What God May Really Be Like – Misbeliefs About God

God, Why So Much Suffering?

We can expect God’s ways to be more comprehensible than incomprehensible, because we are made in His image. God’s reprimand to Job in Chapter 38 was not because God is unexplainable but perhaps because Job assumed if you acted righteous, as he did, then you can aspect God’s blessings. Job’s friends assumed suffering was a direct result of individual sin. Both assumptions are misguided. To understand why God doesn’t stop more sufferings, we need to understand how a free world and God get along

God allows suffering because He values freedom. God is not the originator or orchestrator of suffering. Suffering was not some grand scheme by God so He could ride in on a white horse and save the world. Suffering results from personal or natural evil. Much of suffering is either self inflicted or inflicted upon others by lawless and cruel people.  God allows suffering because genuine love can only emerge when one is free to reject it.  Parents, as God, attempt to persuade their children to reciprocate their love for their own benefit.  Suffering had to become part of God’s story if He was to allow freedom. 

God allows suffering resulting from evil because He values mercy and forgiveness. The alternative is instant judgment. God does not destroy at the first sign of opposition.  God tolerates evil than instantly judges, though justice is served eventually for victims, to change this chaotic world through their own free will.  God’s intervention to suffering resulting from evil is the slow, necessary way of the Incarnation. Jesus’ life and death was an attempt to persuade and empower as many as possible to treat others as they wish to be treated. Ask yourself – what kind of God sacrifices His life on the Cross so we can feel freedom from guilt, so we can be all God created us to be? 

God allows suffering as a megaphone to distract us from our own selfishness. It is not always wise to prevent our children from suffering consequences, whether self-inflicted or the result of a fallen world. Preventing suffering delays the growth process. Suffering enables us to not fall in love with temporal existence and love what the world offers.  As long as I am not looking to blame God for my suffering, I am a better person for the prayers He doesn’t answer than does answer. Suffering forces us to look to God and His perfect ways, which happens most often during adversity than prosperity.  

God allows suffering as a megaphone to enable us to better serve others.  It is not necessarily true that if God instantly stop all suffering, the world would be a better place. After a miracle, many just go back to their old self-centered ways as if the miracle never happened. Jesus’ sufferings than miracles is what really changed hearts. Our sufferings than healings can do the same in the lives of others. Undeserved suffering, such as insults, can make us more sensitive to others in similar situations. Personal sufferings enable us to be trusted by others, because we have “walked in their shoes.” We can trust Jesus because He has faced and conquered all the adversities we face.

The truth is we will never be satisfied until there is no suffering at all. What is sicker or more evil than torturing and killing millions of people simply because of their nationality or the family they were born into? What is more horrible than when an adult sexually abuses a young child for years, threatening them if they tell anyone of their dirty little secret? Evil is evil, regardless of the magnitude or how many humans are impacted. God’s constant interference according to His or our standards would make a farce out of freedom.

Many may assume God is causing or controlling their suffering, thus focusing on “why or what is God punishing me for.” Tragedy is hard enough without wondering if God is out to get you or “God, do you really love me?” God does not lose control because sufferings are not caused or controlled by Him. It can be more comforting that God does not cause our suffering, that God grieves when we suffer, that not even God avoided suffering though He could have, that God will walk hand-in hand with us through any tragedy and work to bring some good from it (though he does not orchestrate evil to accomplish this), that God promises an end to suffering as He has conquered death. 

How we answer “Why, God?” in times of distress is critical to our relationship with God. We are tempted to blame God for suffering rather than receive His comfort. God forbid disputable understandings of God’s role in suffering drive people to unbelief or despair. If we accept God does not cause suffering, we may still need to understand or accept how God has chosen to respond to suffering. He obviously does not stop a great deal of sufferings. God not interfering with suffering may be the only way to love the greatest number of selfish people back to unselfishness while preserving freedom.   People depend more on God during uncertain times. Dependence than independence from God is always a better thing because of who God is. 

God – Explainable Or Incomprehensible?

