Cruelty, or consequence?

I started reading through the book of Ezekiel a while back, and one doesn't have to read too much before realizing the intense displeasure and anger that God felt toward the inhabitants of Jerusalem.  The first several chapters describe how God was planning a siege by a foreign army against the city that was to result in starvation and even cannibalism (ch. 5, vv. 9-10).  Chapter 5, verses 5-6 state pretty clearly what God was upset about, and in chapter 6, verse 10, Ezekiel records God as saying, "I did not threaten to bring this disaster on them without a reason."

A thought that struck me after reading these chapters is how a lot of people - especially non-believers, but sadly even some claiming to believe - would consider such actions on the part of God to be too harsh and evidence that God cannot be a God of love.  After all, was Israel not his chosen people?  Were they not through whom God was going to reveal the Messiah?

Yet in these chapters, God is very repetitious as to not only what he was angry about, but what he was going to do about it - and what he eventually did do about it.  Therefore, one can only conclude that God had given his people fair warning to repent, i.e. to turn from their idolatry and turn back to Him, the One who lovingly brought them out of the brutality of slavery in the first place.

Other Old Testament books also make it plainly clear that the Israelites as a whole - not just the residents of Jerusalem - had been given much warning about staying away from the things that displeased God at other times in the past.  Yet most times the nation as a whole, apart from those few who sought God, would be stubborn and "rebellious", in God's words, would keep on seeking their false gods.

So in light of God's patience and His repeated warnings in the form of the many prophets that He sent to warn his people, was God cruel or were the people simply reaping the consequences of their rebellion, getting their 'just desserts'?

I would argue that true cruelty would have been God striking people down with absolutely no warning whatsoever.  This would be akin to a father spanking his child with absolutely no warning whatsoever that the child was repeatedly doing something disrespectful or rebellious that the father was growing more angry about.

Yet because God loves us, He gives us fair warning when we're going astray.  But all rebellion must eventually be met with consequences if it continues in the face of constant warnings.

If my children, when they were small, had the bad habit of trying to touch a hot stove element, what should I as a loving father have done?  I believe if I was cruel, I would have thought, 'Let them touch the darn thing.  At least they'll learn the hard way not to do it the next time.'  But as a loving father I would have slapped their hand if I saw it getting too close if my verbal warnings were being ignored.  The pain of a slapped hand would have been a better substitute for the pain of a burnt hand.

What I mean by this is that often pain is, unfortunately, a necessary means of correction.  We humans are often too stubborn and arrogant to listen to warnings or learn from the mistakes of others, and too prideful to think that we won't repeat any mistakes.  As Scripture so rightly states, "Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18).

Destruction and falls are often quite painful, but I would argue that they never result from a lack of  warning.  Whether the inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem or you and I in the here and now, God will send many people and situations into our lives to warn us when we're on a bad road, when we're heading toward making a harmful decision.  He'll even give us that sense of conviction, that heavy feeling in our heart and mind that really should or shouldn't do this-or-that - that is, unless we've worked hard at suppressing that conviction, or conscience.

It's at that point that we need to make a decision:  do we do what our hearts know is right, or do we do things 'our way'?  The inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem decided - as repeatedly and clearly stated - to continue to stiff-arm God, and they paid dearly for it.  What about you?  Is life always about doing things your way, or do you have the sensitivity to be open to what God might have to say, again through using people and situations in your life?

I know that some people reading this might be wondering why we have to be punished in the first place, why we must suffer consequences for rebellion against God.  You might be thinking, 'Why should I be punished for not doing something God's way?  I thought He gave us free will?  If He's a loving God, He'll respect our free will and not punish me for not living according to what the Bible says.'

"Woe to the one who argues with his Maker - one clay pot among many.  Does clay say to the one forming it:  What are you making?  Or does your work say:  He has no hands?" (Isaiah 45:9)

If you're a believer and you know that God is your maker, why do you - a clay pot - argue with God?  Or why do you keep ignoring the counsel of Scripture and that of the people and situations that God brings your way, out of love with a desire to protect you?

