Today's Meditation

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." ~ Matthew 6:25-34

Take some time to really meditate on Jesus' words. He knows what He is talking about ... do we really believe His word?

I'm working on it!

Good Question!

stronger now said...

Is it "godly" to torture children for not loving you back?

How did god, a supposed "perfect" being, make creatures that are imperfect i.e., not as he would have them?

How is it "good" for this god you believe in to create beings that he knows will end up being tortured forever? Does he not know the future? Does he not care? If he does care why does he make some people that he knows he will send to hell?

"Love me or I'll hurt you" is the biblegods message.

January 18, 2009 8:57 AM

Each part of your question is best addressed on its own, and I will address them in the order that they were posed.

First, Is it "godly" to torture children for not loving you back?

I think the clear and easy response to this question is, by no means! I think it would be very difficult to make the case that the Bible teaches that such action is "godly" which is clearly the implication of the question.

Since it seems to me that Stronger Now is making the claim that the Bible does in fact teach such an abhorrent notion, let me point out where I think this blogger has gone astray from biblical truth. My assumptions are that Stronger Now believes both of the following statements to be true and biblical teachings: 1) We are all God's children; and 2) God tortures people who don't love Him back. If both of these statements are true, then it would seem that God does torture His children for not returning His love.

In reality, neither of these premises are taught in the Bible. First, 1) We are all God's children. This premise is a very popular opinion ... but it is by no means biblical. Consider these passages:

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:23

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26

Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:7

The language of "adoption" and becoming sons "through faith" and no longer being a slave but becoming a "son" do not make any sense at all if the Bible teaches that we are all God's children. No one adopts their own kids. You adopt kids that are not your own previously. If we have not accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, then we are not God's children but His slaves.

Now consider the words of Jesus:

"Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come immediately and sit down to eat'? But will he not say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink'?He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'" Luke 17:7-10

As slaves of God, we are commanded to obey the 10 commandments. Jesus summed up all of the law and the prophets in these two commandments: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is like it; You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus says in the above Scripture that after we have done these two things (which we all fail at daily), that our response shouldn't be "now give me my reward!" but instead should be "I am an unworthy slave, I have done only that which I ought to have done."

Quite simply, God does not "torture His children for not loving Him back." He punishes criminal slaves who disobey His righteous commandments in rebellion against Him. God's children-those whom He has adopted into His family through their faith in Jesus-are heirs to the throne and are not treated as slaves, but are given their inheritance as is proper for children to receive.

And the reason we fail to love our neighbor as ourself (afterall, who wants to be lied to, or stolen from, or talked negatively about, or laughed at, or ignored, or dishonored ... yet we do these things to other people) is a direct result of our failure to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we did love Him this way, then we would recognize the amazing value that each human has as a being created by Him, and would afford them the respect and honor they deserve. No one is cast into Hell just for failing to love God. They are cast into Hell for their myriad of sins, only part of which is their failure to love God in the above described way.

Next, How did god, a supposed "perfect" being, make creatures that are imperfect i.e., not as he would have them?

The answer to this question seems to be that God did create humans exactly as He would have them ... and that their imperfection was part of the plan. This follows for two reasons. First, there exists only one Perfect Being: God. To make other perfect Beings would be to create copies of God. But God does not change and He is eternal. Therefore, it would be impossible to "create" a perfect Being since the only perfect Being is uncreated.

However, God did make us "perfect" as He wanted us. Part of His design included freedom since He desires to have a relationship with us. He could have created humans as mindless beings that only stroked His ego ... but He opted for qualitatively better beings who could freely choose to accept or decline His invitation for relationship. True freedom results in there being some who will make an unwise choice. This poor choice does not mean that God made a mistake in creating free agents...it just means those free agents made a mistake in their use of their gift.

In fact, it seems to me that God's decision to make free moral agents was His greatest display of power. He could force us to love Him, but He set us free. I'm not sure that I would have been so generous if I were God ... fortunately, I'm not!

Third, How is it "good" for this god you believe in to create beings that he knows will end up being tortured forever? Does he not know the future? Does he not care? If he does care why does he make some people that he knows he will send to hell?

This question has a good amount of overlap with the prior question, namely that it is qualitatively better for God to create free moral agents and have some of them choose poorly (thus, ending up in Hell) than it is for God to create not-free beings who are forced to worship Him in heaven. There can be no relationship in the second scenario. The proof that God does know the future and of His great care is that He has declared the judgment prior to executing it, and He has provided sufficient means for all who will to accept the free gift of salvation that is available to all persons through Jesus the Christ.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.... He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. John 3:16-18, 36

I've read your profile Stronger Now, and although that only gives me very little knowledge of who you are, I believe you when you say that you are an atheist. Based on the knowledge that you have of Scripture I can't make it any clearer to you that if you go to Hell it will not be because God wanted you to go there (after all, He sent His Son for you), but because of your willful refusal to accept His gift of salvation and the opportunity to become a child of God. If you choose to die in your sins without the Savior, that's your choice. But God cannot be blamed for your final destination.

And when you behold Him in all His glory and realize that you could have spent eternity with Him ... it's no surprise that your eternity away from Him could be described as being full of "weeping and gnashing of teeth." The amazing truth is this: I know that I don't deserve Heaven ... I'm not perfect. Neither are you. Only perfect people deserve Heaven. But God has provided a way for you and me to be adopted into His family and therefore enjoy the full benefits of being an heir. God by no means "tortures His children" and His care for both you and me is immense. If you don't care enough to accept what He's done for you ... well, that's a different matter entirely.