It is reasonable to expect God’s ways to feel rational to the human emotions and make logical sense to the human mind, since we are made in His image. God’s ways surely are more comprehensible than incomprehensible. Questions often dismissed as unanswerable may be answerable. This viewpoint may empower us to reach more effectively those who seek to know our God better. All we can do is strive to the best of our ability to understand what God’s inspired writers of the Older and New Testament recorded for their readers and future generations.

Job seems to get a tongue slashing in Chapter 38. Why was God being so tough on a man described as “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil (1:8).” We want to be careful making too many parallels from Job’s story in our own lives. We should not assume all suffering from evil is some cosmic play between God and Satan. The book of Job does seem to clearly teach to avoid a common assumption when encountering evil. Friends of Job assumed he had some sin in his life that Job needed to repent of in order to avoid further punishment by God.  Always blaming evil or pain and suffering on individual sin is misguided. Lack of physical or materials blessings is not evidence of lack of God’s love as maybe Job begin to feel.

Did God gave Job a tongue lashing because he attempted to understand God and His ways or because Job assumed God only loves you if He doesn’t allow suffering to invade one’s life? [i.e. daily petal Christianity]  It is true no evil has free rein unless allowed by God. But, if we demand God punish immorality instantly or not even allow freedom, are we not judging Him as to how to deal with a world free to love or rebel against Him? Is this where Job strayed when God became annoyed with him? Do we humans actually know better to run a world given freedom to follow or rebel against their Creator?

We should not assume that God responds to evil in the same ways we might. Job was not accusing God of being responsible for evil, but Job eventually wore down and maybe questioned if God cared since God didn’t stop the suffering in his life. Least we be too judgmental of Job, remember he did not have the vantage point readers do about the cosmic warfare between the Creator and the Evil One. In the midst of suffering it can help to understand that God cares and has not lost control. Maybe Job, as we might, began to assume God didn’t care when all his problems were not being wiped away.

Misguided freedom, whether diabolical or human, does not create a fair world for God or humans.  Most of suffering results from personal or natural evil. Freedom gone awry has cause progressive deterioration both of human nature and the physical world.  God allows suffering because genuine love can only emerge when one is free to reject it. God by nature is a merciful and forgiving God. The alternative is instant judgment without mercy or forgiveness. We sometimes demand instant justice for all accept ourselves.  God did not opt out of suffering Himself. We will not always know why God does or doesn’t interfere. We must ultimately accept as Job that God is more capable of running the universe where freedom is allowed than us. Suffering had to become part of God’s story if He was to allow freedom. God’s ways may not always be our ways, thankfully. Maybe God doesn’t interfere with evil because of His Character!

Biking With God!

For my theological minded readers, this post could be called Biking and God’s sovereignty. I don’t wish to compare cycling mishaps with much more difficult sufferings, but I hope you will see my point. Some of the below events are true and some are fabricated. I will not reveal which to protect my family from worrying. What is true is that I commute to work by bicycle in the mornings via darkness and in Atlanta traffic in the evenings. 

One cannot always see a pothole in the road ahead that can be disastrous for a biker, but God can.  Deer are beautiful animals but their sudden bursts of speed can be rather dangerous to a biker, since we are not in a 4000-pound killing machine. Does anyone understand why God created squirrels? Surely, He can stop them in their tracks for a split second to avoid impact. I am a careful rider; I have been a good person!

A biker must ride in the road going with traffic thus cars turning out of parking lots or at red lights can be quite an adventure, especially when a driver is in a hurry. One on a bike often can’t stop fast enough thus left with the alternative to try to speed up in hopes of being only hit on the back tire rather than in the middle of the bike where the body sits. God created physics.  God can see an accident waiting to happen sooner than anyone else. He knows the rate at which the car is traveling and the rate I am traveling. To avoid an accident why can’t he inspire me to slow down ahead of time or the driver to slow down a split second to avoid a collision? Why can’t He give a driver a thought that faster is not always better?

Why doesn’t God prevent many sicknesses, financial woes, or relationship hurts? We know He is able. Lack of understanding or false expectations regarding God’s role in suffering may cause one to become angry with God, rather than receive the comfort He so ably can give in distress.  We tend to underestimate how complex a free world is and the suffering that results. Suffering was never part of God’s original plan or some grand scheme. And suffering is suffering regardless of the magnitude or how many humans are impacted, so God would need to interfere constantly. There would be no freedom to speak of. It may come down to trusting whether God knows best how to deal with a free world.

