“I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:5-6 NIV)
I heard on the radio recently a writer discussing the religious view of a politician with whom she vehemently disagreed. The man had said he believed a pregnancy resulting from rape shouldn’t be terminated because God had allowed that new life to form. She said, “I just can’t believe in a God who would allow such things to happen.”
She is not alone. There are a lot of people who, because of one thing or another, refuse to believe in a God that does not suit them. Typically, it involves some sort of suffering or tragedy. They refuse to believe in a God who would allow a child to die, a violent storm to wreak havoc, or a loved one to contract cancer. Or it may be the restrictions to living how they wish, such as couples living together, engaging in homosexual relationships, or just wanting to live lives however they choose. They refuse to believe in a God who would dare restrict their freedom.
Their refusal to believe leads them down one of two paths—they either become atheists or they construct a God they can believe in. They imagine Him as they want Him to be. It may be a God that loves everyone and doesn’t care that much about how they live their lives. Or a God who set creation in motion, but doesn’t involve Himself in the day-to-day details.
But the reality is, it doesn’t matter what they believe, or what I believe. The beliefs of human beings don’t have any sway over who God is. Just because an atheist doesn’t believe God exists, that unbelief has no impact on the truth of His existence. Or if I choose to make certain attributions to God, that doesn’t necessarily make it so. The truth is it doesn’t matter what you or I believe about God. We do not determine who He is. He is God and He defines Himself. We can learn about Him through what He has created (Romans 1:20) and through the Scriptures (John 5:39-40), but we are not the determiners of who He is. We can choose to accept Him or reject Him, but we can’t wish Him out of existence or recreate Him into a more acceptable God. He is God and there is no other.
Today, recognize God is who He is, and your beliefs about Him have no effect on His existence or His nature. What really matters is that you get to know Him as He is and submit to His will for your life.
© Jim Musser 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment