Atheists
consider God an egotistical maniac. They abound with questions about topics
that do not make sense to the human mind. They try to figure them out with
humanistic reasoning. How can a God of love allow so much corruption and agony
in the world? Why does He restrict us with so many rules and regulations? How
can He demand sinless perfection from us, when He inflicts such desolation on
those who sin against His multitude of commandments? Why does He think He
deserves praise and worship from His people, when He allows such suffering and
wickedness to happen to everyone?
The
answer to these questions is easy. God asks nothing from us that He did not
already do or experience Himself when He lived on this earth in human form as
Jesus Christ. The God who created the universe also died from a cruel
crucifixion, thinking only of us the whole time. God knew us before we were
even conceived in our mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5). He hears us when we cry
out to Him (Jeremiah 33:3). God provides for the flowers and birds and will do even
more for us (Matthew 6: 25-34).
Jesus
poured out His life on Calvary’s cross to exonerate us of our sin debt (1 John
1:9). If we
repent of our sins and surrender our life to His control, He lives within us
and helps us to bear our burdens (1 John 3:24; 1 Peter 5:7). He is so intimately
familiar with everything about us, that He even knows the exact number of hairs
on our head (Luke 12:7). All He asks of us is our faith and trust in His wisdom and
ways (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Only
children demand gratification of all of their desires, regardless of the
consequences of these choices. Children need a loving Father to protect and
care for them. That is why God cares about every part of our life and often
limits us to protect us. Often our human priorities are in direct opposition to
God’s. Only the immature think that a life without expectations and
restrictions is preferable, because of the utter chaos this would bring. In
truth, when we do receive what we clamor for, we usually end up dissatisfied
before long, and then go off on another tangent soon afterward.
God
provides so much for us, which we take for granted. He gave us the beauty of a
universe full of galaxies, all delicately balanced to perfection for our safety
and enjoyment. Every snowflake and human being is a unique creation, regardless
of similarities in our composition. He created a multitude of tiny fibers in
our ear to interpret the waves of sound we hear all around us. DNA is specific
for each individual person. He provided our five senses to process and enjoy
every pleasure available to us. Brain nerves and cells store every sight,
sound, smell and touch we ever experience. The order of life is not a random
act of exploding gas, but the competent design of our Father God (Genesis
1:1).
God’s
goal for our life is eternal joy and peace, which starts the moment we accept
His sacrifice for us and repent of our sins. God had our best interest at heart
when He gave us His laws and commandments. He is the perfect commander of His
army, because He came up through the ranks and file, experiencing every
temptation we do and even more trials than we will ever face (Hebrews
4:15). He does
not demean us as slaves, but gives us a free will to choose or to reject Him. He
wants us to center our life on Him, because He created us for His companionship
for eternity.
Prayer:
Father
God, how could such a masterpiece as life in this world come from any source
other than You? Thank You for knocking on the door of our life and giving us
the opportunity to know You in a real and personal way. You desire our praise
and adoration for all You do for us and who You are, in the same way we enjoy
recognition for our actions and accomplishments. We so appreciate You listening
to our every prayer and for working out all things, even the negative things in
our life, for our ultimate good.
Thought
for the Day:
An egotistical God would not have given man a free will, knowing in advance how
much His ego would suffer from ours!