Why So Arrogant?

by Steven Gledhill for FREEdom from MEdom Project

So many people living in the United States are declaring that while Donald Trump may be the president, “He’s not my president.” Does one’s dislike for President Trump make him any less the president?

When people claim that they cannot believe in a God because of what they might not like about God, and perhaps even hate about God, does that make God non-existent, or any less God? Is it all reasonable to suggest that for the one who believes, God exists; but for the one who does not believe, God does not exist?

So, those who do not approve of what they believe God to be, tend to claim to themselves and others that God does not exist. What they are likely suggesting, if honest with themselves, is that the God they disapprove of (according to their misguided perceptions about God) must not exist. I tend to think that most people that don’t believe, rather won’t believe. There is a significant difference.

So does God exist or not because of what someone believes or not?

Believe it or not, that is often how this discussion is framed.

Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
    Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
    and spreads them out like a tent to live in. Isaiah 40:21-22 (NIV)

It is true that in this day and age, Christian faith is under assault from cynics critical of spiritual faith as relevant in the face of societal expectations. There appears to be a lack of understanding as to what it means to have a relationship with God, particularly when it comes to faith in Jesus Christ. Among cynics, there is very little distinction between a relational faith in God and the generalized criticism of institutional religion. These critics tend to characterize Christian faith as a foolish reliance on some sort of psychological crutch.

Whatever hypocrisy exists among religious institutions and its leaders, known by secular society as evangelical, is likely common among people of faith associated with church communities. Therefore, evangelical Christians are often judged by secular critics of Christian faith to be hypocrites, prompting cynical critics to delegitamize belief in the living God. They turn to advocating then for atheism.

Critics of faith will, especially these days, point to evangelical leaders that say profound truth about life with God from their pulpit, but then do in their own lives what critics point out deligitamizes what they say. The sad truth is that the words that came from their lips is most legitimate, even if their actions in how they live do not reflect the truth in their words. Critics point to fallen church leaders to say that the rest of us church “followers” blindly followed the blind, and are therefore fools.

The reality is that fallen evangelical leaders and the hypocrisy that is rampant among evangelical Christians becomes an “easy” excuse for critics to ignore and dismiss truth at the root of Christian faith. There is plenty of arrogance to go around. Whether it be Christ-followers ignoring his plea to pursue holiness in separating from selfish desire and at-risk behavior, leaders of Christian faith not reflecting in their lives what they say from the pulpit, or critics of faith using the hypocrisy of evangelicals as their excuse to reject life-saving truth.

Atheists are most critical of people of faith without comprehension of what it means to have authentic relationship with something and someone divine not experienced in a way that is tangible to them. The idea that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1) means nothing to them, since they cannot discern that which is spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:14).

The Hang Up

The biggest hang up, of course, centers on the matter of heaven and hell.

It is often asked, “How can I believe in a God that sends anyone to hell?”

Or, “How can I believe in a God that would have his own son killed?”

It’s also been asked, “Why did God’s son have to die for anyone to be saved from the sin they were created to commit?”

What if God exists and he is some kind of cruel punishing tyrant that demands you drop to your knees and worship him or suffer the consuming fires of hell for an eternity? What if through some experience or revelation you came to believe that as undeniably true about the ruler of the universe, and there is no escaping it? How would you respond to that reality?

Would you reject the demands of that God and take your chances, as that God takes from you again and again, costing you who and what you love most, until you submit and bow down to him? Or, would you finally surrender after being crushed into submission by threats, intimidation, and utter brutality against you and all that matters to you?

There are arrogant dictating thugs of that sort all over the world today, forcing the submission of innocent people, or they’re tortured physically and psychologically, even to death. Murderous maniacal dictators have applied threats and intimidation, along with sheer brutality to get what they want; enjoying phenomenal prosperity at the expense of driving their subjects into the depths of poverty.

If the sovereign King of the universe took that same approach to ruling over his subjects, and made sure you absolutely knew it to be true and for real, what would you do about it? Would it be so easy to reject the decrees and ordinances of the King? Especially, if certain that you and your loved ones actually had to suffer the consequences?

Does rejecting to acknowledge God’s existence, or rejecting to give that God what he wants make it go away?

How arrogant would it be to dismiss that God knowing it will cost you everything?