Unfortunately, sometimes good may only come when suffering is allowed. Miracles often only turn heads but not hearts. Sudden rescues or divine interventions don’t always make us the kind of people we want to be. Insults can make us more sensitive to others in similar situations. Suffering can be our megaphone to better influence others about our God. Were more people influenced because Jesus came as a suffering servant rather than a ruling King?

If God loves me, why doesn’t God protect me?  Maybe, I should be mad at God for preventing any suffering? The more pain I suffer the more I gain. If one doesn’t figure out God’s role when it comes to suffering, it can impact negatively our intimacy with our Creator. If we aren’t blaming God, we tend to assume God arranged the suffering perhaps to teach us a lesson. For some this doesn’t encourage much of a relationship with the Creator – always assuming He is looking to “get us.” Maybe we should become a little more sophisticated in our understanding how a free world and God get along. 

We do not have to fear God losing control because sufferings are not caused or controlled by Him. Many find it much more comforting that God does not cause their suffering, that suffering is never God’s will, that God grieves when we suffer, that not even God avoided suffering though He could have, that God will walk hand-in hand with us through any tragedy, that God promises an end to suffering. God has conquered death.  God forbid misunderstandings of God’s role in suffering drive people to unbelief or despair.

Fearing God Is For Babies And Evil Folks!

We often are not invited to know God and understand how much He loves us; we are taught to fear Him and be scared of eternal damnation. Can a true friendship develop under such a grave threat? Real intimacy and love does not result from fear and obligatory love. Love without true freedom is neither authentic nor desired. God’s love, not His fear, is what can transform us into the kind of person we truly want to be. Fear of the right things can keep you out of trouble, but fear of punishment doesn’t prevent us from finding a better way to hide it next time. 

We need to put fear in its proper place. Fearing God is not necessary in a perfect world. A survey of the times “fear of God” is used in the Bible suggests fearing God was synonymous with fearing evil.  To not fear God was to not fear evil. God’s wrath is against godlessness and wickedness in hopes to restore, not against those who don’t pursue evil. God hates the sin, not the sinner.  God’s wrath is not an inherent part of His nature but a reaction because of His love when confronted with sin. God exposes us in order to defeat evil in us.

God’s love must be center stage, not his wrath. If God is angry, it is because He cares and is not indifferent to ways that will lead to our destruction. God judges our sin but wants to have mercy (Rm. 11:3). God does not want us to fear Him to keep his distance from us. The Bible also says do not fear God. Genesis 15:1 tells Abraham to not fear God (i.e. Judges 6:23; Isaiah 44:2).   I John 4:18 says: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears in not made perfect in love.”   God’s wrath and punishment is a part of God’s love in hopes to save us from ourselves. God is not obsessed with the guilt of our sins but restoration of the relationship. God is Love not Wrath (I John 4:8). Jesus died not to change God’s attitude but our attitude toward God. God does not need to be reconciled to us; we need to be reconciled to God.

What Is A Relationship With God Like?

Understanding God’s true nature is life changing. A must read is Wayne Jacobsen’s book He Loves Me!  who I am indebted to for some of what follows.  Don’t be confused about what happened in the Garden and at the Cross. Misunderstanding God’s role in evil and suffering can lead to despair during personal tragedy. I have defended biblically elsewhere who I here claim God to be. Even those who have attended church may not recognize the God I speak of. Once we understand God’s unconditional love for us regardless of past, present, or future failures, we can be empowered to love others in unimaginable ways.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is really the Story of the Incredible Father. God loves us unconditionally but respects our freedom. God waits and hopes. His love is unlike any human’s love we may experience. God is not a representation of our earthly parents but the perfection of the human parents we have always desired. God doesn’t offer a formula; God desires a friendship. (John 15:15) Intimacy, resulting from understanding and trusting God, will free us to be transformed into who we truly desire to be.

