God still loves us all, regardless of our endless capacity to hurt one another.

God will love us forever.

God created us to exist through all eternity.

The first and second commandments, as originally spoken by Jesus, were written down by his followers and others. They were later included in the New Testament section of the Bible, as in Matthew chapter 37, verses 37 to 40: ³⁷ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.

No one is perfect. No one can perfectly love God and love their neighbour as themselves. All we can do is try to love God and try to love others. This is simple to write but difficult to exemplify. Only God is perfect. chapter 11 is dedicated to the topic of love, being loved, and loving others.

I will illustrate a method that enables an opportunity for every single person to accept Jesus as their personal saviour without dismissing any truth in the Bible. I will also include thoughts about love and living an imperfect life while striving to follow the first and second commandments.

God is perfect, and his love is perfect. God has accomplished everything. If I can conceive these thoughts about a plan of salvation for every single person that ever lived, God has the power to accomplish it. It is that simple.

Neither you nor I will achieve success avoiding sin or exemplifying an entirely good persona, but each of us can contribute to positive change. The Bible says that God will complete his work in you, but it does not say it will occur here, in this lifetime.

Is there a voice in your head that remembers being told you were a mistake and deserved to be rejected? Was it someone you relied upon who told you these things? I share your feelings of anger for the persons who spoke these words. However, today you can make a choice. You can choose what happens when you hear words and what you will do in response to them. Only you can give power to words or allow them to affect your feelings. It will take time and maybe a place of quiet and solitude, but you can think through this and reinvent how you digest information. You control what you believe is true. It is a lie that some other person can speak words that are your truth.

It is your thinking that has power over you. I know you have already decided that some words were lies. I know you hurt and are right to feel the way you do, but I encourage you to be the one in charge of you. You decide what you believe is true. You can choose to ignore the lies and love yourself. You do not need another person to tell you this; you can spend your whole life content with the decisions you make. If a person chooses to hurt you, you do not owe them any of your time. You can move about our world, free from the voices of negative people. You can be polite every day and never let another person harm you. You only need to choose; you do not need another person to validate your choice to love yourself.

The following is a short list of questions you might ask yourself:

Is today a good day for you?

Was yesterday a good day from beginning to end?

Do you feel like you’re alone?

Is there special someone in your life who cares and will listen to you?

Is there a feeling inside you that you cannot describe?

Is there, inside of you, a hunger for someone to fully understand and comfort you?

Have you considered what little control you have over the fog that surrounds and blinds you?

Do you know you can choose to be free of the fog?

Wouldn’t it be nice to secure for your whole life that childlike feeling of a bright, sunny, warm day with nothing to worry about? Life is so hard some days—don’t you agree? Somewhere inside myself, I have a memory of someplace better than here. Do you have a similar memory?

Consider the word hope. There is no controversy in understanding that word or evidence of anyone who does not know what hope is. What is the opposite of hope? The controversy occurs when we try to pick