If you're a non-believer, when will you open yourself up to the notion that perhaps you're not the end-all and be-all to existence, that there is something - Someone - greater than the human will and spirit, and that you're actually accountable to Him?  How many more times will you try and fail, or strive and find no satisfaction, or suffer pain and loss until you realize that it's just better to acknowledge God and to do things his way, to let Him run your life - to give the steering wheel over to Him?

He's not trying to bring pain and suffering into your life, but He wants to warn and protect you from the consequences of bad decisions.  He didn't inspire the 40+ authors of what is now called the Bible to write things to make you miserable and bored and bound by religious tradition; He wrote commandments and rules and laws and guidelines so that things may "go well" with you in this life, and in the life beyond.  Out of love, so that you don't have to suffer for an eternity.

But again, there are consequences to decisions to rebel against God.  It's just a fact of existence, and whether you believe or not there's simply no getting around it!  Because God is your maker, He and He alone has the right to decide what they are, and thus He has the right to decide to bless you for decisions that are in obedience to his word and to punish you for decisions that are made out of stubborn, willful, prolonged rebellion to His word.

Stated bluntly, God made the rules.  He decides what's right and wrong.  And your decisions affect not just your quality of life here on earth but also your eternity.  He made Heaven and Hell, and He decides how a person ends up in either place.  If you're upset about all of this, is it worth refusing to accept the rules and suffering the consequences for ever and ever (and ever)?  Is "your way" really that important?  Remember about pride coming before destruction?  Pride sends people to Hell, NOT God.  He could have been cruel in this regard, but the loving God has given us the choice of where we end up; we aren't "sent" by Him to either place.  Sound like pretty fair rules to me.

If you're still angry with God and think all this is totally unfair, shake your fist all you want, but think about the power and sovereignty of just Who you're shaking it at.  And think about whether you'd rather heed His loving warnings now, or face the consequences one day after it's too late to change your mind.  Consider this description of what will happen on the day when Jesus judges everyone who has ever lived throughout history.  Whose side do YOU want to be on?

"Then I saw a great white throne and One seated on it.  Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.  I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.  Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.

Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead; all were judged according to their works.  Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."  (Revelation 20:11-15)

Not just another holiday

Okay, in the last post I deliberately kept things short and sweet, but I'll probably be back to my old ways this time around.  I have some more thoughts about the significance of this Easter season that have recently struck me, and this time - as usual - I'll use my own words to express them.

I thought this morning about those people who will be working today, not those who basically had to, but those who really didn't need to but did so anyway.  I wondered if any of them will take even a moment to wonder about the significance of this day, Good Friday.  Is it to them some vague holiday like Victoria Day in Canada where no more than a handful of people actually know why it's a holiday?  Will they even think about why some spiritual guy named Jesus died on a cross so long ago?

If they're anything like I used to be, I doubt it.  They're probably thinking about this as nothing more than a great chance to make some holiday overtime pay.  But I so wish that they - and any non-believer just enjoying a 'holiday' - could realize that this Jesus guy they've heard about had each and every one of them individually in mind when he held his tongue in the face of his accusers.  I wish they could understand that Jesus voluntarily gave himself as a sacrifice for our well-being, and that his crucifixion was not some unexpected and tragic end to a promising young spiritual movement.

Jesus was born to die, he was born to pay the penalty of our offenses (sins) against God so that those who accept this gift of Jesus would not have to pay that penalty themselves after their earthly, bodily death.  This has been God's plan since even before our ancestors Adam and Eve destroyed mankind's relationship with God long ago and introduced sin into our world.

Jesus as the one and only Son of the one and only God chose to give up his exalted position for a period of 33 years by living as one of us.  He chose to be born in poor, filthy conditions to everyday people instead of people of power and prestige.  He chose to live a humble existence in full dependence upon his Father who remained in Heaven, humbling himself to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).

But why would he die for us?  Who are we that he would die for us?  How could he known those of us who weren't even born at the time?  Suffice it to say that the Bible mentions how God knew each of us before the foundation of time, and that he numbered the hairs on each of our heads.  It also mentions in various parts of the New Testament Gospel letters how Jesus and God the Father are one in essence and nature, so therefore what God knows, Jesus knows.

Each and every one of us is so infinitely precious and important to him that sadly only a tiny portion of humanity - only those who've accepted the gift of salvation that Jesus offers, i.e. Christians - will ever have some idea of this before they meet God face-to-face in order to give an account of their lives to him on the appointed day.

