Enlightened Hope

Have you ever wondered, if God knows the end of the story, why does He choose to create all of us?  Here is an example of what I mean – the people of Noah’s day.

Gen 6:5-8
5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

“The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.” So, why did God make all of these people in the first place if He knew that they would not honour and glorify Him?  It’s, kind of, an interesting question isn’t it?  That is, that God would give someone life knowing that they would be such a heartache to Him that He would choose to destroy them.  I mean, why make them in the first place?

Also, why would God choose to interact in peoples lives when He knows they are not going to listen to Him.  One example in the Bible is this – God speaking to Cain before He murders Abel.

Gen 4:6-8
6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”  And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

To a certain extent, I can see the point of this second example.  That is, that God is presenting Cain with the reality and choice that it doesn’t have to be like this.  But if Cain is not listening, and God knows He is going to kill Abel anyway, why bother with Him? (our God is a God of grace)

Here’s something radical – the future is not set.  Well, at least from our point of view.  We are the random.  We are the unknown quantity.  We have free will and we have choice so our future is not set.  The other big thing is that our God is a God of grace.

Here’s something even more radical.  God chooses to walk our timeline.  Now it’s not really our timeline, it’s God’s timeline.  God is not buzzing about in some time machine effecting the future and the past to a achieve a desired outcome.  God is in our moment and our present and this is where He chooses to act and to lavish His graciousness upon us.

So, getting back to the people of Noah’s day, these people had all these ‘present’ moments where God was gently speaking into their lives, before their final ‘now’ moment of their destruction .  Their choices, which were not devoid of God speaking to them, have led them now to this point where a loving God would choose to destroy them rather than to continue to bear the pain of their evil choices.  Yes, God is bearing the pain of OUR evil choices.  This is where the grace of our Lord Jesus fits in.

Pointing this back to us.  God is in this present moment.  He wants to speak into your life and my life NOW!  He wants to change the course of your life and my life NOW!  Don’t delay in submitting your life totally over to your Creator and Jesus Christ His Son.

The ‘I AM’ is here now!

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you.
They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,
so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made.
The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
[Ps 145:8-20]