When I was an atheist, I often struggled with this question:
Why doesn’t God simply reveal Himself, or tell us the true doctrine or beliefs, so that we can all know what is right and what is true? After all, some people in the middle east are fighting wars over religion. Why doesn’t God just come down and tell them whose land is whose, and clear it all up? Why not tell all the Christians which denomination or doctrine is right, and stop all the conflict and segregation? That is a good question we Christians should consider isn’t it?
That, along with the “why innocent people suffer,” question used to be one of the hardest questions for me to believe in religion. But after having been a Christian for a few years now, I like these deep questions because they force me to think. So let’s consider why God may choose to behave the way He does. Here is a list of reasons that logically and reasonably show us why God may do this.
Why God Doesn’t Just Tell Us the Correct Doctrines and Teachings
- God Doesn’t Care Because He Controls All Things. From our human perspective, it looks so tragic and terrible when people die due to religious wars or conflicts. That is because we have a sense that they are gone forever (even if we believe in an afterlife). But from an Almighty God’s perspective, there is nothing lost. He can bring them right back in an instant. Just like if you play a video game. If your character dies, just hit the reset button. No need to worry! God is not bound by time as we are. So it is certainly reasonable why God may choose to not intercede in every disagreement or event. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter when people die, or how old people are when they die. It will all play out in the end anyway. All earthly deaths are a wash, because God resurrects us all for the final judgment. They are terribly sad and traumatic for us, but not to an eternal God with the power to bring us right back. God feels our pain and is saddened, but He knows the truth: they aren’t gone forever.
- God Isn’t Concerned with Doctrine, Just Righteousness. Ever read in Revelation how Jesus issues instructions and corrections for the major churches. None of them had it just right. Also, Jesus biggest conflict came with the Pharisees who put heavy weight on doctrine and religious practices, and not on individual righteousness. So people today have different ideas about certain scriptures. So what? Why should God care if some people believe this, or some people believe that? All God really cares about is whether you are a righteous person as defined by him. Why should God care at this point in time if you believe there is a literal hell or not, or if you sprinkle water or do full immersion. Doesn’t he plan on letting you know in due time? God will surely set us all straight on any doctrine we may be wrong on. In fact, we will get to dwell with God, so we will never have disagreements again at some point in time. Ahh, I can’t wait. But seriously, if you were a leader of a great company, would you care if your millions of employees sometimes had a different idea or thought? No, I doubt it.
- Do You Set Everyone Straight That Has the Wrong Idea About You? So some people have differing ideas about God, so what? Why should God care? I’ll bet people have different beliefs about you, and me. Do you think I care when people read an article, and form some opinion about me that maybe isn’t true? Do you think I waste my time going around correcting everyone who may have a wrong idea about me or my personality? No. I don’t. Imagine if the president spent all of his time trying to clear up incorrect beliefs about him. It is just nonsense to waste time doing that. Why should God waste time doing that, when He will judge us all in the end based on His standards anyway? Why should the creator of life feel as if he must defend himself to his weak and sinful creation? He doesn’t. I know I wouldn’t. I can’t blame God at all for behaving the way He does. It makes perfect sense.
- God Has Revealed the True Doctrine, It is Man Messing It Up. Another point I would like to make is that God has reasonably answered the most important questions we have. He has revealed doctrine in a clear enough way.It is man that wants to make a big deal about it and form legalistic doctrine on issues that probably aren’t a big deal at all. It is mankind’s quest for power and greed that they often try to establish new religions and new doctrines bases on scrupulous scriptures. Again, the pharisees did this all the time. It isn’t God’s fault that man behave this way. The problem is not God’s scriptures, but rather, man’s interpretations and desire to manipulate it for his or her own agenda. Look at the constitution or IRS tax code, and you will realize people do the same thing with those documents. People view things in a very subjective way. That leads to lots of different views and opinions. People also try to twist things to suit their own idealistic goals.From God’s perspective, He has revealed all He wants to reveal in a way that is satisfying and complete to Him. We should follow what God has clearly commanded us, and we shouldn’t be dogmatic about doctrines or scriptures that are somewhat ambiguous.
- Religion Isn’t the Only Reason for Wars. I think people often mistakenly equate religion with war. That isn’t the case at all. Religion accounts for actually very few wars throughout history. Most wars are based on power, land, and greed. If religion didn’t exist, people would still try to gain power, money, land, and control. That is a fact. So why should God try to clear up doctrine, when man will likely behave in the same way anyway?
- God Has Cleared Everything Up, Be Patient. Being outside of time, God can see past, present, and future in the human perspective. He has already revealed in His word that he will end all chaos at a future time, and dwell with mankind. So to God, it has already been taken care of. During this time, all things will be made new, and there will be no more fighting, no more war, and no more tears. God has promised this to us in His Holy Word. And you can take that to the bank folks…
Conclusion: God Is Righteous, and We Should Trust in Him
Sometimes we have difficult and deep questions that we wish God could answer. Some people even allow these tough questions to affect their faith, and sadly, some even lose their faith because of these unanswered questions.
But when we really dig deep and try to reason with these questions, we can see that God operates in a very reasonable manner. We can then see it from God’s perspective, not our human perspective. God has His own way of doing things, and we must be content with that. We may not always understand why God does (or doesn’t) do certain things, but we should always hold tight to His word.
Just like a good old friend that you can trust–God is always there for us. We may not understand His ways. We may complain about His methods. But in the end, we should trust God with all of our hearts, minds, and souls. Amen.
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Posted under God, bible questions, suffering