God is independent of time.  He existed before it was even created, and thus time does not control him like it controls his creation.  Thus he, being all-knowing and in all control of everything, knew about the very second and the very circumstances of everything to do with when each and every one of us would be born.  He knew whether he was going to give us to rich or poor parents, loving or abusive parents, or to biological or foster or adoptive parents, and whether we would be born in a time of peace or a time of war.  And he did each of these things not because he was showing favoritism to some or being cruel to others, but for his own good purposes (not necessarily ours!) that we will only fully understand once we all - believer and non - meet him face-to-face - the great inevitability of human existence.

Some of you might have shaken your fist at God about your lot in life ever since you were old enough to do so.  You curse the day you were born and how a God of "love" could have been so cruel as to let you suffer so much - let alone be born - in the first place.

Yet I have heard more than a few stories of people - and met some - who suffered unspeakable horrors, sometimes for decades on end, but eventually realized the hand of God's protection and provision and comfort during those times.  They decided to no longer shake the fist, realizing that they would have been even worse off if he hadn't been with them during those times!

They realized those times were not so much for building character as for them to realize their desperate need of God in their lives.  So they opened their hearts to allow God to work in their lives, which inevitably lead them to a knowledge of what Jesus' life, death, and resurrection were really all about.  Then they learned about how accepting Jesus into their lives was going to set them free spiritually in this life and beyond even though they might remain in bondage in the here and now:  physical, financial, abusive, etc.

And these things are what God wants you to realize at this special time of year, this Easter season.  He wants you to realize that your life and circumstances are not a mistake, but that they are meant to show your weaknesses in order that you allow him to make you strong.  He wants you to realize that in your own strength you will eventually break or fail, if not on this side of eternity then on the Day of Judgment when you have to explain your life to this Creator of yours that you spent so much time and energy trying to avoid and/or deny down on Earth.

Will you finally accept that the whole plan of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in order for you to be set free was done with you in mind?  That this plan wasn't reserved for those who show up in church on most Sundays, or give to a church, or belong to a denomination or religion, or live good, moral lives?  That this plan wasn't reserved for those who seem as though they have it all together or all figured out?  This plan was intended for those who realize they need the forgiveness and healing that only God through Jesus Christ alone - and no other person or religious system or amount of money - can offer (read Luke 5:30-32).

This is not only the message of this Easter season, but it's been the message of the Gospel for over two-thousand years, the good news about Jesus Christ and what he has done for you already and what he will do for you if you would simply ask for his forgiveness and then let him into your life.

Why don't people believe? Part I

There are many reasons why people don't believe in God, specifically in Jesus (who claimed to be the Son of God and the only mediator between man and God, or the only "way" for us to come to God).

One huge reason why people don't believe in God (or Jesus) is addressed by Jesus Himself while answering the inquiries of a man named Nicodemus, one of the top religious leaders of His day who came secretly to visit Jesus one night:

"Anyone who believes in Him [Jesus] is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God [Jesus].

This, then, is the judgment: the light [good news, or "gospel" of Jesus] has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed."

When I first came upon this passage in the New Testament of the Bible, in the book of John chapter 3, versus 18-20 (John 3: 18-20) after I had decided to become a believer in Jesus Christ, it explained to me the main hang-up that I had had with God before I came to believe.

Before I wanted anything to do with God, I completely ignored anything to do with God. This is because I knew that if God did exist, then I for sure was doing things He didn't like and I didn't want to face His wrath and judgment. So I thought that ignoring God was the best way to deal with this. If there was a heaven and hell, I reasoned, I would try to explain to Him at the "Pearly Gates" all the good things I did while alive so that He might cut me some slack and let me live a peaceful eternity up there in heaven.

I didn't realize at the time that only the forgiveness of Jesus would get me there, not my pathetic attempts at being good! I also didn't realize that only perfection gets one into heaven, and that Jesus becomes our perfection for us - our representative before God - only once we ask Jesus to forgive us for all the things we've done to displease God (our "sins").

