Why I Can't Rule The World

No. 8

"Hello Mrs. Olson," I said, waving at her.

"Hi Tin Tin," she said, sounding a bit worn out. She smiled anyway and stood up. "How are you, dear?"

"I-I'm good," I stuttered, a bit taken aback that she had called me 'dear'. The only person who called me that was Grandma. "Yep, just fine."

"Awesome. Well, we have drinks in the fridge and there's snacks in the cupboard by the sink, just help yourself," she offered, even showing me all the contents in her fridge.

"Thanks, but I think I'm good for now," I said.

"Alright. Well, I think Sawyer's downstairs," she informed me, leaning against the counter. "You can stay for supper if you'd like."

"Thanks Mrs. Olson."

I went out of the kitchen and found the stairs which lead under the staircase going to the second floor. As I began to descend down to the lower level of the house, I stopped short when I heard a voice. Concluding quickly that it was probably Sawyer, I continued to go down. I turned to the left to see a door slightly opened.

"...perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him," Sawyer was saying. It sounded like he was reading something out loud. And it certainly didn't sound like homework.

I leaned against the wall outside the door and continued to listen.

"Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because He has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

"For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

I exhaled and thought for a moment. The whole paragraph he had just read confused me. Aren't all people good at heart? And isn't God known for loving people no matter what? So why are we condemned if we don't believe? If you condemn someone, do you really love them?

"Wait," I said out loud.

I pushed open Sawyer's bedroom door and he paused to look up from his bed pushed to the far wall beneath the one window that was above ground. He held a large book in his lap, looking to be near the end of it. Then I got it. He was reading the Bible.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, breaking into a smile.

"Nothing really... What are you doing?" I asked, gesturing to his book.

"Just reading," he said as I took off my backpack and set it at the foot of his bed. I leaned my crutches against the wall and sat in front of him.

"I don't understand," I said. He looked at me a little confused. "Why are we condemned if we don't believe? Isn't God suppose to love everyone?" I elaborated, pointing to the book.

"Oh you mean you don't understand the scripture I just read?" he asked, his eyes lighting up.

I nodded.

"Okay. Do you mind if I explain it to you?"

"Go ahead," I said.

My heart was pounding fast in my chest and I didn't know if what I was doing was good or bad. Everything in me wanted to run out of the room, afraid that he might tell me I'm living my life wrong. Isn't that what Christians do? Tell me everything I'm doing wrong? Alivia, Sawyer, and Diego don't seem to be that way. But Tanner was totally that way. Why are Christians so diverse if they're all suppose to part of one religion?