Today we had a great conversation. We were discussing a particular concept that some people use to eschew the existence or relevancy of God because He is cruel. The idea is that any God who would demand blood for disobedience/disagreement/sin is evil himself. That paradox proves that either there is no God, or He is not one worth following.
So we discussed it.
If you stepped out into the snow naked, could you reasonably get mad at the house for making you cold? What about if you refused water for days and died? Would it be the water’s fault that you died? I think not. The house, by its very nature, offers shelter, and leaving the shelter you expose yourself to the elements. Water, also by its very nature, gives life. We learned just last week in science that three days is about as long as anyone can go without water.
The same is true with God. When we step away from God in disobedience/disagreement/sin, we make that choice to remove ourselves from the source of shelter and life. How can we be upset with God for our own willfulness?
There is a suggestion from some that they would be better Gods; for themselves certainly, but universally, as well. “If I were God, I would not make such narrow rules regarding salvation.” The statement is absurd when you compare it to water: “If I were water, I would not be so wet.” Or life giving. It begs the question. If you are not the sole source of all life, are you even a god?
As you follow the path of this statement, the absurdity grows. Let’s say twenty-‘leven people become gods because they know they can do it better. Not one will offer life or shelter that can’t already be attained from anywhere else, because to be exclusive would be cruel, right? What kind of a god would be optional and unneeded? The answer is no god at all!
So we return to the original postulation: any God Who would demand blood for evil is evil and so is not worthy of worship. We have discovered that there is no cruelty in the truth that the wages of sin is death (Proverbs 10:16, Romans 6:23). It is merely fact that walking away from life leads to death.
But, let’s take it one step further. Not only is our God not a cruel God for ‘demanding’ blood to atone for sin, but he is a compassionate and passionate God, loving us to the death of His own Son! John 3:16 says (recite it aloud with me) “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.”
Knowing that when we sin, we opt out of life, so God chose death for Himself rather than to leave us to perish! Wow!
Jesus called Himself Living Water. What a loving God we have!
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Thanks for taking the time to talk with me!