God Is Good

It's difficult being a Christian in such a cynical world. I'm surrounded by people who thrive off of pretending not to care about anything and assuming that anyone who has faith or believes in God, or better yet, in Jesus Christ, is an idiot.

I find people who claim to have read the bible and still point out that God is a genocidal asshole (yes, someone did write this to me today, while implying that I'm a hypocrite) are ignorant and blind.

Here's the exact comment some people made to me on facebook after stating that people committing or threatening violent acts in the name of Christianity are the problem, not Christianity itself. This was in response to an article posted by a facebook / college acquaintance, DW.

TR: I'm assuming you've read at least some of the Old Testament, God was kind of a violence loving, genocidal asshole if you recall.



The problem with Christianity, and almost all religions in fact, is that there is always something within its readings that allow people to cherry pick what to follow and to justify ostracizing non-believers at best, committing acts of hate and violence at worst.

DW: Would you say the same thing if it was a Muslim or a Hindu making the threats or would you scrape it onto their religion?



Also, the incident at Passover, not to mention the flood and extermination of the Canaanites beg to agree that the Abrahamic God was a malevolent being guilty of innumerable crimes against humanity.

TR: And what of The Canaanites? The Fall of Jericho? The Amorites? These are just a few of the groups where God not only authorized the Hebrews to commit genocide, he demanded nothing less.


Are we still talking about the same God?

Ah yes, the rants and ramblings of ignorance in its full glory for the world to see. I used to dive right into these arguements to the extent that I'd get a headache and my blood pressure would practically go off the charts, but I've learned not to waste too much time on people like this. However, I do think it's important to speak up and say something whenever I see people attempting to insult God because even if the offender doesn't get it, there may be someone reading it who is teetering on the fine line between doubt and disbelief who may need to see someone take a stand for Christ to help reinforce their faith. By nature, people just want to fit in and they rarely like to go against the grain, especially when it comes to touchy feely subjects such as their spiritual beliefs. I don't care whether someone disapproves of my faith. If I lose a "friend", which has happened, then so be it. If I've lost customers, then God has provided new ones (not that I discuss my religion with customers, but I don't attempt to hide it, either).

Those of us who know Christ and have a relationship with God understand that the bible is not like any other novel that you can just open, read, and understand it. It's incredibly complex and could be impossible to fully digest and comprehend without the help of the holy spirit.

When I was younger, I attempted several times to read the bible. It was so confusing that I'd just get frustrated and give up. I never got past the first few chapters of Genesis and left it at that. Never once did it occur to me to pray for understanding and clarity before diving into the Word of God. Going to church used to be such a drag... more confusion, nothing made sense. Once again, it never occurred to me to go to God first.

Finally, after wandering for years in the "dessert", God got a firm grip on my heart and led me straight to him. It was as if He said enough is enough. No more gentle whispers and nudges, no more subtle signs, He just turned the volume UP, making it impossible for me to ignore Him. I was inexplicably compelled to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and since that day forward, it's like a blindfold was removed from my eyes.  It was immediate and instantaneous - I "GOT" IT!!  Today I understand what was never understood, it was like developing a new sense or discovering a new instinct.  I just knew stuff. I also knew there was a lot of stuff that I didn't know, couldn't know, and wouldn't know until I needed to know. Confusing? Yeah, I know.

This experience has been an amazing blessing and an uncomfortable burden at once. There is nothing better than having a relationship with Christ and there is nothing in my human experience that could ever compare. However, this relationship comes with a price in this fallen world. There are inevitable conflicts that arise with friends and strangers that can be heart breaking at times. I hate seeing people offend God. I hate seeing people being so flippant towards Him. Each time I read, watch, or listen to something that is so contrary to the truth I know about my heavenly father, it fills me with indignation and anger and it breaks my heart. I see these actions and realize that they really don't know what they're doing. They have no idea how grave their actions are. They don't realize that they are being manipulated by an enemy who does nothing but devise a million schemes to destroy us every moment of every day. They don't realize that the decisions they make here on earth will affect them for eternity.

I'm not trying to be preachy nor do I want to force anyone into committing to something that they're not prepared for, but I do feel compelled to tell the truth. The truth is that God is good and He loves us so much that He sent his only begotten son to this cruel world to save us (John 3:16). Everything He does is done for our good, even when we don't understand it. Furthermore, don't be misled, there is only one way to the father, and that is through the son. You can be the nicest person on the planet, participating in hundreds of charitable events, and helping thousands of people, but if you don't know Jesus, you're not going to heaven. There is nothing any of us will ever do that will earn us a first class ticket to heaven because it is a gift that is given to us through God's grace. If you receive the invitation, but fail to RSVP, you don't get to show up to the party and crash it later on.

Jesus didn't come to this planet for the righteous, He came to save all the misfits. If He offers you the gift of salvation, accept it for crying out loud! You're not expected to be perfect, you're just expected to be faithful. That's really all there is to it, in a nutshell.


If your pig-headed human logic wants to tell you that it's pointless and that there's no such thing as eternity, consider the fact that you could be wrong. What if you're wrong?? What if it's true? What harm would it do to open your heart and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit and forgiven of all your sins? Seriously. What harm could come of it? Oh, sure, your ego may have a little bruising and your pride may be shot, but you'll be just fine and the reward will be sooooo worth it.