05/06/2015
It’s Time Humans Stopped Playing at Being God!
My heart broke earlier this week…… It was broken by someone using God’s name.
I had the privilege to speak with a young girl a few days ago. A girl with faith and a deep love to please her Heavenly Father. However this gorgeous young girl, not yet even a teenager, expressed how she felt torn and sad. You see her parents are separated and while her Dad went off to find his faith within the church, her Mum has no religious inclinations. One day the young girl had returned home in tears after time at her Father’s church, she was completely distressed after being told that her Mum was going to hell because she wasn’t a professing Christian. She was also told to remove the new earrings she had just recently had pierced (and therefore shouldn’t be taken out for 6 weeks) or she would also be going to hell.
Hearing this atrocity made my heart break.
I am not sure who within their church thought it reasonable to play God, but I am convinced that they are guilty of something much more offensive than wearing earrings!
I felt a weight on my heart to help this young girl grasp what I believe to be the cornerstones of Christ’s message. Truth. Grace. Mercy. Glory. Love.
So I asked her, “Who is the only one who knows for sure who is going to Hell or who is going to Heaven?”
“God” she grinned. (I think she got my point right there but I went on…)
“Exactly” I replied “And who is the only one who knows which sins God will punish and which ones He will forgive?”
Another smile “God”
“Right again. And who is the only one who knows your deepest thoughts and reads the truth in your heart?”
Her answer was a resounding “GOD DOES”.
“Perfect! And that is why we praise Him and Him alone! That is why He gets ALL the Glory! Because we can trust Him completely to decide what is true and righteous and justice and love!”
I am glad that this young girl went home with a much brighter heart than the one she came with. I encouraged her to pray for her Mum and to trust God to pull her Mum into His loving arms, not because of fear, not because of demand, not because of condemnation. Rather because of her desire to have a relationship with her creator, rather in pursuit of the truth of the Gospel, rather because of her acceptance of the overwhelming love her Heavenly Father has for her.
Even though I had the joy of helping this young girl understand much more of the Christian faith that Christ came to bring, I am still heartbroken. I am gutted that there are still people out there comparing sins, and condemning others to Hell with no authority or righteousness to do so. We must remember that we are ALL sinners, EQUALLY! We are ALL saved by GRACE not by works! There is no way for a child to be ‘Good Enough’ to get to Heaven, it is only MERCY that gets ALL of us there. To put such pressure on such young shoulders is only going to push her heart AWAY from her Saviour not to instill lifelong Love and stability, loyalty and TRUST in Him!
We were all made by God in our imperfection and given the opportunity through Christ to be given salvation from our flesh. We must not condemn anyone because they sin differently to you or I! A close sensitive relationship with God through Christ is the ONLY way to discover which sins God wants us to focus His light upon, which sins God wants us to request His strength to overcome at each stage of our walk with Him. Only a deep sensitivity to the Holy Spirit convicting our heart can truly give us guidance as to each personal step God wants us to take along the narrow path He has assigned to us. Not everyone has the same weakness, not everyone has the same inclination of the heart, not everyone has the same narrow path to walk along. As I’ve said before, God is not so limited that He made each and every unique individual on the planet for numerous generations and then tried to fit them all onto the same narrow path! We each have our OWN NARROW PATH! And no one else knows which way God has deemed my path to go, or this young girls, or even her Mothers! NO ONE!
Does no one agree with me, that taking these decisions out of God’s hands and placing them into human hands is an atrocity against God!?!?
Does no one else see how much damage is being done to our Gracious Heavenly Father’s reputation by this constant misrepresentation of His Gospel!?!?
Christ told us not to be a stumbling block for others, and do not suffer the children to come to Him. Innocent children not even old enough to be accountable for their flesh are being scared into doubting God’s love for them and their fellow man.
God is the only one who gets to decide these things, isn’t anyone else who condemns someone to Hell simply playing at being God?
Playing God is exactly what got Lucifer kicked out of Heaven in the first place. People in glass houses…
Now I’m sure there will be those out there who will bring up our role as Christians to warn others about the dangers of a life without Christ. And that is a valid point, yes we are ambassadors for revealing the truth of salvation to those in need. In fact in this very post is a warning to everyone who is playing God. However firstly, children are easily swayed and it takes great care to encourage a relationship with God and a sense of accountability to Him for the choices they make, just as they are accountable to their parents. But can you imagine how successful a parents loving guidance would be if they were constantly telling their children they were going to send them away forever and ever to the most horrible place imaginable if they don’t act perfectly! Is there no concept of God’s love for us here!?! Teaching children about God is a wonderful addition to their sense of worth and to instill the courage to pursue truth and righteousness throughout their lives, but when it is projected in such a way as to make the child afraid of God and to insist they must follow the rules out of fear rather than desire of the heart, this is a recipe for disaster!
And secondly, even dealing with adult, immature Christians, it is certainly profitable to them to explain the risks of life without a covenant relationship with their Heavenly Father. Hell on Earth is the only consequence we humans can be sure of and therefore can warn of. (I can’t imagine anything worse than returning to the Hell I lived before I grew to know the Lord.) Yet once again, it is only an individual close sensitive relationship to God through Christ that can be certain which steps lead toward covenant protection and which steps may risk it.
We can all help the lost by showing them the grace of our Lord, by supporting them to build a relationship with God by getting to know Him for themselves. To share how loved and worthy we ALL are to Him so that we all want to grow in faith and trust towards Him.
Inner Angels & Enemies 