Is God Really Good?
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Romans 5:12
We all love Camp Greystone, especially because Jimboy is in charge. Jimboy knows how to run a camp (almost to perfection). Unfortunately we don’t always feel the same way about God being in charge of our lives. We wonder and worry whether we can really trust Him. If we are honest, we believe our lives would be much better if we were in charge. We’d like to make our own rules to live by. We don’t love God’s rules. He seems more interested in making life difficult and minimizing the fun.
It’s taken me a long time to better understand God and His intentions for my life. I think my perspective has changed for the better now that I have children of my own.
When Wells and Simeon were younger we would go to Krispy Kreme all the time. We all love donuts, especially when they are “Hot and Now”. One of the things I didn’t understand as a child but learned as a parent is that you have to have rules, especially when you go to Krispy Kreme. Wells and Simeon were always allowed to have no more than two donuts. Their reaction was the same every time we went. They felt like I was a party-pooper. They would have given anything to get their hands on a third donut.
I knew something they didn’t know. I had learned it the hard way. A person (especially a young child) can only eat so many Krispy Kreme donuts without feeling sick (or getting sick). I didn’t limit the number of donuts they could eat to make their lives worse. I limited the number of donuts they could eat to make their lives better. The limits weren’t in place because I didn’t love them but because of how much I did (and do).
Satan is the father of lies. He loves to cast doubt upon God’s love for us. After all, this is exactly what he did in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. God told Adam and Eve that they could eat anything and everything in the Garden except for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said, “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Satan came along and contradicted God’s command. Satan said (paraphrasing): “Did He really say that? Oh my, you didn’t believe Him did you? I hope you are not buying what He is selling? He just wants you to be miserable. He’s got ya’ll fooled. He gets to be the King and you get to be His slaves. I’ve got a better arrangement but I doubt you’re interested. If you listen to me, you get to be the King and Queen and you can be free from the old slave-driver.”
Adam and Eve fell for Satan’s lie hook, line, and sinker. We’ve been paying the price for their foolishness ever since. Not only that, we’ve been believing Satan’s lies ourselves time and time again. God’s instruction is not aimed at making us miserable. God is definitely not a slave-driver.
The whole Bible is about how He sent His one and only son, Jesus, to be a slave to sin so that we could be set free. God sent Jesus into this world to be our sin bearing substitute, so that we could be free and have life in Him. What more does He have to do to prove His love for us? Real freedom and joy can only be realized with God on the throne of your life!