We look around the world and see all
the suffering, pain, joblessness, broken hearts, violence, abuse, neglect,
injustice, racism, sexism, perversion, and frustration. We ask, why God? Why do you allow so much ugliness to exist? Why does a good God allow so much evil to
prevail? Why don’t you intervene and
help us? Why do you leave us to our own
understandings, misguided plans, and flawed thinking? Why God? Why?
The apostle Paul answered this
question perfectly in Romans 1. Paul explains
how we have abandoned God so God has given us over to ourselves. Paul explains how we traded creation for
creator, how we put our perversions over what is natural, how we not only revel
in dysfunction, we teach others to be dysfunctional as well. Romans 1:28-31 says, “And
since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased
mind and to things that should not be done. They
were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of
envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent,
haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious towards parents, foolish, faithless, heartless,
ruthless.”
The sad truth is, it is us who have corrupted
the world and it is us who have the ability to set things right by turning back
to God. God has given us all choices and
unfortunately our choices can affect the lives of others. We all are a part of the circle of life. We can do good or evil. We can help or
hurt. We can uplift of tear down. Everything we do affects those around us. EVERYTHING!
Evil can pour over into a good life and
leave destruction in its wake. Good can
bring light into a life of darkness and change the path of the hopeless to the
hopeful. Our actions matter. Our words matter. Our thoughts matter. If we want our world to be a better place, we
have to become better people. We’re in
this together. The unity of humanity is
our saving grace. God commissioned us to
love one another. It is impossible to
love God if we can’t love each other. 1 John 20-21 says, “If someone
says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one
who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not
seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God
should love his brother also.” It is impossible to please God if we live
destructive, unproductive, maladjusted lives.
It is not God’s desire for us to suffer.
Contrary to false religion that teaches that there is nothing good about
this life, God wants us to be happy while we’re still on this earth! Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief
comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and
have it abundantly.” God sent Jesus to
teach us that God wants us to have an abundant life, a happy life, a good
life. We must take responsibility
for ourselves and live in a way that is pleasing to God.
God is not hard to please.
We make it hard. It takes less
energy to be happy than it does to be sad.
It takes less effort to be kind than it does to be hateful. It’s easier to forgive than to hold a
grudge. God did not make us to torture
us. Every temptation, struggle, or
weakness we have can be overcome. We are
not deficient creatures. We are
beautifully and wonderfully made; mini-gods created in the image of God! Psalms 82: 6 says, “I said, "You are
gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.” We are intelligent spiritual beings blessed
with freewill. We are the masters of our
own fates.
We must remember that God is not some tyrant that makes us
compete to get to heaven or live in fear of hell every moment of every
day. To please God means to love God
truly and to love people. It means to
wake up each day in gratitude for life.
It means to forgive, nurture, and grow in God’s divine goodness each
day. It means that the fruit of our
faith should be nourishment to all around us.
We are imperfect, but we should always strive for perfection. Be holy because God is holy. Be forgiving because God is forgiving. Love each other like God loves us. Leave the judging to God and only give
meaningful correction. When we are weak,
we must lean on the one who is able to keep us from falling. We are never ever alone!
This is our world to heal!
Let’s love God, love hard, and live free! Be a blessing!
Learn more
about Violette at www.violettemeier.com
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