The news this week has been horrible; the massacre in Orlando and the murder of Jo Cox.
Nothing I can write will express the empty feeling in my stomach when I think about the waste of lives and the loss of loved ones.
I am also deeply saddened by the backlash against God.
Somehow – because the murderer in Orlando was Muslim and apparently did it in the name of Allah – this means that it’s God’s fault; he sanctioned it, he is powerless, he wasn’t there to stop it, he chose not to, or he simply doesn’t exist.
I keep seeing a cartoon on Facebook with 2 people talking.The first is asking ‘Why didn’t God stop the shooting?’ The other person replies, ‘Because God doesn’t exist, engage with reality and fix your ********* gun laws’
Can we please remind ourselves that all murder, theft, rape, war, hate, bullying, abuse, greed, envy, immorality etc. is due to the worship of one god or another.
Some people just choose to worship the god of ‘self’.
I think you’ll find more crime committed in the name of that ‘god’ than any other.
We are in this situation because we are selfish; we live to glorify ourselves and not the God that created us.
The reason for the mess is described in the Bible, in the book of Genesis. Human beings had everything they needed but we wanted more. We wanted ALL the power. God, in his goodness handed the ‘power’ over to us.
He said – ‘Go on then; run this creation your own way, it’s not going to be easy. When you’ve had enough, I’ll be right here with my arms open to welcome you home.’
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)
If somebody said they had committed a terrible act in my name, I would ask that you check with me that I actually told them to do it, before you blame me. If you’d like to know what God has actually said, please read it for yourself in the Bible.
Come along to Grace Church, we can point you in the right direction.