I do understand.
I think sometimes its not so much what we are saying as it is how we say it.
What you just wrote came across to me as sincere and from the heart. None of us respond very well when we are told we must do something "or else", or "just because". But when a suggestion is made out of concern, it has a much more positive impact. I don't think anyone here has ever doubted the sincerity of your convictions.
I have learned recently, Hawk, that everything is just as it has to be. Nothing is out of place. Even when it looks to the physical eye and the mortal conscious brain like things are spiraling out of control, nothing is wrong, no one is alone, and all are loved more than they are able to consciously know. When the Bible says that not a single sparrow falls unnoticed and that every hair on you head is numbered, this is real. God knows all because God is all. Remember also, that the sheep know the voice of the master. None will fail to be found. None. As brother Marley once said, "Evert'ing gon be awright". Seriously.

I really hope so, but the way I understand the Bible it is not going to be all ok and we need to know if "we are ready" as well as our friends and family if Jesus comes today. I cannot recall where Jesus says more than twice that all souls are going to heaven, would this mean that it makes no difference if I practice sin willingly or not?

Thank you Hawk for that heart-felt reflective post. I agree that we would all be elevated if each of us acted as if we knew we would one day be held accountable for our actions. We are human, so surely errors would happen, but reflection and repentence build character and serve as examples for others.

My issue lies with the petty but passionate arguments over words and definitions. We all usually agree about 'right action' and empathy, and few argue in defense of murder, telling lies, war, cheating, stealing, etc. Fundamentally we all typically agree on what constitutes 'Godly' living. The argument is over naming conventions and literalism. I am reminded of a story from Rumi's "Masnavi", his greatest book of poetry published in his last year of life. I believe others have posted it in other threads here, so if you know it feel free to skip to some of the commentaries I have included at the bottom:

Commentary:
--Steve--

The only way you can "practice sin willingly", is if you are seriously conflicted, and spirit knows that, too.
Think about it, Hawk. Could you enjoy doing any of the things you think of as sin? It just wouldn't be in you, would it? Think of the body as the hardware, and "your" beliefs as the operating system, and you'll get the idea. Most of us aren't aware of it, but our sub-conscious is running our lives. You come into this world with imprinted pre-dispositions which you had no choice in, then your parents imprint you some more, without any choice on your part, and by the time you are five, all of the primary driving factors of your life are in place, all without "your" participation. How can you be "guilty of sin" in any of this? Who was in charge of all this determination in "your" life before "you" could even write?
And I'm not arguing your beliefs here, just asking a question that I had to deal with myself. I was reared by a fundamentalist minister to be a fundamentalist minister, and I know where you're at. I decided I had made some mistakes about people, and that meant I had to give up judgment of others for good. It also made me call into question every factor in this life which had contributed to the "mistakes". I had to decide if I worshipped God, or a church, God or a book, and if I worship God, what is he, or it? For that matter, what am I? So, you see my whole house of cards came tumbling down, and I just had to start over. People who have never dismissed all of their beliefs, or had them dismissed, have no idea how scary it is. Every semblance of structure around "you" is gone, and to say it is cathartic, is understatement. But, if you are going to search for truth, that's the only way to do it. Anything "you" think "you" already know, is something "you" will not be able to learn. The only way to start over, is to start with nothing. If you are capable of this, you discover that "you" are not alone, and will have help. In this process, I learned that when Christ said his sheep know his voice, he was referring to a literal truth. "You" are guided by an internal love of God that "you" were not previously aware was there. "You" will discover that it was guiding the course of this life all along, without your conscious awareness.
To oversimplify, "your" spirit, in conjunction with the spirit of the universe, decides the course of "your" life, without "your" conscious participation. In other words, it is no accident that any of the people at this forum, are at this forum. "God" is everything, everywhere, and is aware of every sparrow which falls to the ground and numbers the hair on your head because it IS all those things. Nothing can happen without its awareness. God is ALL, and the words of Christ explain how the process works, not what will happen if. There is no if. For there to be an "if" would require God to be less than omniscient.
Once I came to understand these things, I was able to turn attention to God, which I had decided did not exist, because of all the people who burn to death and the children who die, etc, etc.. What kind of God could do all that?
Topic for another post, but you see my point, "you" cannot begin to see truth, until "you" first learn that you don't know the truth. This, by the way, is when you find out what "faith" is all about. And, you see, when "you" think "you" are considering all of this, the decision has already been made on a level "you" aren't aware of.
It's no accident you're here Hawk. Nor anyone else. There is a cross-pollination of ideas taking place here that none of us will understand until after the fact. There will come a point when you will suddenly realize that the same was true of every event in your life, it all had its purpose, and it all is astonishingly perfect.
When it is time for this experience to end, it will. No child will be left behind. Nothing will be lost. Nothing ever was.

