This post is a bit of a question more than my usually statement type posts.I want to know are YOU GOD FEARING?
Do you really fear God and why?
I have spoken to Priests and Ministers of various faiths and the one thing they all say in response to "tell me about God" is
God is all Seeing!
He is all knowing!
God cares deeply about each and everyone of us
God answers the prayers of those who ask
And He is a Merciful God
So when I ask them about themselves in their faith the response is:
We are God Fearing men and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ
So forgive my possibly silly if not even blasphemous questions, but tell me
If God is all seeing, all knowing , cares so much for each and everyone of us, answers the prayers of those who ask and is oh! so Merciful WHY are you afraid of them?
Why DO you follow the Teachings of Jesus, who regardless was a Man yes granted he was the son of God, but we are also taught through the Bible that we are all Gods children, and why are people of faith so quick to judge the opinions of those who choose to ask questions like these?
I happen to think God or Universal spirit what ever you call them, is more of an observer.
Yes! when an occasions arises and they/he are feeling generous, they/he do answer questions and prayers, but otherwise it must be like watching a multi channeled Television.
If you want to see a beautiful place look at the Jungles or the ice capped Poles, want to watch a soap opera look at the western world, want to see a war look at the middle east, if you want to watch suffering and hardship look at the starving masses and finally to see violence and suffering and things that would make your hair stand up on end look at Africa and the cradle of civilisation.
A God who cares and takes an active role in the lives of each and everyone of us would not allow this to happen to their loved ones, would you let it happen to your family.
Yes! when an occasions arises and they/he are feeling generous, they/he do answer questions and prayers, but otherwise it must be like watching a multi channeled Television.
If you want to see a beautiful place look at the Jungles or the ice capped Poles, want to watch a soap opera look at the western world, want to see a war look at the middle east, if you want to watch suffering and hardship look at the starving masses and finally to see violence and suffering and things that would make your hair stand up on end look at Africa and the cradle of civilisation.
A God who cares and takes an active role in the lives of each and everyone of us would not allow this to happen to their loved ones, would you let it happen to your family.
It is a bit like, we are given free will and the ability to choose, the rest is up to us..... from time to time we are given a helping hand or a nudge in the direction God may wish us to take, but then it is left to us to use it or not......
What do you think?
Oh and yes I understanding some of you will say "oh you will Burn for this one!"
But I think God gave us this questioning mind to use and understand the world around us and would understand I am using what I was given to do that with....
5 comments:
Hello - I don't think there's anything wrong with questions - we are naturally inquisitive.
Anywho...fearing God. "Fear" can mean to be afraid of which is the most popular definition but when you're talking about God, it can be this fear or it can be reverence for Him. To fear Him is to respect and revere Him. How could we love someone we feared (in the Freaky Jason kind of way) haha
That would be forced love which cannot be.
Now we can fear what the Lord will do to us (if we deliberately disobey) and then we have cause to fear Him because He is Mighty and Powerful and can do whatever He pleases to us. So in that sense we can fear Him for the consequences of our disobedience.
Also, we are not all God's children. Only those who are His, followers of Jesus Christ, are His. The Bible says that all others are children of Satan. 'You cannot serve two masters.' (I can get verses for you if you want)
As far as "judging" opinions of other faiths - I can't answer that because I don't know what was said to you. Now...if you are correcting someone (thus, trying to impart truth), that is not judging. It might be considered judgmental to the hearer because that person doesn't want to hear it and gets offended. But if you correct someone who is in error, that in fact, is love because you don't want that person to remain in that error.
Hypothetical: If someone believed that shooting heroin wasn't fatal and really loved it and thought it was good because it made them feel better, would you let them continue and not say anything because you don't want to hurt their feelings and risk your friendship? Would you let them die in order to preserve your friendship? Of course not. You'd tell them that it is deadly and to stop, why? Because you love them. If that person doesn't want to hear it, then he/she will say you are being judgmental, or unloving, or mean, take your pick. But the motive is love.
Now if someone slanders you, that's not right. They would be the noisy gong the Scriptures speak of.
God cares very much for the people in this world. He loves all of us. Sometimes He intervenes. But He is not sitting idly in His easy-throne - He is very active in the lives of the Believer. Try to understand that this world belong to Satan - ever since he was cast out of heaven, he has ruled nations and hearts individually. He is having his good time now but Jesus is taking note of his doings and the people that are following him. Jesus is allowing them to pile sin on top of sin for judgment day, for when he will open up the eyes of everyone so that they can see their sin (for the first time), and when they are in agreement with God, then God will be found righteoius in His judgment against that person. That person will acknowledge their guilt before God and then be cast into the Lake of Fire. Also, God doesn't send you to the Lake of Fire - we send ourselves if we reject Jesus who provided a way out for us. So we judge OURSELVES.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" - but the love of the Lord is the end of wisdom, because it leaves no room for fear.
To me, fear does not mean reverence. Fear of God can mean fearing the possible consequences if you don't follow a certain path. In my opinion, this does not make you a good person, it just means you are afraid to do "bad" things.
I have a million times more respect for a person who does the right thing because of the goodness in their heart and than the type of religious person who does the right thing because they are afraid of what will happen to them if they don't.
I would consider myself both arrogant and judgemental to tell someone their religious beliefs are wrong. I just can't agree that anyone should ram their beliefs down another person's throat and call it love. I'm not going to tell anyone I'm right and they are wrong (especially when it comes to something that cannot be proved) and I'd appreciate the same in return. We all find our own way, whether we believe in religion or not, it's up to ourselves to decide.
I, personally, do not believe that a loving God would turn anyone away because their beliefs had a different name. I'd like to believe that God isn't the monster that so many of his followers make him sound. I think everyone would be better off learning to get along together in spite of their differences, rather than argue and try to change each other.
Very well put Clairec23 I have not heard things put so clearly in quite a while... well done and thanks for sharing...
The range of opinions here is pretty broad. For myself, the issue of "fear of God" comes down to understanding "fear" in terms of "awe", which I understand as wonder tinged with apprehension and a grasp of the limit of understanding. When dealing with God - remember, should one be so inclined to accept this as a tenet of belief, that we are dealing here with the Creator, not just of kittens and puppies, but of naked singularities, of the billions of galaxies stretching for billions of light-years throughout the known universe. We are dealing here with the Creator, and we are - what? Not much more significant than most creatures, being more vulnerable to predators than rabbits, being shorter-lived than turtles, and killing ourselves and the planet in a alarming number of ways, from artificial foodstuffs to global warming.
Of course, as Christians we cannot ever forget the mercy and graciousness of God. Yet that understanding of God can never be separated from the fact that this God is also God - not Grampa Walton rocking on the porch with a pipe in his mouth laughing at our foolishness and regaling us with stories. I for one do not know of any passage in Scripture that tells us that believing in God guarantees our security from the horrors and pain of life; indeed, we are to immerse ourselves in them, not seek escape from them. Again - this is because the Christian faith isn't Touched by an Angel, but down and dirty living. Too many people just cannot grasp that, and would rather look for an escape hatch from the troubles of life.
That's my take on it, anyway. For what little it might be worth.
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