Really, think about that if you don’t believe, or you’re on the fence about the existence of God. Then continue reading to see where this is going in unveiling the truth about God.

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” —A.W. Tozer

For the believer, I might have already said some things you may be uncomfortable with, or find offensive. This article is intended for the those who do not believe in God, or does, but will not credit the Bible as the divinely inspired Word of God, or at the very least, struggles to trust the Bible as a viable guide for knowing God and instruction for living life. This is intended for those who find it especially challenging to accept what most people of Christian faith believe to be true.

If you are a believer reading this, please continue reading for the purpose of expanding your own approach to your own encounters with skeptics. Please, pass this along to someone who might think along the lines of what’s included in the article. If you have found it challenging communicating with atheists and antagonists of Christian faith in your life, perhaps this can be of some help to you.

So, here we go with the kinds of questions I tend to hear from people that don’t believe the way I do…

Is it arrogant that the sovereign ruler of the universe established the condition of having to choose between experiencing eternal joy (heaven) and eternal condemnation (hell)?

Is it fair that God, if he is in fact that sovereign ruler, would mandate that we are either with him or against him?

Why do we matter so much to God? Why can’t he just leave us alone to be on our own, to do what we want?

Why these conditions and so-called ‘laws’… ‘commandments’ and whatever?

Or, is it arrogant that given that choice that someone would reject relationship with the King in favor of independence from the King, accepting whatever reward or consequence comes with such a choice?

I asked a teenager at risk for suicide what she believes would happen to her if she successfully ended her life?

She answered, “I’m not a religious person. I guess it depends on what you believe.”

I asked, “If God exists and is real, is God only real to those that believe?”

She shook her head and responded, “No.”

The young lady agreed that if God exists then God exists, regardless of what she or anyone else believes. She acknowledged, it makes sense that what happens when a person dies also is not dependent on what someone believes; that whatever the truth is for one is true for everyone, whether it’s believed it or not.

The fool tries to adjust the truth so he does not have to adjust to it.” —Dr. Henry Cloud

Truth is truth and facts are facts whether we believe it or not. What is truly is, and what you believe about the truth never changes the truth. However, what you believe can change everything about your experience related to the truth. Wisdom is adjusting what you have going on to the truth, while foolishness is trying to adjust truth to fit what you have going on.

The Condition

So, what if the ruler of the universe, the King, is so arrogant as to render his subjects vulnerable to sin as a disqualification that results in death?

Then, this King sets up some radical condition that allows for reconciliation back into the ruler’s favor; restoring his followers to being qualified into a life in some heaven that lasts forever?

Why would the king come with up with something that seems impossible to live up to, and then devise some scheme that makes it possible? How does free will make any sense if it’s a setup for disqualification? Why not create everyone to be exactly as the creator wants and “needs” for everyone to be qualified, without all of the “silliness” of sending his son to be slaughtered, and all?

At the same time, if that’s how it is, that the King in his arrogance, has set these conditions as a path for mercy into everlasting life, why wouldn’t all of his subjects then submit to the ruler’s conditions and do what the ruler commands, whether the ruler is loving or not?

What if disqualification that results in death, is hell (whatever hell is)? Whether the King’s mandate is fair or not, who are we to scream, “Injustice!” and then try to find some other way around the King’s law for qualification? Where will we go? What can we do?

At this point, many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then, Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. John 6:66-68 (NLT)

Hmmm…

People that don’t believe in God tend to view people that do believe in God as ranging from ignorant to arrogant. At the very least, believers tend to be narrow-minded. People that do believe in God often view people that are outspoken about their atheistic leanings as ranging from ignorant to arrogant, and at the very least, are narrow-minded.

God has emboldened me to educate people concerning the sensibilities of the Gospel. I often ask the question, “If God didn’t always exist, what did?” Something had to always exist. If not God, then what? I continue to present many of the sensible, logical “arguments” for the necessity of an intelligent, sovereign, loving creator.

How is it possible for random mutations and accidental events to produce living things unless directed by something, and specifically someone, that is itself alive?

Considering everything that has to go right to initiate and sustain life, from human beings, to animals, to plants, and every other living organism, how did and does that happen accidentally, no matter how many billions of years it might take?

