"Life without God is no life at all..."

My heart is heavy today because I feel the evil in this world. It's easy to ignore it most of the time, but there are moments when I feel sad that so many people believe Satan's lies and end up choosing a hopeless life without God. I received an email warning about the new Narnia knockoff movie starring Nicole Kidman, and then I watched the trailer. Based on a book by atheist Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass is one book of a trilogy that Pullman wrote to combat the Christian evangelism of the Narnia series. The most disturbing aspect of the website was the section that allows visitors - mostly kids, I'm guessing - to find their own 'daemon.' Everyone in the story has an animal demon that is a part of them. Satan is SO unoriginal - animal spirit mysticism has been a part of secular cultures on every continent in every century. But it's not this particular book or movie that upsets me so much - it's the general misunderstanding of God's love. I've recently had a deep conversation about atheism/God/evolution/etc. with a loved one, so I've thought a lot about what I believe and why. God's love is so real to me, and I see His hand in my life so clearly that it's hard for me to understand how people hate Him or don't believe in Him. There are things about Him I can't wrap my mind around/don't understand/wish I knew. But every time I get frustrated by these things, He sends me a clear message and peace in my heart that His love is sufficient for me if I'll just trust Him. I guess there are people who can't bring themselves to release their questions and fears without concrete proof of something. But this is what I don't understand: Humans are not solely concrete beings - this world is not solely a concrete world - so WHY, WHY, WHY are we expecting concrete proof to explain the meaning/origin of life? Do you really think that finding water on Mars - even the Holy Grail, an amoeba on Mars - will explain how and why we are here? Science has a history of bringing us answers that only open up Pandora's box of more questions. Don't get me wrong, as the mother of a heart patient, I'm thankful for science - particularly medical science. But how many "scientific breakthroughs" are cancelled out later when scientists realize that information was completely wrong? A lot! That's because science is fallible - it relies on human interpretaion and understanding, afterall. Yet Satan is able to lure so many people away from God with the "hope" of future scientific discovery - like the proverbial dangling carrot. Here is what I know for sure: People who have given their lives to and placed their faith in the Almighty God have a peace and a hope that shows in thier eyes, in their words, and in their lives. We are all works in progress - not perfect - not to be relied on as an "example." But we know who we are and where we are going. People who deny God have a demeanor of discontent, even hate many times, that belies their anger and their deep fears of what is to come. After all, as my good friend KJ said, life without God is no life at all. Amen, sister. Amen.