Translate

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Three Things of Which the Wicked Are Ignorant

Atheists, such as Richard Dawkins, accuse God of being a megalomaniac. And they argue that if the works of God were attributed to any human ruler, such a ruler would be deemed to be a cruel despot. But there are three things of which such atheists are ignorant.

First of all, a megalomaniac suffers from the delusion that he or she is great, and glorious, and grand. But God is not a mere human ruler. He is the Creator and Owner of the universe. God really is great, and glorious, and grand; worthy of all praise, all worship, all reverence, all love, and all obedience. And it really is an atrocity for any person to withhold any of those things from Him. 

And that brings me to the second thing of which the wicked are ignorant - the depravity of humanity. God's judgement and wrath are justified. Humanity is a fallen, corrupted creature; full of sin. And the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). It is our sinful nature which sets us against God. And it is our disobedience and enmity toward God that creates all conflict, all strife, and all sorrow. And there is no one righteous. 

Even the best of us is infected with the disease of sin (Romans 3:10-18, 3:26, Ecclesiastes 7:20). And there are even those who do evil (disobey God) in the name of God. If humanity were in harmony with God, there would be no wars, no thefts, no lying, no greed, no clashing of egos, no rape, no slavery, no racism, no domestic violence, no terrorism, no child abuse, no discord, no broken families, no adultery, no sexual immorality of any kind, no abortion, no blasphemy, no evil done in the name of God or anyone else. The lion would lie down with the lamb. Everyone would love God, and love each other (Matthew 22:37-40). Families would stick togther. Everyone would have enough food, and everything they need. There would be no death, and no sorrow, and no reason for the wrath of God to be poured out. 

Loving God would come naturally to everyone. No one would be hostile toward God our heavenly Father. No one would have been hostile toward Jesus the Christ. No one would be hostile toward those who trust and obey Jesus, because everyone would trust and obey Jesus. And that trust and obedience would just come naturally, without struggle. God is love; and the redeemed obey Him because they love Him. "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

And this is the third thing of which the wicked are ignorant - the love of God. Even the best of us might grumble and complain when God disciplines them. And the wicked might curse God aloud for His righteous judgement. But the truth is that God is very merciful, and kind. 

When the Creator and Owner of the universe took on human form and lived in our world, in Israel, over two thousand years ago, He lived a meek, humble, lowly life. He lived as though He owned nothing, despite the fact that the universe and all life belongs to Him. He healed the sick. He gave sight to the blind; strength and agility to the cripple. He raised the dead to life. And He delivered the gospel (good news) of salvation which He would provide through His own death and resurrection.