WHAT NOW? – Part 1 “Do I believe what God says about Himself?”
If the Resurrection changes everything, then we must confront what we say we believe. We must start with “what does God say about Himself?”
In order to believe what God says about Himself, we must start at the beginning…the very beginning, Genesis.
God as Creator
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God seperated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”
Genesis 1:1-5
For the next 4 days, God set about creating the world. Five times God proclaimed everything that He had made to be “good” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, & 25). On the sixth day, God created man:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:26-27
Implicit in God’s creation of man, we find that we are not autonomous. God created us with purpose. He made us in His image and gave us a purpose (Genesis 1: 26, 28). God creating us was not a mistake, or a random act. It was intentional and pleased Him. God declared His creation of man to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31).
God as Judge
Since God created everything, He naturally has authority over it. God does not exercise authority over His world as a mean, old dictator. Remember, God created a good world. He created man in His image, for a purpose, and declared it to be “very good.” If God went to the trouble of creating a world that pleased Him, then why would He treat it as if He hated it? He doesn’t. Consider Psalm 36:
“How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings” (v.7)
“Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart!” (v.10)
What sort of God is described here?
Is this a God worthy of your respect? Your trust? Your devotion?
However, before we reduce God to a kindly grandpa who loves us, pats us on the head, and looks the other way when we sin, let’s consider Exodus 34:6-7:
“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving inquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generations.”
Yes, God is gracious, loving, and forgiving, but He is also a judge. A judge, by its very definition, must exercise judgment. God does so perfectly. God destroys sin without violating any of His love, grace, or mercy.
How about now? Is this a God worthy of your respect? Your trust? Your devotion?
