Forgiveness...

I just finished watching the movie 'Into The Wild'.  It left an impression.  One thing really caught my ear.  To paraphrase, if you don't forgive, you can't love.  I thought how true.  They kind of cancel each other out, don't they?  You can't really love someone that you are holding something against.  In not forgiving, you reap the results.  Jesus said that if you didn't forgive men their trespasses, God would not forgive yours.  Now I think I get it.  After all, God is love, and he who lives in love lives in God and God in him.  If you aren't living in love, you might say that you are reaping the whole God not forgiving you in a way, because you are not able to walk in His presence in that state.  This comment by Jesus could well have been about the present, not necessarily judgement day.  There may be something huge here.  The keys to the kingdom.  What you bind on earth you bind in heaven.  What you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven.

Everything that happens, happens for a reason...

When I first heard this comment, I thought of it in a positive light. In other words, everything that happens, happens according to God’s wisdom, will, and purposes. But then I thought of all the bad things that happen, and I know that statement can’t be a truism. What possible good reason could there be for rape, incest, murder, child abuse, etc? No, everything that happens does not happen for an underlying good reason or cause. Everything that happens does happen for a reason, it’s just not necessarily for a ‘good’ reason.  My Christian Interpretation would be that much of what happens, happens because of sin.

I do believe, though, that good can be a result of an evil or painful encounter in life (for those who believe), but evil cannot come from good. God is not the author of sin.

The wisdom of God...

Just a couple of examples of the wisdom and love of God. God says that we should not seek revenge. He says to leave that to Him (Romans 12:19…Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord). Someone might think that God loves to take revenge. My Christian interpretation would be that I don’t think so. God knows what revenge and vindictiveness feels like and what it does to a person and He wants to protect us from it. He knows that it is poison and asks you to hand it over to him…to rid yourselves of it...to cast your burdens on Him. In like manner, in the Old Testament God forbid the Israelites to eat fat (Leviticus 7:23…Say to the Israelites: ‘Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats’). The fat belonged to God. Why? Was it because God coveted the fat for Himself? Did God so love the fat of animals that He didn’t want to share it with us? Today we know that the fat of animals is not healthy. Once again, God was trying to protect us. This is the theme throughout the Word of God. Is not every commandment of God really an attempt by God to help us, to protect us, to bless us?

Was Jesus GOD?

  Here is what scripture says:   1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord...