Once Upon A Time

THE END!! Hmmm wow quite a story there eh??? Can you image the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson or Dr Seuss writing a story like that??? Not likely. I feel like that is exactly how the story goes if God does not exist. Somehow life in all its hubris came to be at some point long ago. Humanity has managed to survive and develop a fairly consistent and progressive routine as days go by. So many experience happen to each person. So much of a blend from good to bad ,from magnificent to horrific. Total sense to utter nonsense. Inexplicable occurrences of mans inhumanity to man and animal. We are born, we live, we die. End of story. I can't buy it.

I have had a few atheist friends over the years. One happened to be my roommate in Bible College. He went to cal state fullerton though, alot of them lived in our dorm since it was cheaper. I had many good conversations with him and other atheists. Almost with no question the problem they had in believing in God came down to emotional/moral issues, not one of intellectual decisionmaking. They had been hurt by events or tragedies in life, or by other people. Where was God when it happened and why did He not in some way prevent it,help or do anything to lessen the impact of their pain??? Giving answers to these kinds of questions is never easy and usually not really the want of the one asking. They want comfort and reassurance, not a short answer that seeks to explain their pain and frustration in a nutshell. I don't blame them one bit. God should be way bigger than that anyhow.

I have my own battles with faith and obedience and following Jesus faithfully. I often castigate myself and seek absolution by beating myself with a mental whip unmercifully due to my having sought to be a professional minister who takes on caring for those entrusted to his care, only to have made choices that landed me in the desert, much like the prodigal. It is not fun to have a deep longing to commit entirely to God with all i am, and still go off over and over again to chase after idols of pleasure and promise that entice by somehow offering a balm that temporarily removes the pain of losses and hurts. Of course they are illusionary and never satisfy because they can't. They can only do what they do,which is why they are temptations. DUH!!

I am heartened by the reality that when I turn back to the pages of Scripture, I see time and time again that people, even those closest to God, continually turned away and ran after selfish desires. They wanted to have Gods ability for themselves in various ways, and didn't want to obey and follow the Greatest Commandment. I am heartened not because they did this and so do i, but because despite their doing this, God never left them, never forgot them and never stopped loving them and providing His grace. I am so thankful that He gives me moments, small moments, where my heart is touched to its core and i just marvel at His glory and goodness and just have to cry and tell Him thank you that He really is God!!!!