I was sorry to hear about Britney Spears. Her choices in life have given her a hard life. Lots of unfairness, too. So she declared, "God would not [have allowed] that to happen to me if God existed. I don't believe in God anymore because of the way my children and my family have treated me." I'm saddened but not surprised that another voice has been added to the clamor that claims that the only way God can exist is if He conforms to my perspectives and preferences. Or, to put it more correctly, once again "they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (Rom 1:25) ... to their own detriment.
The truth is God does not exist. Well, let's be clear ... not that God. There is no God who bends to the will of His creation, who subordinates His omnipotence to their willingness, who rejects His omniscience and embraces their ignorance, who submits His sovereignty to their rebellion, who replaces His genuine love with their self-serving version. The God who fails or makes mistakes does not exist. Britney (et al.) is right; that God does not exist.
If the biblical God exists, He knows better than His creation does. His creation is not holy, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, perfect, even good. His creation does not define love. His creation does not hold all things together. All things are not by, through, and for His creation. He does not need His creation. Instead, He is always right, always good, always just, always perfect. No sins. No errors. No failures. Even when we intend evil, He intends good (Gen 50:20). So I have to ask (of myself as well as anyone else), "Who are you, O man, who answers back to God?" (Rom 9:20).
Christ came to resolve a serious problem. As sinners -- each and every one of us -- we were under the righteous wrath of God without any means of solving that problem. So, "while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom 5:6). At the right time. Not too soon; not too late. "While we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son" (Rom 5:10). It is only here, at His feet, bowing to our Lord, that we can find hope and salvation. And we do. It is not obtained by demanding that God meet our specifications. That's simply idolatry ... and all of us are prone to that error to some degree or another. Simply repentance and faith will do.
2 comments:
Folks often adjust their points of view based on how their lives have been impacted. Sometimes, that's rational, such as one's willingness to walk on an icy lake altered after a loved one has broken through and drowned. I knew a guy who rejected God after losing a son to illness despite constant appeals to God failed to result in the child's healing. It suggests a poor understanding. But because such people have their lives affected so drastically, they choose to believe their faith was foolish...which it was, to believe on one's own terms over God's.
Yes, and not trusting ice (which we can understand) makes sense because we understand that it can be dangerous and, well, it has made no promises to us. That's why trusting God -- on His terms -- is so different.
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