It seems that more and more I hear people blame God for all their ills, even people who claim to be Christians. I think the first time this really struck home was a day many years go when I was passing out gospel meeting invitations to neighbors. I met a woman a half mile down the road from where I lived then who could hardly get past hello before she was telling me how God had let her down. She had prayed and prayed for her father’s health, but “God let him die anyway.” Now what do I say? I tried to sound sympathetic and asked how old he had been.
“Eighty-six,” she said. I did my best not to look stunned. Eighty-six is certainly not an early death. I wondered what age would have suited her, or did she just expect God to allow him to live forever? The thing is, she made the same mistake everyone does. We do not die because of God. We die because of Satan and sin, and the fact that we all partake in that sin. Therefore as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death passed unto all men for that all sinned. Rom 5:12
But babies do not sin, some will say. No, but they live in a world dominated by it, and so the innocent also suffer. But to even ask the question is still to miss the point. As Jeremiah said, even standing in the midst of destruction, It is because of Jehovah’s loivingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not, Lam 3:22.
If not for God there would be nothing good in this world at all. There would be thorns, but no beautiful roses attached; there would be stingers, but no sweet honey made by the bee. Without God this world would be a horrible, dark, desperate, heartrending, agonizing place—a true Hell on earth.
Everyone dies, but it isn’t God’s fault. Everyone has illness, pain and suffering of some kind, but God didn’t cause it. To blame Him is to place ourselves with Adam, who, instead of confessing, instantly turned and blamed the woman, who then instantly turned and blamed the serpent. God did not cause their expulsion from the garden any more than He caused the disease I have. Satan did.
Are you reasonably well this morning? Can you still get around? Do you have a faithful spouse? Do you have healthy children? Do you have children who are faithful Christians and have raised even more faithful Christians? Do you have faithful brethren? Do you have a roof over your head? Are you worried about eating too much, instead of having anything to eat at all? Do you have the hope of Heaven? Maybe you could not say yes to all those questions, but for anything you did say yes to, God is the reason. Blame Him for those things.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning, James 1:17
Dene Ward
“Eighty-six,” she said. I did my best not to look stunned. Eighty-six is certainly not an early death. I wondered what age would have suited her, or did she just expect God to allow him to live forever? The thing is, she made the same mistake everyone does. We do not die because of God. We die because of Satan and sin, and the fact that we all partake in that sin. Therefore as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death passed unto all men for that all sinned. Rom 5:12
But babies do not sin, some will say. No, but they live in a world dominated by it, and so the innocent also suffer. But to even ask the question is still to miss the point. As Jeremiah said, even standing in the midst of destruction, It is because of Jehovah’s loivingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not, Lam 3:22.
If not for God there would be nothing good in this world at all. There would be thorns, but no beautiful roses attached; there would be stingers, but no sweet honey made by the bee. Without God this world would be a horrible, dark, desperate, heartrending, agonizing place—a true Hell on earth.
Everyone dies, but it isn’t God’s fault. Everyone has illness, pain and suffering of some kind, but God didn’t cause it. To blame Him is to place ourselves with Adam, who, instead of confessing, instantly turned and blamed the woman, who then instantly turned and blamed the serpent. God did not cause their expulsion from the garden any more than He caused the disease I have. Satan did.
Are you reasonably well this morning? Can you still get around? Do you have a faithful spouse? Do you have healthy children? Do you have children who are faithful Christians and have raised even more faithful Christians? Do you have faithful brethren? Do you have a roof over your head? Are you worried about eating too much, instead of having anything to eat at all? Do you have the hope of Heaven? Maybe you could not say yes to all those questions, but for anything you did say yes to, God is the reason. Blame Him for those things.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning, James 1:17
Dene Ward
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