How are we as humans directed to think, reason, love, and hate? How and why are we motivated to satisfy our hunger and thirst? How would the first living organism to figure that out, know what to do? All species of living organisms to do it. So, someone points to the wonder of instinct. Instinct is the motivator and catalyst to magically transition from random nonsense to purpose and deduction.

Should you accept that someone we’ll refer to as God was and is the catalyst of the creative process (meaning that God set it in motion, whether or not you believe that every detail was intentional to his plan and purpose), then upon that acceptance, anything and everything is possible.

Makes sense, right?

I believe that God exists. I believe that God is good, and cares about what he has made. I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God from the beginning of creation, who came to earth to be born, and live on the earth as a man. (It is not disputed by history or science that this man called Jesus lived at the time he did, and was executed by crucifixion.) I believe that Jesus came for the express purpose for sacrificing his own life as a ransom for the sin of all people. I believe that, as prophesied hundreds of years prior to his birth, Jesus was resurrected from the dead, as witnessed by at least hundreds of people. (Historical documentation of witnesses aside from the Bible exists that many were martyred for having testified to encountering Jesus resurrected.)

Billions of people over generations since the time of Christ have testified to the uniquely divine spiritual experience of having relationship with Jesus, staking their lives on their experience. And so many around the world continue to be martyred for having testified about their experience; compelled by a unique love to spread the good news to others, rather than protect their own interests.

If I, and the billions who believe what I do, are wrong about the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Christ meaning messiah, savior, redeemer), and it turns out that Jesus is still dead, than the worst things that comes from being wrong is well… we’re wrong. We have nothing particularly meaningful to lose. Maybe we missed out on some worldly experiences that we may have found entertaining, but nothing of much substance. I suppose the most we’ve lost is our pride and we appear foolish. That could be something but we wouldn’t know that until we die, and then we would simply cease to exist and would never feel foolish anyway.

If you’re reading this and you don’t believe, and I die before you do, I guess you have the satisfaction of claiming you were right and maybe have a laugh about it at my expense. I can live with that. (Catch the pun, there?)

However, If I and the billions before and after me are right, we have everything to gain that involves immeasurable joy in the life to come for eternity, along with a joy from within right now that pierces through the hardship we experience in this life. We also have a unique fellowship with one another now that feels like a brother- and sisterhood, not understood outside of the faith we share altogether.

“There is a sorrow that the soul must go through in letting go of what it thought it loved. We have to come to the place where we truly get it that what God wants for us is GOOD. To some degree, our resistance to his will reveals that we do not really believe it is good—at least not the kind of ‘good’ we want.” —Pastor Francis Leeman

If you’re reading this and you don’t believe, you miss out on the sweet-spirited fellowship we share as a family of faith that is truly special. You miss out on the kind of mercy that frees the soul and mind. You miss out on the blessing (healing, provision, and deliverance) and peace that is experienced in the cleansing grace that truly transcends human understanding.

Most critical is this: If you are wrong not believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the gift of forgiveness that gives you access to relationship with God, than you have nothing to gain and EVERYTHING to lose.

The Argument

¹ Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
² Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. Psalms 100 (NLT)

The counter-arguments then are often as follows:

“I cannot believe in a God that is so arrogant to require that his followers worship him.”

“I cannot follow a God that is so arrogant that he would send people to hell who choose not to worship him.”

“Why would God, if he is loving and in control, allow for evil, pain and suffering?”

“How can God be so arrogant as to judge and condemn people at all?”

“How is God loving if he created us to be sinners and then count our sin against us?”

“How can a loving God be so arrogant as to require some sacrifice to experience brutal torture until death for the sins of the flawed people he made capable of sinning?”

“How can a loving God call for the execution of his own son?

These are rational questions, are they not?

Well, here lies the problem. What if all of these arguments against God as being a loving and gracious ruler of the universe carry some merit?

What if God did create us with free will, motivated to desire independence from him to do our own thing?

If we were created with this inclination toward sin, why would God hold it against us? How is that fair?

What God did was establish this conditional process that allows us then to atone for our sin through confession and repentance, having sacrificed his son to be tortured and executed by way of crucifixion.

What if the condition for redemption is that while we’re held accountable for sin, God has made a way for us to receive the gracious gift of mercy, having been forgiven of sin because of Christ’s sacrifice?