Finally, "Love me or I'll hurt you" is the biblegods message.

This statement is just false.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:6-11

The God of the Bible's message is that He's going to love you no matter what. If you decide that you must be damned for your own sins, He'll let you. But he'd rather let you let Him pay for them.

If I've failed to address any of your concerns, please let me know. As always, if you have further questions feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Busyness

Man am I busy lately. I'm sure I'm not the only one...

The usual pace of life in our household is slow compared to what our culture in America says is acceptable. Our household is not inundated with activities on a nightly basis because, as a family, we make it a priority to spend time together and to allow for margin in our lives. This margin allows for us to take care of the necessary things of life as they happen (often unexpectedly) without having to force out other "good" things that we would ordinarily be doing, and without sacrificing family time or much needed sleep. We prioritize this way for several reasons, but the most important two are these: first, God is a God of relationships and He has emphasized the importance of the family unit. Therefore, as Christians, we ought to spend time together as a family strengthening our relationships with each other. Secondly, we (*gasp*) enjoy spending time together. In this culture that seems to think divorce is a good option for families that have "grown apart," my wife and I believe that divorce is not an option. We will not grow apart by filling our lives with so much activity that we crowd each other out of our (individual) life.

However, it seems that right now much of that margin has disappeared ... at least on my end. I do not remember a time in my life that I had more things on my plate than I do at the current time. I do remember a time where I spent more hours away from home than at present, but those hours were devoted to one thing (my job). Now, I have a sermon to prepare for Sunday, a presentation due on Tuesday, preparations to make for the upcoming Wednesday night series that I'll be leading at our church, steps to take concerning my business to try and ensure it doesn't fail in this floundering economy, and, of course, time to spend with my family and with God... Add to this the other things of life that pop up due to non-immediate family, friends, co-workers, church politics, etc., and I'm looking as hard as I can for the margin that used to be a part of life.

I recognized the need for margin this morning as I was getting ready. Thinking about the events of the day, I got out of the shower and was about to put on my deodorant when I realized that what I was about to put in my armpit was not deodorant but an uncapped tube of toothpaste! I couldn't help but laugh at myself that in the midst of trying to juggle so many "important" things, I have lost my ability to the simple things correctly.

Of course, we all make mistakes (and some mistakes are certainly bigger than others!), but I think it's good for us to occasionally remember that we are human beings, not human doings. So often we try and fill our lives with activities because we think that this will add value to us ... but our value is inherent in us already based on our being created in the image of God. God doesn't desire for us to live a hectic life full of activity and free of margin. He wants us to live a life of purpose. A life that is slow enough to recognize His goodness and to dwell in His presence, and full enough to be productive in advancing His kingdom.

God has allowed enough time for us to complete everything that He desires for us to do (and that includes spending quality time in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, with our loved ones, with Him, and also with those who are far from Him so that we may proclaim His kingdom to a lost and broken world), but there is certainly not enough time to do everything that we want to do.

God has declared: Be still, and know that I am God [Psalm 46:10a]. How can we be still and know if we leave ourselves without margin?

Memory Verse

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

When following God doesn't make sense...

What do we do when following God doesn't make sense?

What do we do when it seems that God has provided a clear direction, and then doors close or the path becomes rocky?

What do we do when it seems that our obedience to what we thought was God's plan for our lives yields something other than God's abundant blessing?

It is at these times, more than ever, that we must stay the course.

Scripture declares: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

When it seems like everything is going against us, yet we know that we are living in accordance with God's will, it is our faith that sustains us. It is our faith that assures us of the things that we hope for (namely, a life that gives glory to God). It is our faith which provides for us the conviction of the things that are unseen, which God has promised through His Word. When it seems that all things are against us, we can be sure that God is still for us if we are living a life of humble submission to him (see Romans 8:31).

I reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus ... how terrible it must have seemed to those who knew Him and loved Him! But we have the amazing privilege of looking back with perfect hindsight, and are able to see how even in the midst of what seemed like the biggest catastrophe, God was bringing about the most important victory for His kingdom! The circumstances of Jesus' death were not the end of the story. It is our faith that assures us that, even in the midst of our worst circumstances, God is still in control. His plans will always be accomplished.

Consider the life of Joseph in the Old Testament, who after being sold into bondage by his own family and spending years in prison for his refusal to compromise on his faith, when he encountered his brothers again (the very individuals who had caused him so much strife) Joseph told them: As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive (Genesis 50:20). What an example of faith in the midst of terrible circumstances!

Even Hebrews 11 (from where our Scripture came from at the beginning of this post came) recounts the lives of the faithful. You can see that for some, their faith brings about what we would consider "good" circumstances: And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection... (Hebrews 11:32-35a). But Scripture continues: ...and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground (vv. 35b-38).

Our faith will never get us around our problems, but it will always get us through them. Christian, never forget that we have not been called to a life of comfort in following the Savior, but to a life that glorifies our Lord. Sometimes our walk in faith will be pleasant, but the times when trials and tribulation come are by no means an indication that God is absent.

He deserves our honor and praises even in our darkest times. For He is good. Always. Even when our circumstances make it hard for us to see.

Amen.

Questions (again)

If you're reading this blog and you have a question concerning the Bible or Christianity (or a criticism!) please leave it in the comments section.

Truth can withstand scrutiny, so all comments are welcome.

Happy New Year!

A new day, a new year, but God remains the same. Praying for God's will in 2009 and forever.

May you be blessed this year and draw nearer to the God of your salvation.