Spiritual Growth: Learning to live.
Posted by Trevor Botha on Monday, July 25, 2011
Under: Word
When speaking to many people about God and trying to give a reason for the hope we have, I inevitably end up getting asked one question: But how will God send good people to hell if He is loving. This is the cry of most people's hearts and the question that so many people have. Because this question is misunderstood, many reject this picture of a vengeful hatefull God who just simply has a thirst for blood and punishment. This however is not who God is at all!
The cry of the human heart is for love and acceptance. When we see the way people treat tyrant dictators we can see how much people long to be free from the judgements of others. And because they see God as a tyrant dictator they reject Him just like they would any other.
If we can only understand that God's heart for people is love and freedom we will also understand God's grace.
When God created man, He created us as a spirit in His image. Because we are different from animals in this particular way - we are spirit - we can have unbroken relationship with God. This was the original intention when God created us.
But because man turned away from God and rejected Him, this eternal relationship was destroyed. This spiritual separation from God is what original sin is... spiritual death. Because man lost his "connection" with God, we also lost the eternal life that came from God. This eternal separation is what causes us to be cursed and not living in the abundant blessings God wants for us.
God however loves us so much that he does not want us to be separated from Him like this. This is the reason He came down to earth in the form of a human being. He came to restore this eternal separation and give us the new life in our spirit that will reconcile us with Him again. When Jesus died on the cross, He took this eternal and spiritual separation from God upon Him, and through His resurrection He then restored us to God.
For this reason the Bible says in John 1:12 "But to all who believed Him and accepted him, He gave the right to become children of God." This means that anyone who is willing to accept Him will become a child of God and receive this new life in their hearts.
When we understand this simple truth, it is clear that the answer to the above question is easy: God does not send good people to hell, but saves them from hell. This is the good news of Jesus. He came to seek and save the lost, not send people to an eternal torment in hell.
God is love and because of His love we can be reconciled with Him - not because we are good or because of what we do, but because of His love and Grace.
All you have to do is believe that Jesus is Lord and was raised from the dead to make you a child of God. Invite Jesus to come into your heart today.
The cry of the human heart is for love and acceptance. When we see the way people treat tyrant dictators we can see how much people long to be free from the judgements of others. And because they see God as a tyrant dictator they reject Him just like they would any other.
If we can only understand that God's heart for people is love and freedom we will also understand God's grace.
When God created man, He created us as a spirit in His image. Because we are different from animals in this particular way - we are spirit - we can have unbroken relationship with God. This was the original intention when God created us.
But because man turned away from God and rejected Him, this eternal relationship was destroyed. This spiritual separation from God is what original sin is... spiritual death. Because man lost his "connection" with God, we also lost the eternal life that came from God. This eternal separation is what causes us to be cursed and not living in the abundant blessings God wants for us.
God however loves us so much that he does not want us to be separated from Him like this. This is the reason He came down to earth in the form of a human being. He came to restore this eternal separation and give us the new life in our spirit that will reconcile us with Him again. When Jesus died on the cross, He took this eternal and spiritual separation from God upon Him, and through His resurrection He then restored us to God.
For this reason the Bible says in John 1:12 "But to all who believed Him and accepted him, He gave the right to become children of God." This means that anyone who is willing to accept Him will become a child of God and receive this new life in their hearts.
When we understand this simple truth, it is clear that the answer to the above question is easy: God does not send good people to hell, but saves them from hell. This is the good news of Jesus. He came to seek and save the lost, not send people to an eternal torment in hell.
God is love and because of His love we can be reconciled with Him - not because we are good or because of what we do, but because of His love and Grace.
All you have to do is believe that Jesus is Lord and was raised from the dead to make you a child of God. Invite Jesus to come into your heart today.
In : Word
Tags: learning to live spiritual growth
