Great restraint
I have been reading the book, The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey. What strikes me as astounding, is an idea I can't shake, something that has dumbfounded me and clearly, other Christians along the way. The persistent thought and question is: How does God show such great restraint? How does he watch us destroy one another and ourselves, willingly, and not wipe us all out from sheer annoyance and despairing distain?
Legalizing killing
Mans rebellious question of how God permits evil while sitting on His hands is audaciously rude, considering the fact that God has the power of life and death: we presume the same ominous power each time we make or kill our babies through conception and the ultimate degradation of life, abortion. I live in peaceful Canada and clinically speaking, I can choose euthanasia (a colloquialism for assisted suicide: I heard this offered repeatedly to an elderly patient who was in emergency and not hooked up to life saving equipment. She was very ill and all alone with no relative by her side, to advocate for her life... death was an al la carte offering).
I have been reading the book, The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey. What strikes me as astounding, is an idea I can't shake, something that has dumbfounded me and clearly, other Christians along the way. The persistent thought and question is: How does God show such great restraint? How does he watch us destroy one another and ourselves, willingly, and not wipe us all out from sheer annoyance and despairing distain?
Legalizing killing
Mans rebellious question of how God permits evil while sitting on His hands is audaciously rude, considering the fact that God has the power of life and death: we presume the same ominous power each time we make or kill our babies through conception and the ultimate degradation of life, abortion. I live in peaceful Canada and clinically speaking, I can choose euthanasia (a colloquialism for assisted suicide: I heard this offered repeatedly to an elderly patient who was in emergency and not hooked up to life saving equipment. She was very ill and all alone with no relative by her side, to advocate for her life... death was an al la carte offering).
Our options seem endless, don't they dear reader? We can choose to kill at will, including asking others to help us terminate our own lives, and there are ample philosophical explanations to augment the malevolent arguments.
One bite and apple pie
The devil has done an outstanding job, convincing the populace that life and death are options: that individuals have the right to manipulate and contort facts, to suit the situations they find themselves in. This is a return to Eden, and one delicious bite of forbidden fruit, the fruit of rebellion against God, in favour of wanting to be all powerful, like Him:
One bite and apple pie
The devil has done an outstanding job, convincing the populace that life and death are options: that individuals have the right to manipulate and contort facts, to suit the situations they find themselves in. This is a return to Eden, and one delicious bite of forbidden fruit, the fruit of rebellion against God, in favour of wanting to be all powerful, like Him:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis 2:17)
For in the day that thou eatest thereof... God gave us free range and reign. He gave us choice over good and evil, and I don't know about you, but I am a modern day Eve, surrounded by modern day Adams and Eves. My joke over the years has been, if Eve took a bite of the apple, we made apple pie from that same apple. I have chosen evil over good, one too many times in my life, to point a finger at any other human and say, you are the bad one, I am "good".
Let us face this fact dear reader: while the devil is an accomplished salesdemon, we are willing customers, buying his wares with exorbitant price tags attached.
We are misguided and randy
If the devil is peddling death, let us be clear that the God of the universe is soft selling life. He does not force it on anyone of us, other than His original choice when He:
We are misguided and randy
If the devil is peddling death, let us be clear that the God of the universe is soft selling life. He does not force it on anyone of us, other than His original choice when He:
For You created my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb (Psalm 139:13)
We are the ones that get to choose for our little ones, for each other, and ultimately for ourselves, whether or not we want to honour the life He gives. It is pure love that is the greatest miracle of them all. The purity displayed in Gods benevolent nature, that shows the restraint He has, in watching without taking choices away from misguided and randy children, who seem inclined to self selected implosion and combustion.
Free will, we all have it
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| Love carved into the bite |
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots (Luke 23:34)
Addendum: We are currently facing Gods judgment. He is kind, He is merciful, He is long suffering, AND, He is just. Humanity has been put on red alert, and we are called to Glorify Him, no matter the circumstances we face. Now, each of us must take a stand, and state clearly to whom we belong December 28th, 2021
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