Even if this conditional process for redemption from having fallen out of favor with God because of sin suggests that God is on some level arrogant since he created us vulnerable to sin in the first place (according to human reasoning), there is this one thing that cannot be overlooked and must be acknowledged. God is God and the rest of us are not. If that’s how it is, then that’s how it is.

If the ruler of the universe has installed this system that requires reconciliation with God through repentance to again be qualified to experience something that God’s word declares we don’t deserve, then that’s it. That’s the deal! Accept the deal or fend for yourself before the King and accept what’s coming to you. The consequence for rejecting the King’s gift for life everlasting will be experienced.

²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. ²⁵ For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, ²⁶ for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26 (NLT)

Who will stand before the Savior of the world, the King of the universe, and say, “I can’t get on board with that. Even if there is hell to pay for standing my ground… sticking to my principles… what I value… then so be it.”

WHAT???!!!

Now who’s being arrogant?

I suppose the irony of it all is that the vast majority of people living in civilized society follow laws and mandates every day that on their surface don’t always make the most sense. Ever come to a stoplight at a time of day when it seems you’re the only person on the road? It’s one of those lights that seems to stay red forever. There is no one there but you, and yet you wait at the light until it turns green. It’s safe to say that at least 95 percent of all drivers would do the same. Why? There is no one there but you. You look around for a police officer. Not there. You think about driving through the red light. But, you don’t. You sit and wait for the light to turn green. Again, why? How ridiculous.

Maybe, there is that sense of doing what is right, even if in the moment it doesn’t feel good. It’s the law. Maybe, there was one time (maybe two or three) when you felt you couldn’t wait any longer and you did drive through the red light, but only after you stopped and waited for a bit. But the rest of the times you were the only one on the road, you waited for the light to turn green. Is it a moral thing? Is there apprehension… a little bit of fear involved that someone will see? Is there someone hiding in the weeds that will catch you that one time when you do break the law? Is it a matter of integrity? You know, doing the right thing when no one is looking? Remaining consistent to who are? A person of good character?

We live our lives subject to conditions and rules all the time. At school. At work. Competing in sports and games. In marriage. In friendship. To be polite. To minimize harm. To reduce risk. We are constantly subjecting ourselves to rules, laws, direction, instruction, guidelines, boundaries, loyalties, etc. Whether there is a great deal at stake, or whether it hinges on expectations regarding right and wrong, we will typically surrender to conditional principles and expectations every day of our lives.

Attitude of Arrogance  the prodigal’s entitlement

Let’s acknowledge the argument of critics and cynics of Christian faith that we were created in the first place to sin. How is it fair that God would make us vulnerable to sin against him and then send us to hell for it? Or if not hell per se, allow for the experience of unfavorable logical consequences—behavior connected to realistic inevitable outcomes; meaning, “with this comes that.”

We were created as people with the ability to choose for ourselves what we want. Call it free will. It’s too bad that we struggle to recognize what is harmful to us, as well as to others, because of our choices. Even with knowledge that something is potentially harmful to ourselves and to others, we choose it anyway.

Why do we take the position that we’re sticking to our guns, regardless of consequences?

I deal with people who insist that they don’t care about the consequence of their behavior. Why don’t they care? Because they have yet to experience the consequence.

“Even if there is hell to pay for the choices I make, then so be it.”

This is the epidemy of arrogance… arrogance at its most severe; and most costly.

It’s the mindset of children to not care about consequences. When do children learn to care about consequences? When they suffer the consequences! Then they care. It’s then that they discover that what they thought were merely veiled threats were, in fact, warnings of the reality of pain and suffering should those warning not be heeded.

Look both ways before crossing the street? Really? Come on… What’s the worst that can happen?

It’s time to consider the story that Jesus told of someone that’s come to be known as a prodigal. A prodigal is someone believed to be wayward and reckless; self-indulgent; inconsiderate of how behavior affects outcomes, whether it be harmful to oneself or others.

¹¹ To illustrate his point, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So, his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

¹³ “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. ¹⁴ About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. ¹⁵ He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸ I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

²⁰ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

²² “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. ²³ And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So, the party began. Luke 15:11-24 (NLT)

This story illustrates that the outcome of a young man that went his own way, doing his own thing, engaging in at-risk behavior, inconsiderate of harmful consequences; both to himself and to loved ones who grieved the loss of him that got away.

