IS GOD MEAN?

IS GOD MEAN

It depends upon which God we are talking about. The one that some follow who tells his disciples to kill the innocent with bombs and to berate women and treat them as common cattle or worse is definitely mean in my estimation. Now if we are speaking of God who is the Heavenly Father revealed by Jesus the answer is “Are you kidding?” Some would say, “No I’m not kidding for I’ve read the Bible.“ What they are referring to is the account of God raising up a family from the introduction of Abraham’s relationship with Him. In the Old Testament [agreement between God and Abraham’s descendents] we can see God was very strong when they sinned.

Without going into the actual times when He “lowered the boom” on them we will always see they were in rebellion against God first. Until we come to know His Character we won’t be able to understand the most important of all things. God is bringing humans to the place where He can stand them through out eternity. He isn’t taking us on a cruise or long vacation but is actually bringing us to where He can adopt us and consider us sons or daughters whom He loves the same as He loves Jesus His Only Son.

To bring this about we are able to see “by the Holy Spirit”, Jesus dying on the Cross for us personally. There is no Gospel message without the suffering and abuse heaped upon Jesus for us. If you’ve heard another then you’re still lost in your sins, if you’ve depended upon it. To understand this, please understand, sin hardens our hearts, the more we sin the harder it becomes. A two year jail ministry I learned the validity of this statement.

When in the jail you can actually feel the presence of evil, it permeates the place. Fear is everywhere for no one is safe. In an instant an inmate can attack another inmate or correctional officer. Demons are raging within many and they are very violent. On the other hand a prisoner who comes to the place where he or she comes to know Christ as their Lord His peace begins to reign where before anger and unforgiveness controlled them. How did this happen? The Born Again experience has claimed another sinner.

Did you know some major denominations don’t even mention this term? Consequently they raise up members who might tell you they believe God is mean. Or, that He can be mean towards them. Do you believe God is mean? I sure hope not but if you aren’t sure read on and discover the Truth.

For God to change us He had to do some drastic things. He asked Jesus to become a man [through birth to the virgin Mary] and live for nearly 30 years as a human without His Divine powers. He asked Jesus to teach over a three year time frame what He would give Him to say and do. Then He asked Jesus to lay down His life for mankind. This was going to be very difficult for Jesus, who was absolutely sinless and would now have to accept all of mankind’s sins to be heaped upon Him as He died. Unless you understand that sin separates us from God, you can’t understand how difficult this was for Jesus.

Jesus and the Father are ONE. They love each other on a level far beyond our understanding. He lived in the Father and the Father lived in Him. To be separated even for a few hours was almost too much for Jesus. We see Him in the garden prior to His arrest laying upon the ground with His sweat becoming bloody as He felt the anguish of what was coming. Yes, He knew that the Romans would beat Him with a scourge. In Psalm 22 David, God’s prophet, revealed the scenes of His passion. He knew from Isaiah 53 the horrible stripes from the beating and the wounds inflicted by the spikes and thorns would bring healing to us as we trusted them.

He also knew that the very ones whom He came to save would stand near and make fun of His sacrifice, rejecting Him and His purpose in coming in the first place. He knew all this but His love for the Father was so great He endured the cross for us and the Father. The Bible tells us God bestowed a Name upon Jesus so that everyone under the earth, on it and above it would one day bow down and proclaim Him Lord. Are you willing to do it now?

The only thing that can save us is for us to accept the sacrifice of Jesus as our own. Once we repent and receive Him as our Lord we are living in His death and Resurrection. When God raised Jesus from the dead He proclaimed eternal life too. When Jesus lives in us we are heaven bound now. From that very second our names are enrolled in the Book of Life. Our sins have been removed and cast as far away as east is from the west. And our Heavenly Father has erased all memory of them from His mind. Now you tell me, is our God mean? No, He’s kind and loving beyond our understanding. Now, if we’re in Jesus aren’t we kind and loving too?

In His Service,

Capt. Ben Marler
captben61@gmail.com
captben61.blogspot.com