Articles
With God
Kelsey Harris passed away several years ago; the daughter of Simon and Teresa Harris. She was only 16. Simon preaches in Albany, NY. Here are some of Kelsey’s reflections on life with and without God:
With God
I like to be by myself, but I can’t stand being alone.
I love the dark, but I hate not being able to see.
I enjoy meeting new people, but I hate being with strangers.
I want my voice to be heard, but I despise talking loud.
I want to be in a hall of fame, but I don’t like being the center of attention.
I want to have my most complicated problems solved, but I don’t want complicated answers.
I want to always be healthy, but not have to take medicine.
The answer: GOD!
WITH GOD, I can be away from the world, by myself, but not be alone, for He is with me.
With God, I can be in the dark, be blind, but see more than people of this world can.
With God, I can meet new people, but they won’t be strangers, because they are children of God, just like me.
With God, my voice can be heard even when I whisper.
With God, I can enter His fall of fame, but not deal with the pressure of earthly fame.
With God, I can have even my most complicated problems solved with a simple answer.
With God, I can have an incurable disease, yet be healthy in what matters most.
WITHOUT GOD, I will be with the world, and be totally alone,
Without God, I will walk around with my eyes wide open, but not see as much as the Christian blind man sees.
Without God, I will meet all the people in the world, but they will always be strangers.
Without God, I will have to raise my voice as loud as I can to be heard, but still not be heard when it matters most.
Without God, I will have to work extremely hard to get into a worldly hall of fame, but not get into the highest one.
Without God, my most complicated problems can’t be solved, and the attempts will be so complicated, I won’t understand them.
Without God, I will have to take pill after pill, but will always be incurably sick.
With God, I can achieve anything. Without God, I will achieve nothing.
What’s your choice?
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[Kelsey’s keen view of life was atypical for a 16-year old, but then again battling a life-threatening disease tends to focus the mind on what really matters. Frivolous thoughts are pruned away leaving behind the abundant fruit of a healthy, focused, spiritual mind.
Kelsey’s thoughts highlight the contradiction between our soul’s deepest needs and Satan’s deceitful offer to supply them. Temptation is essentially the urging of Satan to fulfill our needs in ways contrary to God’s will. And why are Satan’s ways off-limits? Because they don’t work. More accurately, they are destructive because they run counter to what our Maker knows about us and has directed for our good.
All of us are driven by needs, urges and desire for purpose. And we are creatures of free will living in a world of options. I may feel confused or insignificant, but stealing an airplane and threatening to crash it into a Walmart (as a man did last week in Mississippi) is foolish and pointless. Only when we truly trust in God will obedience be transformed from a burdensome yoke into a treasure hunt. As Kelsey noted, life is full of contradicting feelings. The only way to navigate them and find the treasure is to follow God’s word.]
