Unfriended

Photo courtesy of Aedrian Salazar via Unsplash

Last week's blog touched on the efficacy of praising God. Lest the pendulum swing too far, bordering on the error of believing we can manipulate God through praise, let's balance it out with some thoughts on the other end of the spectrum ...

It was the best of times—until it wasn't. A young shirttail relative, from the Gen Z bracket, raged against the comment a friend posted on Facebook about pro-life. Although hesitant to do so—at times written words can lend themselves to misunderstandings—I felt constrained to come to the defense of my friend, who had made a pro-life comment. Hoo boy. Did I get it!

The young lady had no qualms about holding back her vitriol. She unhesitatingly lashed out at me, skewering me with sharp words that seemed redolent with hate. Her vindictiveness boiled down to, "That's not the God I know!" Well.

This time I heeded that still small voice telling me to let it go. "Fighting" with words is not an effective way to convince errant believers of God's truths. So I let it go—only to discover a few days later that said shirttail relative no longer appeared on my Facebook radar. I had been unfriended.

If you've never had the experience, I myself find it a little disconcerting. I am no longer considered worthy of friendship? In this case because I believe God values the sanctity of life? I can see a raging woke socialist unfriending me for this, but one who professes belonging to the Giver of Life? It boggles the mind.

Be that as it may, it brought home the reality of the beliefs of the day. No longer is God God. He is, instead, considered to be the conglomeration of one's set of beliefs. Nothing more, nothing less.

You don't believe people will go to hell? Go for it. Believe that God won't let people go to hell despite verses like Matthew 7:21-23, John 14:6, John 3:36, and many more.

You don't believe God heals today? Be my guest. Hang on to your illness. Pretend scriptures like 1 Peter 2:24, James 5:14-15, and Isaiah 53:5, among others, don't exist.

You don't believe God values life? Go ahead. Ignore scriptures like 1 Peter 2:9, Luke 12:7, and Isaiah 43:4.

The following concept did not originate with me, but, sadly, I can't find the author of the sermon I read online to give him the credit he deserves. Nonetheless, it merits sharing. When I read the concept that bedazzled him, how it resonated with me. It turns out that in the process of constructing a bear online for one of his children, first adding this feature and then that, he experienced an epiphany: this is how many people develop their concept of God. They pick and choose the features they like and determine that those characteristics define their God.

My Gen Zer? Instead of delving into Scripture to see how God felt about conservation of life, she embraced the popular belief common among unbelievers that a woman has the "right" to destroy burgeoning life in her womb. Scriptures are irrelevant, personal "rights" trump all. Since God loves His children and wants the best for them, it follows that God is defined by the following prevailing opinion: whatever they want must be what God wants for them—since He loves them and all. Sigh ...

Scriptures aside, logic does not support the existence of an omnipotent God who changes characteristics according to whatever the flavor of the day is among His people. The fact is, if an infinite God could be completely understood—or defined—by finite human minds, He wouldn't be too much of a powerful God, would He?

Small wonder He asked Job a series of "were you there when ...?" questions (Job 38:4-11). Was Job there when God laid the earth's foundations? When He marked off its dimensions? When He set the boundaries of the seas? When He made the clouds their garments? God challenged Job's complaints by having him recognize just how limited his human understanding was.

That is why, when Moses asked His Name, God answered, "I am who I am" (Exodus 3:14). God does love us. He does want us to be filled with His presence and joy. But that does not translate into a Build-a-Bear God. He is Who He Is. His character is unchanging. His precepts are eternal. He is Who He Is. Not what I think. Not what you think. He is Who He Is. Period.

Our comprehension is so very limited, how can we even think that we can wrap our minds, minds bound by the limitations of earthly thinking, around the infinite glory that is God? It is not possible. In fact, that is one of the very reasons that Jesus came, so we could get a glimpse of the Father, a minute, teensy-weensy peek at Who He Is (John 14:9).

God is to be praised. He is to be revered. He is to be loved. And He does love us. In fact, He loved us before we ever loved Him. And in this love He does long to crown us with good things. But, when all is said and done, He is Who He Is, not what we define Him to be.

For many years I had an unhealthy fear of the last book in the Bible, The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Its many words and prophesies that are hard to understand absolutely stymied me. Then I heard Carlton Spenser, president of Lima Bible College for many years, speak on that very thing. He said something interesting. The Lord told him to note the title of the book. It is not just "Revelation" but "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." He began to read it with that in mind and, to his wonderful surprise, he found that each chapter revealed something about the nature of Jesus to him. It took away the paralyzing fear he had harbored about reading the book.

And so it is with every book in the Bible. Each book reveals part of the nature, the character of God, to us.

In the Old Testament, the children of Israel were up and down, now serving God, now veering away from Him. Moses, on the other hand, was steady. Yes, he stumbled a little, but overall he held steady with God. And just read what Psalm 103:7 says, "He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel." To be steady with God, it's not enough to realize He's God and that He does this and that other. To be steady with Him, we need to be like Moses and learn His ways. How can we do that? While we can't meet with Him face to face like Moses, we can get to know Him by reading His Word. And not just reading it, but thinking about it, meditating on it, asking God to show us what it means. Not a Build a Bear God but the real McCoy. GOD, the Holy One of Israel, Who Is, Who Was, and Ever Shall Be.

Let the world unfriend me. I choose God, He Who is greater than a cute but puny and pitiful Build a Bear God.

"For of him, and through him and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever" (Romans 11:36)