It isn’t that God doesn’t appreciate our efforts to please Him. God simply wants us to know that His love is unconditional and that His gift doesn’t have to be earned. We try to earn points with God but He is not keeping score. Real intimacy doesn’t result from fear and obligatory love. God is doing all He can so we might trust Him. Accepting than attempting to earn a relationship with God doesn’t lead to the freedom to sin but the freedom not to sin.

From the very beginning in the Garden, God desired to enjoy a relationship together. God knew real trust could only emerge when one is free to reject it. God’s warning about the Tree was really an act of love. What parent doesn’t warn their loved one of dangers ahead? The curse of death in not trusting God knew best about good and evil was a blessing. Living in a corrupt world forever would be horrific.

The Cross is the undeniable proof that God loves us more than we can ever imagine, and He will go to great lengths to convince us to trust Him. The Cross is not just about appeasement and punishing sin but a rescue from the stronghold of sin. Sin has its own punishment. Punishment doesn’t break the power of sin. Was God focused on our sins or the power of sin over us? Jesus did not have to die to pacify God so He could then start loving us. The Cross is not a get-out-of-Hell free pass; the Cross is an invitation to a relationship than can enable us to not be victims of sinful ways. We can never conquer sin until we trust God as Jesus did. Jesus could have called angels down to rescue Him. The Cross reveals what Adam and Eve didn’t do – trust. The Cross can give us victory over sin when we begin to understand the deep love God has for us and how He can empower us to not sin but trust Him.

God loves us unconditionally. It does not matter our sins in the past, present, or the future. God even loves us when we are not remorseful. He just keeps hoping and waiting with open arms if we wish to fall in love with Him. We often are not invited to know God and understand how much He loves us; we are taught to fear Him and be scared of eternal damnation. Can a true friendship develop under such a grave threat? Could the emphasis on God’s judgment than love be the reason for lack of transformation of many who call themselves Christians? Ask yourself – what kind of God would be willing to trade His life on the Cross for ours so they we would not miss out on a relationship with Him and all the grandness that includes?

Why Doesn’t God Stop Natural Disasters?

Personal evil rather than natural evil can be easier to explain and understand because of human freedom involved. Please see Post January 2010 Why Doesn’t God Stop Evils Such As The Holocaust. C.S. Lewis has suggested that wars, crimes, and injustices – evils that come through bad choices make by cruel and lawless people – account for at least 80% of humankind suffering. Much of suffering is either self-inflicted or inflicted by others. But, how do we explain natural disasters that cannot be traced to a human’s freedom to inflict evil upon others such as Hitler?

There was the Tsunami in 2004 that landed in India and killed hundreds of thousands of people. There was Hurricane Katrina in 2005. There was the 2010 earthquake in Haiti that kills over a hundred thousand people. Clearly in Old Testament times God sometimes caused natural disasters as a judgment against sin, beginning with the Universal Flood. (Genesis 7)  But, for one to claim that any disaster in our lifetime is God’s divine punishment is an accusation against the Almighty that cannot be verified. It has been said Haiti in 2010 is being punished for certain pagan practices such as voodoo. If this is the case why has America not been destroyed for killing over 50 million babies through abortion even though the mother’s life/health was not in danger? We can detect a beating heart around the 18th day in a mother’s womb and know babies can react to stimuli, which would include pain well before many mothers abort their babies. If pagan practices caused specific catastrophes, none of us would be alive.  I do not agree with theologians who wish to protect a definition of God’s sovereignty or control that implies God foreordains or controls evil for some greater purpose. Just because God doesn’t control everything doesn’t mean God loses control. Evil, whether personal or natural, is not some grand scheme by God! Everything that happens is not God’s will. God does not cause evil; God does not orchestrate evil to accomplish good. And, God has not abandoned us and works to bring some good out of evil.

