I believe in the God who reveals himself in Jesus. I know this doesn’t sound like some great revelation, but it kind of is to me. It sounds like a rather “orthodox” thing to believe, but to me it’s revolutionary because I think Jesus is different than the God a lot of people believe in and the God I have believed in for a long time.
There are a couple of other gods people believe in that aren’t like Jesus. One of these gods is more like karma. A lot of people live like there is some temperamental force beyond the universe that only deals in punishments and rewards, kind of like your 5th grade teacher. If you appease that god, then you will receive glory. If you don’t, you won’t. I don’t believe in that god because I believe in a God that offers mercy. What about justice, you say? I’m counting on Jesus.
Another god that people believe in is more like superstition. They believe that if they say “the Lord’s name in vain,” bad things will happen to them and that if they pray the right prayer with just the right amount of gusto, they will receive what they ask for. I don’t believe in that god, either. That god doesn’t have a personality. He is just a machine that receives input and offers output. I believe in a God that is a personality and that personality is revealed in Jesus.
Notice I don’t say that those other gods don’t exist. I think they do and that there are people who put their faith in them. But, I don’t want to put my faith in them anymore because they don’t do anything for me. I’m putting my faith in the God revealed in Scripture, the God who reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the God I believe cares about me and has come in Jesus Christ to reconcile me to himself and who is interested in changing the world for the better.
There are a couple of other gods people believe in that aren’t like Jesus. One of these gods is more like karma. A lot of people live like there is some temperamental force beyond the universe that only deals in punishments and rewards, kind of like your 5th grade teacher. If you appease that god, then you will receive glory. If you don’t, you won’t. I don’t believe in that god because I believe in a God that offers mercy. What about justice, you say? I’m counting on Jesus.
Another god that people believe in is more like superstition. They believe that if they say “the Lord’s name in vain,” bad things will happen to them and that if they pray the right prayer with just the right amount of gusto, they will receive what they ask for. I don’t believe in that god, either. That god doesn’t have a personality. He is just a machine that receives input and offers output. I believe in a God that is a personality and that personality is revealed in Jesus.
Notice I don’t say that those other gods don’t exist. I think they do and that there are people who put their faith in them. But, I don’t want to put my faith in them anymore because they don’t do anything for me. I’m putting my faith in the God revealed in Scripture, the God who reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the God I believe cares about me and has come in Jesus Christ to reconcile me to himself and who is interested in changing the world for the better.
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