Morality; the greatest obstacle to Christianity

      Lately, I've been thinking about what it is that keep most people from embracing Christianity, and I've finally come to my own conclusions. Without philosophizing too much, I wish to share a  few of my observations.
  I remember a few years ago when I was in my late teens, I struggled with a constant restlessness that I couldn't shake off. I gave myself all the excuses and tried to find an escape, but eventually I realized that it was my straying away from God that was causing this. My reversion to my faith was peppered with moments of great joy, and periods that God would enlighten my soul about truths that up to now only seemed like abstract mysteries that were reserved only for the holiest. One problem which I thought was peculiar only to me was the struggle of abandoning some of the bad habits I had picked up.  In the beginning of my conversion, God's presence seemed to overshadow these weaknesses, but as time went by, I started to notice them. My conscience called me to account but I tried to reason myself out of it. I remember perusing the bible to find out where it said exactly I couldn't do this or that thing. Obviously the more I read the scriptures, the more I found out that I couldn't live as I wished without at the same time contradicting God's law. This many years later, I still struggle but by God's grace, I know the choice to strive to live according to God's will is the right choice.
   Now coming back to my question on what keeps most people from embracing Christianity, I had to ask myself the same question. After honestly probing my heart, the answer remains what I believe is the elephant in the room for most people who have heard the Christian message but rejected it. For me, morality tops all the other obstacles.  I like to call myself a reasonable guy and from this perspective, I have tried to ask myself why any reasonable person would shy away from a belief system that calls us to love, and peace and harmony, unity, mercy, goodness, gentleness and forgiveness. One whose story is based on a God who loves us so much that He left all the glory due to Deity and emptied himself of all that to come and walk where we walk and die for us so as to gain for us eternal life where every suffering and every tear shall be wiped away. Even from a selfish perspective, one would only need to hear the promises that God makes to those who believe in Christ to immediately embrace Him and follow Him. So my question remains, why do so many people choose not to believe and embrace being a Christian. 
   The answer is simple; MORALITY.   With all the promises that God gives us, He also demands that we live in a manner that is conformed to Himself. Since God is all good and holy, Jesus goes so far as to ask us to be "perfect as His Heavenly Father is perfect."  This happen to be the one thing that keep most of us from embracing the only thing that can make us happy, namely; God. The internal struggle that attracts us to sin often blinds us so much so that it eventually condemns us to a life of turmoil.  The momentary pleasure that we get from sin becomes the foundation on which we stand tall to reject the saving message of God.  Otherwise, it defies reason that one should reject the very thing that will make him happy.  Left to ourselves we can't do it, but God gives us the grace not only to believe in Him, but also to follow his will. It is when we choose ourselves instead of God that we start reasoning ourselves out of what is true and good.
  Lately, the persecution of Christians has become so rampant that from the business world to political realms,  the Christian message is viewed as an archaic message that may have worked centuries ago but one that is outdated and need not be tolerated. However, when we come down to it, It is exactly embracing the Christian message that has led to the greatest inventions whose fruits we enjoy.When we love and serve God, our creative genius comes alive and we achieve great things in all areas of life. But with great comforts, there comes complacency and apathy which is the seedbed of evil desires and when matured leads to the rejection of God in search of a pseudo freedom that enslaves us to sin and eventually leads to our demise. A good example is the modern culture where abortion, homosexuality and the entire culture of death is viewed as a human right. When we accept evil as a good, we must at the same time get rid of the idea of God. This is the reason why atheism is growing in our modern world. For many, instead of entertaining the idea that they are wrong and sinful, they'd rather get rid of an absolute good and make their own morality. Many end up rejecting God instead of accepting that their lifestyle is immoral. They convince themselves that they are the masters of their own destinies and they get to define what is right and wrong. The obvious fruits of this type of thinking is emptiness, for peace cannot reign where God doesn't reign.
     Like St. Peter, it makes me ask; "who then can be saved." The answer is simply those who are like little children. Those who having seen their limitations call upon God and believe in the plan that He has for all his children; namely to save them from their sins and welcome them into the eternal beatitude with Him in heaven.  Yes, we often reject God because we would like to maintain our immoral and sinful ways without being accountable, but as often as we ask God's grace, he is merciful to hear us and heal us. We must often meditate upon those comforting words of Our Savior Jesus Christ the Son of God, that "His yoke is sweet and his burden light and he will give rest to all those who come to him."
    Oh how much we need the Lord to deliver us from the three stumbling blocks that are so prevalent in our age, namely; "the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life."  Oh how much our world needs the Lord.
 Lord, deliver us from our sins and lead us to eternal life.
Amen.

Love did it.

As teenagers we seek freedom, but do we really become free  Today as I was driving down the road, I had that encounter that brought back so many memories of my teens.
Just like you thought, I stopped at the lights, and beside me, was a car full of teens; five of them, two girls in the front and two boys and a girl in the back seat. Minding my business, my head turned just as one of the boys in the back with the window rolled down was blowing a small pipe turned towards my car and waving. I took that as an invitation, and I rolled down my passenger window in response. With both their windows open, laughter was coming from both the front and the back of their car and they started talking to me, asking me where I was going and the like with the greatest simplicity and ease. The lights turned green and they drove off. As I rolled up my window, I caught all the writings on their car with hearts all over and in the back, with a beautiful calligraphy read "I love Sarah, she is my best friend." That finally confirmed my observations that what I had encountered was a company of friends who were enjoying each others company, and beyond that, they were also extending their joy to outsiders; and yes, I had been invited to taste that. The next five minutes as I drove, I couldn't help but feel joyous, but it also brought back both memories of my teenage, and memories of my conversion.
  Now to go back to my initial question, I think the problem is that as we grow older, we tend to stop living in the moment. We carry all the burdens of our past and all the anxieties of the future. This weighs us down and we miss the present moment which is where God is best to be encountered. We miss the opportunity to enjoy His company freely and hence we cannot be joyous.
   I remember when I was rediscovering my faith or may I say reverting back to Christ after a deadening lukewarmness. I so enjoyed His company that I could have spent hours in prayer. But just like those teenagers, I wanted to share that joy so much that I saw no boundary. Truly it was a company of friends. I would only say that "It was going back to my first love." Now if you have encountered that love of Christ, you can clearly relate. Best description of that love is in the canticles of canticles (8:6-7) "Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; For stern as death is love,..." 
   When we don't foster that devotion to love, we loose it and sadly that is the state of many. After that encounter with those teenagers, I had to reflect on how I have lived that commitment or how I've by God's grace maintained it. My answer is again from the canticles of canticles (1: 7) "Tell me, you whom my heart loves, where you pasture your flock, where you give them rest at midday, Lest I be found wandering after the flocks of your companions." From the answer that follows in verse 8; "Follow the tracks of the flock and pasture the young ones near the shepherds' camps."  
  From this conversation in the songs of songs, I can only say that the way that joy has and can be maintained is to stay near the "shepherds camps" so as to be fed. With Christ as our Shepherd, He feeds us with His own body and blood in the Eucharist and if we stay in his camps (The Church), we never stop having that joy of companionship, friendship and love like I encountered this afternoon. But those teenagers didn't just enjoy their companionship, they extended it. That is what every Christian is called to do, having encountered the love of Christ, we must invite others to come in and with the words of prophet Jeremiah from God, to "taste and see how God is good."
  We can all rediscover that love of Christ which after having put us aflame, will demand that we share it and then "Our joy may be complete".   Finally like those teens, we can truly say " I love Jesus, He is my best friend."