Killing God

A common retort to the assertion that Jesus was the son of God has to do with his death: "How can you kill God?" Jesus himself answered this question:

Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father. (John 10:17,18)

So God was killed because He allowed it. Simple, really.

But why did He allow it? Because there wasn't any other way. There was no way to redeem man without a sacrifice. Jesus let himself be killed to redeem mankind. He willingly took the punishment that I deserve upon himself, so that I might be spared.

Some say that the Jews killed Jesus. Some say the Romans - but there aren't any Romans left, so the Jews have borne the brunt of this accusation throughout the millennia. And it is utterly incorrect, for this reason: Jesus laid his life down for a purpose. If He had not chosen to lay it down, no man, no army, no race on the planet would have been able to overpower Him. Oh sure, there was Judas, his betrayer. And also Caiphas, the high priest and his cohorts, who broke dozens of Jewish laws with the so-called trial of Jesus. But these were just a few people. And a few people do not constitute an entire race.

Besides, WHY did Jesus lay down His life? For me...MY sin. If we must find someone to accuse, then accuse me. I might as well have nailed him up there myself. I might as well as been the one who struck him with my fist, who spit upon him, who taunted him. I am guilty.

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A man at work said something odd. He said that "heaven is my home." This pronouncement startled me, and I responded "mine too." He laughed and asked if I really believed that. He said that he had been too bad, done too many things, to ever go to heaven. I tried to explain that nobody is "good enough" to get to heaven. He didn't get it.

Reminded me of something else I heard. A man was invited to church one Sunday. He said, "If I came to your church, the roof would collapse on top of me." You know, there seems to be an awful lot of people that think this way. But the good news is this: It won't collapse on you, because God already let it collapse on Jesus for you.

The God of Little Details

It’s the little things that tell me how much God loves me.

Of course, I know that God sent his only son, Jesus, as the Lamb of Sacrifice for sins of all mankind. This alone shows the depth of His love and mercy (it is bottomless). God could have stopped there, and we’d never stop singing of His mercy. But, he didn’t stop there. He continues to work in our lives, through the day-to-day struggles that everyone must face.

It’s these that show the breadth of his love.

One night, my wife couldn’t find the children’s aspirin. As she searched the house, my 5 year old daughter, Sarah, said “God, please help mommy find the medicine.” A simple request from a child who hasn’t yet learned to doubt. How beautiful is the faith of a child!

Not even 5 seconds after this prayer, my wife found the medicine. As I listened to these events play out, I remember thinking -- after hearing my daughter’s prayer -- Well, she’ll find it now. But still I was surprised when she actually did find it -- then I marvelled at my complete lack of faith.

Even more amazing was the realization that God cares about little things too. Imagine - the Creator of the universe - Allmighty God Himself -- caring enough to help my wife find a bottle of aspirin. Caring enough to answer the prayer of a 5-year old child. Caring enough to want to help with the littlest of details.

How great Thou art, Lord.

A really great site

Lileks.com

Gush, gush, dribble, froth. Mikey like!

I try to check this guy about 1-2 times per week. Lots of my kid this, my wife that. But some DAMN funny stuff too. Check out the bleat for daily updates. The flotsam project is great, especially the institute of official cheer. (Warning: I nearly peed my pants.)

Stay away from the music. He writes: I've suffered for my music, and now it's your turn. He's not kidding...techno remixes of classic star-trek lines???

Sins of the father

I've found that when something about God gets stuck in my craw, or rubs me the wrong way, or just seems incomprehensible, there's usually a purpose. I think it's God's way of getting my attention. Of getting me to focus and think about something. Take this:

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:4-6

It hit me one day, that visiting the sins of the father on the children seems cruel. Why would God do this? It's not as if the children deserve it. It seems out of character for a loving God.

Then another thought struck me...it's purpose isn't to be cruel to one's children, but rather, to urge the father to restrain himself. As a man, and a father, nothing affects me like the thought of my children suffering. Not even the thought of my wife suffering bothers me as much (yes I do love her). There are many "secret sins" that I can do in private, rationalizing that what's done in private won't affect anybody else. Anything goes, just do no harm. Even if it harms ME in some subtle way, at least it doesn't hurt anyone else...right?

Wrong. This is wrong on its face, which I won't get into now. But God knows us, and our power to deceive ourselves and rationalize almost anything. He also knows how important my kids are to me, and the threat of them suffering because of MY sin is something I just can't rationalize. I can ignore it, but never can I rationalize it. And if I ignore it, who is the one being cruel?

So, rather than a cruel edict, this serves as a stern warning to fathers - a great big sign that reads "DO NOT GO THERE" and a photo of my children pasted underneath. Sobering.

God is alright.

INFP

F is for Feelings. Not Facts.

Google MBTI for some clue. Well, that's it about me for now.