Of course, the father in this story represents the father of mankind. God did create us to be free to make up our own minds about how we choose to apply the intelligence and ability we are born with. Our moment by moment, day to day, decisions direct behavior. Once we have made a choice, we in turn act on that choice. Once acting on that choice, we then have to live with the outcome of that choice.

We can choose to live dependent on the will and purpose of God, relying on the truth laid out in the Bible, or we can choose to live independent of the will and purpose of God and go our own way, doing our own thing. We choose one or the other, act according to our choice, and then we have to live with our choice.

Logical Consequences

Whether we choose to surrender to a God we believe to be arrogant and drunk with power, lording over his subjects with a heavy hand under the threat of judgment and condemnation; or, we choose to surrender to the God of the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15), who is willfully merciful, gracious and full of love; either way, we best surrender to the one who is the ultimate, sovereign authority, or face the consequences.

In the case of the young man in the story Jesus told, he went his own way, did his own thing, independent of what was right and best. The young man went on to experience, not condemning consequences, but logical outcomes of his attitude and behavior. The proven theory that suggests that for every action, there is an equal and reciprocating reaction, was experienced in the young man’s real-life experience. The man essentially bought his friends and his fun with the resources afforded to him by his father. When the money ran out, so did his friends and all of the fun. Leading a reckless, undisciplined life led to paying the high price of poverty and struggle. Connected to his pleasure was immense pain.

The young man had it all in relationship with the giver of his life and provider of his prosperity in relationship with his maker. Rather than be grateful of his father’s generosity, the son gave in to the feeling that he was missing out on something he was somehow deceived into believing was better for him. When emotion distorted the son’s beliefs about what he wanted most for his life, the young man resented what he may have believed was the arrogance of his father’s hold on him, betraying rational thought. Distorted, irrational beliefs fueled selfish intentions that drove at-risk behavior. It came at great cost as he ran out of resources at the same time there was famine and economic collapse where he lived. The young man ended up bankrupt and broken.

Distorted, irrational beliefs about how to arrive at where we truly want to be, and to experience what we want most for our lives, is at the heart of it all. The young man in the story apparently believed that his experience was missing something. Was he jealous of his father’s independent wealth? Was there a sense of obligation and responsibility that he felt was holding him back? Did the man confuse hedonistic pleasure with freedom and joy? It seems so, since he chased hedonistic pleasure at the expense of freedom and joy, and when all was said and done, the young man was bankrupt and hungry.

Here is the nugget of truth that is everything about the experiencing life. Everything we do and everything we say either gets us what we want most, helps draw us closer to what we want most, or it distances us farther away from what we want and value most. In the case of the father’s son, he enjoyed his season of all of the debaucherous pleasure money can buy. But then, the money ran out and he lost everything as a logical consequence of his lifestyle. Where the man landed was opposite from where he wanted to be; the opposite of free. This person seeking freedom and joy, found himself bound and miserable.

The story goes on to say that the young man finally came to his senses. He finally acknowledged to himself that he hurt bad enough that he needed change in his life. He also recognized that it was his arrogance that he was in the condition he was in. It appears he felt some sense of shame and regret regarding the choices he made. Was it guilt? Was it shame? Or, was he just hungry for something to eat?

The son, the story says, wondered why his father would be willing to reconcile with him at all. So, he figured he would return home to ask for a job as the lowest among his father’s servants, since even the servants are well taken care of and have good food left over after they have eaten. He recalled his father is a generous provider to people under his care.

Attitude of Humility  the father’s grace and generosity

What happened next was completely unexpected. In his weakened state, the son of the wealthy father made the trek home. He was weak, very tired and very hungry. He was a broken man on so many levels. The young man feared being rejected by a father he knew owed him nothing. He was desperate for something of sustenance to eat. It was make or break for the young man… return home or die in poverty.

Imagine the young man’s surprise when he sees up ahead that people are running toward him. Friend or foe, he may have wondered? Perhaps struggling to stay upright and conscious, he didn’t even see clearly who was coming, fearing the worst while hoping for the best.

He can’t believe his eyes. It’s his dad. His father is coming to meet him. The story suggests to the reader that the father was desperate to reunite with son, telling us that the father fell on his son’s neck. That must have been quite the encounter. The father is holding his son tight around the neck, while the son is clinging to his father just to stay on his feet, while fighting exhaustion.

