That's not MY God.... is it?
Today I was reading in Deuteronomy
the Blessings
and Curses
over the nation of Israel
depending on whether they followed
God's instructions...
ref Deut 28
and I was thinking.....
Yup... obey God's commands
and He will bless you
Disobey....
and you will be given over
to the demonic forces of the nations
you dispossessed
and it will NOT go well for you....
and somehow I know....
God wouldn't PUNISH
or be Wrathful against His own people.....
Right.....
RIGHT....?
MY God wouldn't....
Hmm...
a bit later on I got an answer....
Deut 29:26 They (Israelites) went off
and worshipped other gods
and bowed down to them,
gods they did not know,
gods he had not given them.
27 Therefore the LORD’s anger burned against this land,
so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book.
28 In furious anger and in great wrath
the LORD uprooted them from their land
and thrust them into another land, as it is now."
Hmm....
That doesn't sound like 'My' God....
Is He different than the way I think He should be?
Angry?
Wrathful?....
As I have reflected on this I realize that
I - the created being....
have a 'picture' I think the Creator
should look like.
- Kind
- Fair
- Loving
- Just
And He Is...
as His words (scripture) testify....
but one of the things
that don't fit in my 'God Picture'
is
Angry God.
or
Punishing God....
Something about that being part of the picture
disturbs me....
And I think it disturbs many others too.
In fact sometimes I hear the words,
"If God is like that I won't;
- believe in Him
- worship Him
- have anything to do with Him...."
Hmmm...
Part of me looks at that like saying,
"I don't like the city of Victoria being to the south....
I am going to go north instead....."
WHAT?! (just because I don't want to believe something doesn't change it)
Part of me realizes
that if God is Fair
Just
Kind
and Loving
AND angry
and wrathful towards sin
I need to shift MY paradigm
not His...
The funny thing is
that the very next verse of this 'disturbing' passage
address this seeming paradox...
Deut 29:29 “The LORD our God has secrets known to no one.
We are not accountable for them,
but we and our children are accountable forever
for all that he has revealed to us,
so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions. (Message)
Lord most High
You are Great
and Mighty
and
Beyond me
I realize I do not know You
as I thought I did
and those things I find out about You
that 'bother' me
I realize that I am seeing
them
and You
through a glass dimly....
I repent
and am reminded that to Fear You
is the beginning of Wisdom....
and
I know that
You have chosen me
Rescued me
Adopted me...
and
I Love You.
I echo Peter's words
"Lord, who else can we go to...?
You have the words of eternal life..."
ref Jn 6:68
Yes.
To You.
PJ