Besides not wanting to face God and be accountable to Him for what I did, I enjoyed the things I was doing: the pornography, the relationships with different women, swearing in ways that would make a trucker look like a saint, getting drunk, and so on. If I allowed God into my life, I reasoned, then I wouldn't be able to do any of these things and life wouldn't be "fun" any more. I even went so far as to assume that believing in God (which I wrongly equated to "being religious") would mean becoming and hanging-out with Ned Flanders-types around a campfire and singing Kumbuyah.

Basically, at that point in my life, I was fulfilling scripture, I was confirming and validating the words of the Bible. I loved darkness rather than the light because my deeds were evil. They weren't evil in terms of modern human standards, but they were evil in the eyes of a perfect God! I hated what God had to offer me through Jesus and therefore avoided it because I didn't want the things I did to have to be dealt with and changed. Only now can I look back on this mindset and realize how closed-minded and naive I was, forming stereotypes and assuming things about God that were not true.

But a funny thing happened while I was trying to avoid God and live life my way. I started reading some self-help books because I knew there were things wrong with my life, but I didn't know how else to go about changing them. I was unhappy and unsatisfied, and there was something missing that I couldn't find in all my pursuits because the pleasure was always so short-lived and empty feeling. There was no long-lasting peace or joy that came out of these things. So I decided that these books had the answer, and I started reading classics like "How to Win Friends and Influence People" because, for example, I thought more friends and success would give me the peace and joy I was missing.

As I got into more books, I remember one time reading one that mentioned the word "God" on the second page of the book. I was so enraged that this author was trying to bring God into the mix when all I wanted to learn about was success and wealth that I returned the book! If you've read this blog or just this post so far and think that I've always been a believer, I can assure you that few who have ever lived were more violently opposed to anyone trying to tell me about God than I was!

Anyhow, as I delved deeper into my self-help journey, I came to realize (with much resentment at first) that all success principles have their origin in the Bible. I was surprised by this because I thought the Bible was only about God's wrath and judgement, but here I was being exposed to a loving God that actually wants the best for us and wants us reconciled to Him so that we can have an eternal relationship with Him and not apart from Him in the "other place".

Over time, I began to open myself up more to God and what the Bible had to say. I began to think deeply about my assumptions about the origins of life, for example, and while looking at my hand and it's intricate musculo-skeletal motions began to wonder how something so complex and precise could have possibly arisen from blind, random evolutionary processes apart from a creative force like that of God. I thought about the human creative design poured into things like a watch or a camera, things far less complicated than the human hand, and realized that it was foolish to assume that the hand was not created by something far more powerful than the human mind.

But the kicker for me was the realization that I had to stop always assuming that the Bible was wrong or only half-true and instead realize that perhaps I was wrong. I did not want to take the chance of assuming that hell wasn’t real only to end up there someday. If I did, it would be a mistake that I would have to live with for an eternity with no way out. I did not want the Bible to prove me wrong after it was too late.

So what really happened after I finally broke down and decided to come to God through Jesus and ask to be forgiven for all the things that I had done to displease Him (my "sins")? Did my life suddenly fall apart as God said "Aha!!" and began to punish me for all the sexual immorality and drunkenness I had committed? Did I get the sudden urge to give away all of my possessions and move to the tropical rain-forest and preach the Gospel to a cannibalistic tribe while living a life of celibacy and self-denial?

Actually, much the opposite happened. I felt a sense of release and forgiveness and peace unlike anything I had ever experienced. I sensed a great love from God, not a feeling of guilt and condemnation. Whenever I went back to those habits that had caused those temporary feelings of happiness before, I instead felt a great sense of meaninglessness and emptiness and I would actually get depressed. But whenever I would pray or flip open the Bible - which actually made sense to me now that God's spirit (the Holy Spirit) was living inside of me, teaching me how to interpret the Bible - that sense of forgiveness and peace and love would return.

The neatest part to this story, however, is how God eventually replaced my old habits with new ones that give me far more satisfaction and happiness! I no longer feel the urge to engage in any of the sexual sins (marital sex is not a sin, by the way!) or the drunkenness that I used to want so much.

So this was a much longer version than I had anticipated about explaining why people don't believe, because I also wanted to explain what wonderful good can happen when a person decides to get over the objection or stumbling block to their disbelief. In other posts, I will discuss other major reasons why people don't believe in God.