God + nothing = everything. G0d took nothing  (0) and made it everything! This formula makes so much more sense to my mind (and my heart) than the formula behind our contemporary secular society: Time + nothing = everything. Which formula rings true to you?

If time + nothing = everything, then there is no meaning or purpose in life. Love, justice, integrity, honor, truth, compassion, and all other intangible qualities are merely feelings that evolved in the human brain over time.

Funny thing, however, even ardent proclaimers of time + nothing = everything, don’t live their lives like it is true. Instead they love their families, seek honor from people, and cry out for justice if they feel they have been wronged. A great example of this contradictory lifestyle is atheist Stephen Hawking.

So do those who believe God + nothing = everything, live like it is true? Unfortunately we often don’t. Instead we act like the Creator who we say we believe in, can’t say or do anything without a preacher talking in a pulpit.

We shift the focus away form the Creator and put it on a man we call a pastor. A pulpit, is a platform for the same preacher to proclaim his personal perspective of God and Scripture week after week. However, faith is an individual, not a group-think experience. God speaks to all of us individually and shows each person unique insights from the Bible. Wouldn’t it be nice to hear from several people, instead of just one? The Bible actually tells us that when we meet together to worship, everybody present has something to share. (See 1 Corinthians 14:26 and/or this link.)