So here I am, back to writing on the blog that no one will read about topics that dont matter.
I cant fix the former, but I can the latter.
An interesting thing came up in Lit class today. Aside from the usual Calvinist vs. Armenianist steel cage match that goes on between the class, we came to a topic of conversation: God's love. Most of the people in the room were of the opinion that God does not love unconditionaly, otherwise he would not be sending people to Hell. It was strange for me to be told this when I have been told all my life that "God so loved the world" and loves everyone, even if they do end up going to Hell, so it sent me for a bit of a loop. Does God love some and hate others? If you read the Old Testament it would seem so, but then again wasnt it Jesus that ate with all the sinners? And we are supposed to emulate Jesus, it would make since that we would love even the sinners, despite their shortcomings while at the same time encouraging them to go in the right direction. However, if God doesnt love everyone, than it seems like we have to earn his love and it isnt something freely given to us. If God completely hates sinners, than, givin our fallen state, he has hated us from the beginning. In my opinion, this seems to go completely against the nature of God.
usually I would ask you, the reader's opinion on this, but it seems futile since none of you will read it and therefore the reader is non existent.
And now for something completely different. More and more people seem to come to me with problems, but I dont really mind. In the end, I dont trust in my own words but just leave it to God, because he knows what to say and I dont. I wonder everyday what my calling is, but I hope that someday its right here:
Speaking of which, I still need to raise money for going there over Spring Break. Unfortunately, getting into my job is alot slower due to school delays and I havnt made the money yet. But im trusting in Jehovah Jireh.
Nothing else to say now. I now have to call my boss to inquire why I havnt been trained yet.
~Jared
3 comments:
Its funny you mention the topic of Gods love. I like to frequent guitar player forums online to read about gear and technique etc. One of the forum topics was about Eric Clapton and his faith. According to several of the posters Clapton found God to get through his drug addiction and found him again after the tragic death of his son (he fell out of a 49th floor window). Many of the posters on the forum posed the very same question. "If there is a God, and he loves us, why did he let that poor lad die?". I am also asked why God lets people, good or bad, young or old, die or disease.
I think God loves us, but because of our sins, we have these problems of Hell, sin and even death.
by the way, I will read your blogs, because you read mine.
Isn't there like and RSS thingy or something like that so people can get e-mail updates when you blog? The main reason nobody reads these is because they're so hard to find.
And on the topic of God's love. GOd does love unconditionally. It's all over the freaking Bible, however I think you could put it like this:
When you have children you try to raise them to be the best possible people that they can be. That, however, doesn't mean that they won't mess up. It's human nature to make mistakes. Yet, as a parent you still love your child despite their shortcomings. But even though you love them that doesn't mean that you just let them get away with everything. There has to be a punbishment. And even though eternal damnation may seem a little harsh, if you live a life in complete sin and denial of God well then I don't see where the hell else you supposed to go when you die. Pun intended.
That doesn't really speak as to why God allows people to die for no apparent reason, but we just have to accept that He is God and that His way is the only way. And we shouldn't question those ways because hepaid the ultimate price. He died for us and that should be good enough.
That was long winded, but I'm done now.
I'm subscribed to RSS, so I'm a reader. :)
There was a problem in your class's logic. They made an assumption that the result of either heaven or hell was dependent upon God's love. The truth is that God initially set up the Law to be the determining factor ("if you love me, you will obey my commands"). Meaning, heaven or hell is not a place where God sends us, but a result of our relationship with him (or lack thereof). When Jesus came, he replaced the law, meaning that now our actions do not determine our afterlife, but rather our acceptance of Jesus. The bar is set quite low; it is fairly certain that to enter heaven, one simply must believe in Jesus. I think a lot more will enter heaven than fundamentalist Christianity would have you believe.
So yeah, I think God loves everyone unconditionally. But he set in place certain things that cannot be replaced. Meaning, the old question "Can God create a stone that he cannot lift?" has an answer of yes; he can indeed put things into place that he cannot overturn. God is all-knowing; if he wanted to pick up that rock, he would have created it smaller. In the same way, if he wanted the decision of our eternity to be placed solely upon his love for us, he would have created more angels.
Post a Comment