What does it all mean?

Reconciliation

This prodigal could have maintained that the conditions “imposed” on him by his father was oppressive, holding him down and keeping him from what he wanted. He could have maintained that the system and process of life under his father’s watch was rigged against him. But the story tells us that the son came to his senses. He was hungry, lonely and tired apart from what he came to realize was good and best.

The young man’s father gets him home and tells his servants to go get his best robe and put it on his son. The robe is important because the father is communicating that all is forgiven and that what this merciful father wants most is to be reconciled into right relationship with his boy. Did the son understand at that point what was happening? Could he believe that after what he put his father through that dad would be so forgiving?

The severed connection between this son and his father was reconnected. Fractured feelings were mended. Wounds were healed by the power of repentance and forgiveness. The experience of reconciliation is liberating and can be most exhilarating.

Redemption

Then, the father ordered that the son be given sandals to wear on what may have been blistered feet. Either the young man’s sandals were damaged beyond repair, or perhaps, out of desperation, he traded his sandals for a piece of bread or something along the way. The new sandals were likely of premium quality and are said to represent the son being redeemed (bought) back into the family. The son likely understood the meaning, even if he still couldn’t believe it.

Redemption was a word used to describe how free people were taken captive and sold to masters to be their slaves. Redemption was also a word to describe how relatives and loved ones who could afford to, would attempt to pay a substantial ransom to buy back from slave masters, those whom they loved.

The young man in this story was indeed free under the shelter of his father’s loving care, but then sold himself into the slavery of fleshly desire and carnal passion until he was under its control. The young man then was under the weight and control of logical consequence for having sold his soul to that which he understood was in direct opposition to the life he had with dad. His circumstance would not change until the one who loved him willingly, from a place of gracious compassion, redeemed his son back to where he belonged as a free man. Home.

Restoration

The father demonstrated the fullness of his merciful grace and immense love for his son when he put the signet ring once again on his son’s finger. The signet ring was symbolic of the son’s inheritance as an heir of the wealth and prosperity of all that his father possessed. The son was restored into the full inheritance of his father’s estate. It’s as though his father declared to his son and all who bore witness to the claim that, “Everything that’s mine, son, is yours.” Without question… It’s guaranteed! It’s a done deal, because of the relationship.

If this father is representative of who and what God is, then conditions and process regarding relationship with are not oppressive but liberating. In relationship with God is freedom. Outside of relationship with God, independent and on our own, leads to increased reliance on flawed intentions and passions, counterfeit attractions connected to destruction.

The prodigal son exercised his free will and left the comfort and safety of home. He was lost. He experienced logical consequences that finally hurt enough to demand change. What we know from the story is that once the young man was back in the fold, his father declared, “My son was lost, now he is found.” While his son was gone, dad didn’t even know if his son was even alive. Celebrating the return of his son, dad declared, “My son was dead, now he is alive again.”

It was time for celebration. The father made a big deal of it as well; ordering a feast. It was time for dinner. Steak was on the menu. The best meat was prepared and the finest wine was served.

What if the son had come to his senses about his plight leading to his ruin, and then after considering that he would be far better off in the company of his father, still rejected returning to his father?

What if he feared so much the judgment and condemnation from his father because of what he had done, leaving home and essentially throwing away everything his dad had given to him?

What if he was jealous of his father’s wealth and resentful there were certain expectations on him as a condition to enjoying his father’s resources?

What if the son hated his father for being unreasonable in what he expected from him all those years?

What if, despite being hungry, lonely and tired, the son continued to reject relationship with dad because he refused to honor the condition of faithfulness in his relationship with his father?

What if, no matter how good and right it would be to live in what he knew rationally was in his best interest, he just didn’t want anyone telling him what to do?

How arrogant would it be for the son to choose death living on his own over living life in relationship with his father?

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!  You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NLT)

Under Control

What the young man pursued he became a slave to. His body and mind became accustomed to enjoying his experience as long as his behavior was reinforced. The brain is then so conditioned, both physiologically and psychologically, to repeat the behavior that feels pleasurable to the point that it needs to repeat the behavior to satisfy the desire. The brain is conditioned to crave the emotional experience. The neurological reality of the way the brain works is that we become controlled by the desire and the need to experience at least the same sensation of satisfaction, and then as we develop tolerance that leads to less satisfaction, we need more and more of the stimulating remedy to remain equally satisfied.

