God, why are You so arrogant?!
Quite a common question, this one. Why is God so arrogant?
On the face of it, it does seem that God is arrogant, claiming that only through Jesus can we be saved.
But on deeper analysis, is He, really?
Consider this: Would an arrogant God voluntarily give up His place in Heaven and descend to Earth to live as a human? Nope. But Jesus did.
Would an arrogant God restrain His power in the face of temptation and disbelief? I think an arrogant God would show off His powers immediately when the people around Him scoffed at His ability (What, you want Me to show you a sign? Sure! Take this lightning bolt!!! Zap!!!Hah!!! Believe Me now???). But Jesus restrained Himself and did only what was necessary, like healing people from diseases, delivering them from demon-possession, and raising the dead. He used His divine powers only for the good of others, and never to show off.
Would an arrogant God keep quiet in the face of false accusation? I bet an arrogant God would punish anyone who questioned Him. But Jesus kept quiet when the Pharisees and head priest accused Him.
Most importantly, would an arrogant God die for sinners because He loves them? Gee, what do you think? I say an arrogant God would just leave them to rot. But Jesus willingly gave up His life for us so that we can be saved. It was not a quick, clean death either. He was flogged, spat upon, beaten, and crucified, all so that sinners can be cleansed, saved, and live.
Some say that Christianity is an arrogant religion because it claims to be the only way through which sinners can be saved. They see Christianity as an exclusive club. But Billy Graham's daughter has a fantastic answer to this: Christianity isn't exclusive, because Jesus died for everyone! He will never turn away anyone who seeks Him. The only problem is that not everyone wants to accept His salvation!
The way I see it, God, Creator of the universe, of every single person, has the right to do whatever He wants. It's already amazing enough that He died for us, and that He loves us so much.
To say He's unfair because Jesus is the only way to salvation is like complaining it's unfair that water is wet. God made it like this. That's the way it is, that's the way He made it to be, that's the divine and sovereign right He has as Creator. And He's been more than fair and just, because He has made a way for us to know Jesus.
The analogy is this: God has already chartered a plane for us to get to Heaven, at a dear cost to Himself. The question is whether we want to book seats on that plane...and for Christians who already have the ticket, whether we actually make it a priority to get on the plane.
Look at it this way. As sovereign, Almighty God and Creator of the universe and everything in it, He could have simply made it compulsory for everyone to worship Him. God could easily have created us as beings that worship Him. But He didn't, because He loves us. He gave us free will, so we could make a choice to love Him. And He has set out to woo us. Sadly, most of the world ignores Him.
God has done so much for us. All that He asks in return is our love. And when we do respond to His love, He blesses us!
Imagine, a God who yearns to bless us! As opposed to, say, other deities, and spirits who have to be 'appeased' with offerings so they don't get offended and punish you, who give you something only if they're satisfied with what you give them first.
Imagine, a loving, omnipotent, omnipresent God who is with us, no matter where we are! As opposed to gods who dwell in places made by human hands, who can be found only at certain places, who need their worshippers to go to them. Jesus stands at the door of our hearts, knocking, waiting for us to invite Him in.
Who's the arrogant one? Definitely not the living God!
On the face of it, it does seem that God is arrogant, claiming that only through Jesus can we be saved.
But on deeper analysis, is He, really?
Consider this: Would an arrogant God voluntarily give up His place in Heaven and descend to Earth to live as a human? Nope. But Jesus did.
Would an arrogant God restrain His power in the face of temptation and disbelief? I think an arrogant God would show off His powers immediately when the people around Him scoffed at His ability (What, you want Me to show you a sign? Sure! Take this lightning bolt!!! Zap!!!Hah!!! Believe Me now???). But Jesus restrained Himself and did only what was necessary, like healing people from diseases, delivering them from demon-possession, and raising the dead. He used His divine powers only for the good of others, and never to show off.
Would an arrogant God keep quiet in the face of false accusation? I bet an arrogant God would punish anyone who questioned Him. But Jesus kept quiet when the Pharisees and head priest accused Him.
Most importantly, would an arrogant God die for sinners because He loves them? Gee, what do you think? I say an arrogant God would just leave them to rot. But Jesus willingly gave up His life for us so that we can be saved. It was not a quick, clean death either. He was flogged, spat upon, beaten, and crucified, all so that sinners can be cleansed, saved, and live.
Some say that Christianity is an arrogant religion because it claims to be the only way through which sinners can be saved. They see Christianity as an exclusive club. But Billy Graham's daughter has a fantastic answer to this: Christianity isn't exclusive, because Jesus died for everyone! He will never turn away anyone who seeks Him. The only problem is that not everyone wants to accept His salvation!
The way I see it, God, Creator of the universe, of every single person, has the right to do whatever He wants. It's already amazing enough that He died for us, and that He loves us so much.
To say He's unfair because Jesus is the only way to salvation is like complaining it's unfair that water is wet. God made it like this. That's the way it is, that's the way He made it to be, that's the divine and sovereign right He has as Creator. And He's been more than fair and just, because He has made a way for us to know Jesus.
The analogy is this: God has already chartered a plane for us to get to Heaven, at a dear cost to Himself. The question is whether we want to book seats on that plane...and for Christians who already have the ticket, whether we actually make it a priority to get on the plane.
Look at it this way. As sovereign, Almighty God and Creator of the universe and everything in it, He could have simply made it compulsory for everyone to worship Him. God could easily have created us as beings that worship Him. But He didn't, because He loves us. He gave us free will, so we could make a choice to love Him. And He has set out to woo us. Sadly, most of the world ignores Him.
God has done so much for us. All that He asks in return is our love. And when we do respond to His love, He blesses us!
Imagine, a God who yearns to bless us! As opposed to, say, other deities, and spirits who have to be 'appeased' with offerings so they don't get offended and punish you, who give you something only if they're satisfied with what you give them first.
Imagine, a loving, omnipotent, omnipresent God who is with us, no matter where we are! As opposed to gods who dwell in places made by human hands, who can be found only at certain places, who need their worshippers to go to them. Jesus stands at the door of our hearts, knocking, waiting for us to invite Him in.
Who's the arrogant one? Definitely not the living God!
I admit, however, that some Christians do spoil God's reputation. With good intentions, they spread the good news. The problem is that they lack love and grace, and it comes across as self-righteous arrogance instead. So to all non-Christians out there who have had unpleasant encounters with professed Christians, I plead with you, please don't judge Jesus Christ by the way some of His people behave! Get to know Him personally, because He really is the nicest, most loving friend you could ever want!
And to those who know me personally, if I've ever come across as self-righteous and arrogant, I'm sorry! Don't judge Jesus by my actions!
posted by sleepypurplepiglet at 11:54 PM
2 Comments:
What is A is not non-A.
When there is truth, there is a non-truth.
Every religion makes a truth claim anyway. No arrogance there.
The only problem with your post is Jesus wasn't God.
Post a Comment
<< Home