Hi Steve,

To let you know how I see it, as you know there are many avatars which are seen by many as either enlightened men or reflections of God, all we have are scriptures telling us about them, for they are not with us anymore and with my limited knowledge of all the avatars I understand that Jesus was the only one who conquered death. That made the difference to me and why I prefer to stay with Him, by looking at the other avatars and scriptures we have to look at it in a parable way to make them look as if they give the same message to the people. You can find love in them all, but there are certain details that cannot be reconciled in all the faiths, for instance the Sacrifice of Jesus and that we are Saved and Cleansed through His Blood in the Christian belief. No Blood-No Remission!!

I am not sure if my English is conveying the correct message I want to give, I hope so.

I read your post and the message that came to me was, why did Jesus come to this earth?
What is the real reason for His Sacrifice and how could He forgive sins if it is only God who can forgive sins, transgressions of God's Law?
My other thought is this, if like you say we are moved and in control of the Holy Spirit, I would not have a free will and if God is "all" you must be suggesting God is all evil in the world as well?

Maybe you can help me here?

Its the same set of questions I wrestled with, and that any who are first trying to approach Truth, wrestle with.
It was not until I could acknowledge that I not only didn't know these answers, but couldn't figure them out on my own, that spirit was able to take over. For people of a fundamentalist background, like you and me, this question you are asking now, is the stepping off point. Its where the process of awakening starts. The key is in the question, and more importantly, how you ask the question. If you are asking as a test, spirit doesn't acknowledge, because you are really not asking, you're testing, and if you think you can test God, you still don't get it. This is between "you" and God. "I" am not part of "your" process. But I can share a couple of questions that you can use. Could "evil" be more powerful than GOD? Would an omniscient and all-loving GOD permit anything, or anyone to come between him and any one of his children? Is such an idea even possible? You have an advantage, Hawk. You have children. So, you already know the answer.
As far as all the "bad" things that happen, and whether God causes them, you only have to ask yourself, would it be evil of God to permit these things to occur, or is it more likely that I just don't understand?
If, and only if, we have truly accepted that we don't know anything, spirit will let us "understand" how they happen, and why. It must be your answer, and not crfcom's answer. You understand why, as it happens. Its important.
Remember, Hawk, none of these questions and answers happen until it is time. By the time "you" realize "you" are changing, the awakening has already begun on a schedule that you only recognize as it happens. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. For me, that teacher has been a Christ that I had not recognized before, though he was there in plain hearing all along. I suspect that's the way it works for most. My suggestion is that you not bother asking the tough questions of other people, but ask of spirit, when you are ready, and things will happen as they should. It is an amazing process and I say again, you are not here for no reason. God runs everything. It can't happen any other way.

So what is your understanding why Jesus was sent by God to earth and why He got Sacrificed for doing nothing wrong?

Thx

He was here for us. His life story is a map for us. His words are beacons which illuminate the challenges and issues we all encounter.
When my own process began, I didn't understand much about what was happening to "me". It was disorienting and more than a little disconcerting, mainly because I didn't understand. Fear, you know, is a result of not understanding. I knew I was understanding things I had never been able to understand before, everything I had wondered about and asked to know. But often I regretted that there was no manual for this experience, and thought to myself that there really should be if its so important. Well, one day I picked up a Bible again for the first time in years, and started reading the gospel of John. I suddenly recognized a lot of the things I had been experiencing right there in plain print, hidden in allegory in the words of Christ. It was as if he was talking to me. For the past couple of years, not a week goes by that I don't find another recent or upcoming challenge referenced in the life and language of Christ.
So, that's why his story is there, in my experience. I have to tell you, when you talk to another person who is in the process of awakening, you will be talking to a person who profoundly values and understands Christ. It has not only been my observation, but the observation of many. You are correct, Christ first defeated death, along with all the other machinations of this world and of the ego which stand between the prodigal son and his home.
Does his message enlighten? No. But his life and trials show us the way, and show us that those challenges are all surmounted by love. The love of the child on its way home to the father, and the love of the father for the returning child.
There comes a point when you also realize that there have been many messengers, who have been pointing the way to those who follow and have eyes to see and ears to hear, but for me, for cultural reasons, Christ provided the answers I most easily understand.
When it is time for the child to return home, it happens. The message of Christ simply provides directions and guidance to smooth out what can be a bumpy ride, as his story showed.

Very nicely said, crfcom. Thanks. --Steve--