I have read that the earth is constructed of tectonic plates and when they collide, what is atop them can be destroyed.  Do we really want to claim the shifting of these plates underground is related to the changing mood of God?  These events directed by the forces of nature happen regardless of the moral actions of the people who are living in areas that are struck. It would seem God created a perfect world to the last detail in the beginning. I believe God intended for humans to have perfect bodies, perfect health, and freedom from natural disasters. One explanation for natural disasters is that rebellion against God set in motions the deterioration of physical nature as it did human nature. Genesis 2:5-6 hints of God’s protection of the earth: “…God had not sent rain on the earth, and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground.” From the very beginning we have rejected God’s oversight. Thus, God has permitted both human and physical nature to run its course, because of human preference. Freedom gone awry caused progressive deterioration of the physical world as it did human nature.

Certainly humans must bare some responsibility. It has been said in Haiti that when tectonic plates under the earth collided, atop them was a particularly densely populated, poorly constructed city in a country which had been poorly governed for centuries. The suffering of the Haitians was further complicated by overcrowding and poor building practices. And we curse God for letting it happen. Who made money in the construction of the city in the manner that is was? Why couldn’t there have been a better warning system in place? Was this money used for other greedy purposes? Was good housing not possible partly because of social injustices? In other situations instead of caring for the land, we exploit and destroy nature by pollution of air and water and other acts of destruction to the soil and vegetation. We must not underestimate progressive damage over the centuries. When humans rebelled, all hell broke loose, both environmentally and personally. 

In much the same way that God allows evil people to commit evil acts, God allows the earth to reflect the consequences sin has had on creation. Regardless, we may ask why God’s doesn’t intervene to prevent such devastating damage and loss of lives cause by natural disasters? The truth is because God or humans don’t measure evil in terms of how many humans are impacted, God would need to interfere with all natural disasters. Tragedy is tragedy, regardless of its magnitude. There would be no freedom as we know it. We can believe God cannot create life in its very essence, impossible to exist without death, violence, suffering and struggle and yet there be free will. It has been suggested God could simply build anti-human elements into nature to protect the innocent from natural evil. God could manufacture events so only people who deserved to be affected were. If this is true, God could have done the same for moral evil.  If would appear suffering is necessary to preserve freedom. God is not some sadist! Sometimes, people experience more than their share of evil, sometimes less. The fact that God gave up control for the sake of freedom does not mean that He does not grieve, that He does not respond to evil, or that He does not suffer as well. Perhaps one reason God doesn’t interfere with the natural processes of freedom is because He knows something about human nature we do not accept.

Jesus story in Luke 13:1-5 suggests suffering is not caused by God or one’s sins but suffering around us does give pause for all to reflect the shortness of life and the importance of living purposefully. If God intervened or prevented all natural disasters, would millions of people ever reevaluate their priorities in life? God can and does bring good out of terrible tragedies. Sudden rescue or divine intervention doesn’t always make us the kind of people we need to become. Miracles only turned heads but not hearts. Sudden richness leaves us wanted more of the same, often at the expense of others. The truth is the world and I am changed for the better during suffering than prosperity. Change sometimes is only possible when we don’t interfere with the natural consequences of freedom gone awry. God can, and does, bring great good out of terrible tragedies if we don’t allow a misunderstanding of God’s role in the world to prevent that.

Why Doesn’t God Stop Evils Such As The Holocaust?

What is sicker or more evil than torturing and killing millions of people simply because of their nationality or the family they were born into? There have been many similar horrific evils such as the Holocaust throughout the centuries of humankind. But, one person killed or abused due to evil is tragic. What is more horrible than when an adult sexually abuses a young child for years, threatening them if they tell anyone of their dirty little secret? Evil is evil, regardless of the magnitude. Most of us believe God is powerful enough to stop evil, so why does God permit or not interfere more? The truth is because God or humans don’t measure evil in terms of how many humans are impacted, God would need to interfere constantly with human decisions to do evil than good. C.S. Lewis has suggested that wars, crimes, and injustices – evils that come through bad choices make by cruel and lawless people – account for at least 80% of humankind suffering. Most suffering is either self-inflicted or inflicted by others. I have written elsewhere about natural disasters.

