Odd wording, isn't it? "The atheist dream", but what am I referring to? Well, quite simply, a country where God is most certainly forgotten unless you want to "OMG" something or you forgot to study for finals and you need to get a quick fix.
I'm Uruguayan, and like most uruguayans I grew up in a household which called itself catholic but which never attended mass, prayed as a ritual before trips (not for a real connection though!), but nothing really meaning, no special way of life, no praising, no nothing. Also like most Uruguayans I attended public schooling for some time, which was as devoid of Christ as you could imagine. No "In God we trust" no "One nation under God": God was simply a myth which no one talked about, and Jesus was some dude which was used as a reference for the calendar and whose birth meant great presents in December! This meant that finding someone who truly believed was a rare occasion. This country of fake believers and flat out atheists (38% of the population consider themselves atheists, and since that census in 2013 that has only gotten worse).
The mecca of atheism, secular things, sex, alcohol and weed (yup, that was fully legalized some while ago). Now, why do I mention all of this? well, quite simply it's in the midst of all of this, that I've come closer to God, it's in the middle of all of this worldly things, that I've come to renounce them, and that I've met a wonderful and Godly person who I'd love to share my life with. Granted, its not easy, and many times it's so hard that it hurts, but as my pastor once said (and those who have played any war or fighting games will understand"when we meet resistance... it means we are on the right track, the enemy doesn't want us to reach the goal". Its important for us not to loose sight of the Goal: Jesus.
Many times we are discouraged by all of this, however, we must understand that in life, we will always meet the most resistance when we're doing the most good. Think about it, Satan, the enemy, the adversary desires us to be far from God, and he will use any means available to do so. We are, as Christians, called to understand this and to flee from him, however, remember that we ARE NOT called to live a life far from civilization and only with Christians around, but rather, we are called to go on and make disciples, to preach to all nations, to take on the cross and follow Jesus. this cannot be done in the security of the inside of the church, but rather, we need to go out, to seek Jesus everywhere.
Living in such an atheist country made me grow a thick skin; it made me be at the ready to defend my faith, to be ready to withstand attacks from all angles. Wearing a "What Would Jesus Do?" tshirt is a sure way to get into a couple of arguments during the day.
Reading a bible outside or while waiting for the professor at my university to arrive is guarantee that i'll be at best looked at like a rare beast, and at worst slandered and attacked.
What am i trying to get out of all of this? well, quite simply, WE NEED TO GO OUT, we need to preach our faith. I'm not saying we must be obnoxious and annoying, rather we need to be gentle, and try to help people, embody God's image every day. WE might be the only bible some people WILL EVER READ. Do not waste your time. every Christian is a theologian, every christian is called on to go to the nations and defend our faith (1 Peter 3:15-16).
I know this is short, but its just a thought i wanted to share today on this Holy Saturday.
May God bless y'all.
I'm Uruguayan, and like most uruguayans I grew up in a household which called itself catholic but which never attended mass, prayed as a ritual before trips (not for a real connection though!), but nothing really meaning, no special way of life, no praising, no nothing. Also like most Uruguayans I attended public schooling for some time, which was as devoid of Christ as you could imagine. No "In God we trust" no "One nation under God": God was simply a myth which no one talked about, and Jesus was some dude which was used as a reference for the calendar and whose birth meant great presents in December! This meant that finding someone who truly believed was a rare occasion. This country of fake believers and flat out atheists (38% of the population consider themselves atheists, and since that census in 2013 that has only gotten worse).
The mecca of atheism, secular things, sex, alcohol and weed (yup, that was fully legalized some while ago). Now, why do I mention all of this? well, quite simply it's in the midst of all of this, that I've come closer to God, it's in the middle of all of this worldly things, that I've come to renounce them, and that I've met a wonderful and Godly person who I'd love to share my life with. Granted, its not easy, and many times it's so hard that it hurts, but as my pastor once said (and those who have played any war or fighting games will understand"when we meet resistance... it means we are on the right track, the enemy doesn't want us to reach the goal". Its important for us not to loose sight of the Goal: Jesus.
Many times we are discouraged by all of this, however, we must understand that in life, we will always meet the most resistance when we're doing the most good. Think about it, Satan, the enemy, the adversary desires us to be far from God, and he will use any means available to do so. We are, as Christians, called to understand this and to flee from him, however, remember that we ARE NOT called to live a life far from civilization and only with Christians around, but rather, we are called to go on and make disciples, to preach to all nations, to take on the cross and follow Jesus. this cannot be done in the security of the inside of the church, but rather, we need to go out, to seek Jesus everywhere.
Living in such an atheist country made me grow a thick skin; it made me be at the ready to defend my faith, to be ready to withstand attacks from all angles. Wearing a "What Would Jesus Do?" tshirt is a sure way to get into a couple of arguments during the day.
Reading a bible outside or while waiting for the professor at my university to arrive is guarantee that i'll be at best looked at like a rare beast, and at worst slandered and attacked.
What am i trying to get out of all of this? well, quite simply, WE NEED TO GO OUT, we need to preach our faith. I'm not saying we must be obnoxious and annoying, rather we need to be gentle, and try to help people, embody God's image every day. WE might be the only bible some people WILL EVER READ. Do not waste your time. every Christian is a theologian, every christian is called on to go to the nations and defend our faith (1 Peter 3:15-16).
I know this is short, but its just a thought i wanted to share today on this Holy Saturday.
May God bless y'all.
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