Is it fair to accuse God of not caring because He doesn’t constantly interfere with the natural order of things? No one argues lack of freedom is either authentic or desirable. Freedom cannot be preserved with God’s constant interference. God surely is not responsible for choices His creations make any more than human parents are responsible for the decisions of their offspring. I do not agree with theologians who wish to protect a definition of God’s sovereignty or control that implies God foreordains or controls evil for some greater purpose. It is recorded God caused the Flood to punish, but no one should pretend to know when or if He is doing that in our lifetime. Jesus laid to rest the age-old argument that suffering is always directly because of one’s sin (i.e. John 9:1-3; Lk 13:1-5). God can still be considered sovereign, even though He gives up control for the sake of freedom. Just because God doesn’t control everything doesn’t mean God loses control. Evil is not some grand scheme by God! God certainly works to bring some good out of what was intended for evil, but this does not mean God orchestrated evil to accomplish this. Some may argue this gives no hope to the suffering if God doesn’t control everything. I believe it is very hopeful to know God does not cause evil, that evil is never God’s will, and that God grieves in our suffering and promises life after death. God certainly didn’t avoid evil Himself through the death of His Son.  

The Flood proves wiping out evil and starting over, allowing freedom, doesn’t cause evil to go away. It just grows back. The truth is the world often is changed for the better during suffering than prosperity. But, God doesn’t sit around scheming evil plots so we can learn these lessons. Humans don’t need this kind of help from God; humans plot evil just fine on their own. Besides making a mockery of freedom, instant healing or sudden rescue doesn’t always make us the kind of people we need to become. Jesus came as a suffering servant than ruling King because God perhaps knew something about human nature that we do not. I wish it wasn’t so, but the slow, necessary way of God through the Incarnation may be the best course of action God could have taken under the circumstances to change us and the world in the long-run. Jesus’ suffering, not His miracles, changed the world. I wish it wasn’t so, but suffering and not prosperity is what leads to necessary change. Just because God doesn’t stop evil doesn’t mean God isn’t involved and changing the world for the better.

Never give up being used by God this make this a better world. Strive to allow suffering to enable you to become more like God by being totally unselfish. How many people stood by when Hitler was becoming the person he was? Could he have been stopped early on?  It may not seem we are making a difference but we never know the impact we may be having by being involved in the lives of others. If someone had befriended Hitler as a young boy and sought to have spiritual influence and he responded, could we have been saved from this evil Dictator?

Why Such Sacrificial Rituals In The OT?

Why did God set up such an elaborate sacrificial system in the Old Testament when sins were committed. After all, Psalms 51 says no sacrifice is needed but only a contrite heart. The cultures in OT times were likely a significant consideration. The Canaanite religion sacrificial system was quite complicated and elaborate. The cultures in Old Testament times worshiped idols and developed their own sacrificial ways to please their different gods. The God of the Jewish nation showed a better sacrificial system. Among other things God never sacrificed children as did other pagan cultures. Could it be that God used the sacrificial system to show the differences between “God and gods?”  Within this context Old Testament sacrifices pointed toward the ultimate Sacrifice. The Old Testament teaches one purpose of the sacrificial system was so that people could anticipate and understand the Messiah was coming. 

We may not demand “rituals for righteousness” or amends because we are so unholy ourselves in comparison to God. I am less lightly to condemn or require amends  to avoid being hypocritical because of my own sins. Sacrifices in the OT demonstrated the seriousness of sin. Sacrifice is important in the healing process, both for the guilty and innocent parties. For instance when one steals, amends are necessary to pay back the victims of the sinful party. Verbal forgiveness only doesn’t right wrongs. Please do not conclude one can necessarily always payback what they have taken from someone (i.e. childhood with appropriate parental love, sexual purity). But, self-centeredness may only change when elements of sacrifice are present – repentance, verbal confession, and amends.

Why couldn’t God just say “I forgive you” rather than require the death of His Son on the Cross? As mentioned God doesn’t delight in sacrifice but a broken and contrite heart. (Ps. 51:16-17) The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was meant to lead us to repent, to follow love. Sinners must recognize how their selfishness is ruining their lives and the lives of others. The Cross was not a necessary sacrifice so God could feel justified in saving us; the real challenge was how to save us from ourselves.  Jesus died not to change God’s attitude but our attitude toward God. We must view sin as God does. The Cross is a revelation of God’s compassion, not an instrument of God’s revenge. The purpose of judgment is to provoke repentance, not to pay some penalty. Do we really think the Bible portrays God as an angry, wrathful God who must be appeased, that His Honor must be restored through the Cross before He can love us?  God determined the Cross was the best way to persuade us to stop sinning.  Jesus coming as a Ruling King than Suffering Servant would have left us demanding more from God and not ourselves. God is not obsessed with the guilt of our sins but restoration of the relationship. God does not need to be reconciled to us; we need to be reconciled to God.

Jesus’ Letter About Christmas

I usually am not influenced by mass emails that are circulated around the airways. But, one titled Letter from Jesus caused reflection.  Our Nation’s forefathers openly and unashamedly referred to God as the Creator without concerns of political correctness. I wish that was still the case, but should we Christians make huge public protests when attempts are made to take God and Christ out of Christmas? Is there a higher priority than Christians concerning themselves whether the Town Square is required to take down the Nativity Scene if not replaced with another religious symbol? Would our Nation be any worse if public Nativity scenes were taken down? What if our jobs mandated us to refer to Christmas time as the Holiday Season? There weren’t these pressures in previous generations but not so long ago our Nation disapproved of people of color drinking from the same water fountain as white folks. Are people influenced because of Nativity scenes and other Christian symbols or because of changed lives they come in contact personally? What if we who called  ourselves Christians loved others as God loves us? Can you imagine if those who called themselves Christians acted as Christ?

Letter from Jesus about Christmas
 
It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season.  How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don’t care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
 
Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn’t allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn’t be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.
 
Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 – 8.
 
If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:
 
1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.
 
2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don’t have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.
 
3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don’t you write and tell him that you’ll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up… It will be nice hearing from you again.
 
4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can’t afford and they don’t need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.
 
5 Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.
 
6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless?  Since you don’t know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.
 
7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren’t allowed to wish you a “Merry Christmas” that doesn’t keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn’t make so much money on that day they’d close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families
 
8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary– especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.
 
9. Here’s a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no “Christmas” tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don’t know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.
 
10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don’t do things in secret that you wouldn’t do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.
 
Don’t forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I’ll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I’ll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :

I LOVE YOU,

JESUS

Does God Give Us More Than We Can Handle?

If we believe God has promised  to not give us more than we can handle, and we feel overwhelmed, one may wonder if God cares or is actively involved in our lives. Let’s be honest. We can point to times in our life or the lives of others and seriously question if they have more than can be humanly handled. Is a child being abused daily supposed to believe somehow God is controlling their situation and letting them be abused, only to the degree they can handle it? Sometimes, people in an effort to comfort during tragedy say something like “God does not give us more than we can handle.”  This may not always be terribly encouraging or helpful. When people are in a crisis we can’t go wrong listening, being slow to give advice or clichés, and lending a hand as needed.

God does not promise us we will not face extreme adversity, perhaps more than we think humanly possible at times. God has not promised we will not at times feel overwhelmed. It is critical we understand when God gave the world freedom, this meant sometimes people would be treated inhumanely. In many countries women and children are raped or have limbs cut off. God has given freedom in this world but vengeance is His in the long-run. Justice delayed does not mean justice will not be served. Christians in the New Testament  were promised to expect extreme hardships for their beliefs. 

What has God promised us? God has promised through our relationship with Him to empower us to handle any hardship that we may encounter. Paul writes “…we were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead (2 Cor 1: 8-9).” This last sentence does not mean God is the cause of suffering.  Paul is saying sufferings can cause us to be dependent on God. Paul reminds us  God has conquered death. Eternal life is His promise.  God will never desert or forsake us in our present circumstances. The more we understand Him the more likely we are able to draw comfort and strength from Him in tragic times.

If we have an intimate, understandable relationship with God, we somehow will  be able to handle any sickness or persecution that may come our way. During crises times if we can learn how to not blame God, we will be able to draw great strength from Him. God chose to suffer as we do by sacrificing His Son. He is a Creator who did not  abandoned us when the world  chose evil over good. Know and understand God completely, so to draw comfort from Him  in the most difficult of times beyond human comprehension and ability to handle. God will never give us more than we can handle with His help.