There is the tendency in the culture of this time we live in today to seek satisfaction independent from God. It is easier than ever to rationalize the pursuit of satisfaction, according to what we see every day. People don’t look lost in their independence. They don’t look dead. They look good. Even those who are spiritual and religious more easily justify selfish living. What difference does it make that the selfish pursuit of satisfaction produces jealousy, resentment and hatred if the same can be said of those who claim to be spiritual and/or religious? So, why not continue to seek satisfaction and freedom independent of relationship with God?

They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. 2 Peter 2:19 (NLT)

The young man in the story, when doing his own thing experience pleasure and attain satisfaction, found out the hard way that his father’s way of living life was best for him. But to get to that point, he needed to experience the pain that was connected to his pursuit for pleasure. How are we all that different? You might suggest that the young man’s debaucherous lifestyle is not how you live. So then, how might you be living that you would agree is not consistent with a life dependent on the will of God?

We are lost living life outside of relationship with God. We will die living life outside of the will of God. So, how are we reconciled into right relationship with God having sinned against him? How are we redeemed back into his family? How are we restored and made whole again, considered by God to be worthy of his favor?

The Bible tells us repeatedly in the New Testament that we are slaves under the control of sin and corruption. Look around. If you struggle to see it in your own life then look around some more. Sin and corruption can come in ways that are obvious as well as ways that are quite subtle. It is often in the ongoing struggle to claim what is believed to be deserved that can be the subtlest. We don’t always see the little battles we wage selfishly to get what we deny outwardly we feel is owed to us. But somewhere deep inside, if it was laid out pellucidly enough for us to see, we might actually feel at least a little guilty about it. When dissatisfied, the cry is one of unfairness and injustice. Are we not entitled to what we deserve?

(NOTE: I just heard the word ‘pellucidly’ for the first time on a British PBS television drama and was compelled to use it. The word means “clearly” or “crystal clear”: seeing a thing in water clearly as light shines through the water highlighting the details of the whatever that something is.)

People can go from claiming to be cheated by governing bodies to justifying terrorism to get what they believe they want and deserve. People can go from feeling cheated by abusive people to justify bullying (in whatever form it takes) people to get what they believe they want and deserve.  People can go from being jealous of what someone else has to justify stealing, or justifying debt, to get what they believe they want and deserve. People can go from feeling pain and struggle to justify addictive behavior to get what they believe they want and deserve. People can go from feeling resentment in relationships to justify behavior that betrays the relationship to get what they believe they want and deserve.

 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

“But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” John 8:32-34 (NLT)

The problem continues to be, and always will be, the pursuit of satisfaction in order to achieve what we believe we want and deserve. This is not only consistent with pursuits that are decadent and obviously swayed by evil and self-indulgence but is true of anyone (and everyone) living out choices that are outside of the will and purpose of the sovereign ruler of the universe. Such behavior is sin. And, according to the words of Jesus, we are all slaves to sin. The condition is that such behavior is in fact subject to death; whether we like it or not; and whether we believe it or not.

For Relationship’s Sake

God established that the sin that separated us from relationship with him would require a ransom to satisfy the debt. God considers our sin to be so egregious—hostile—against the standard of what is right and best, the sin needs to be killed off in order to satisfy its debt. Since there is nothing you or I have the power to do to satisfy the debt, being carriers of this disease called sin, God needed a better way. Why? Because God loves each and every one of us. So, he sent his son to live among us enslaved by sin, experience the temptation to sin, himself was innocent of sinful behavior, but then pay the ransom for our sin, as though he was guilty, and as though we were the innocent party.

So, there it is. Jesus Christ, an innocent man, was crucified on the cross to satisfy the debt. He paid the ransom to buy you back from the sin that had enslaved you. You are no longer chained to the master that is sin.

It does not matter that anyone might finds it strange and perhaps arrogant (even sinister) on God’s part that this is the conditional process for reconciliation into right relationship with God. It is what it is. Through this process, redemption occurs through adoption to be sons and daughters of the King, and restored into full inheritance as heirs to everything the King wants and has for us. In relationship with the King, we are set free from the consequence of sin since the debt has been paid in the person of the King’s son.

¹⁰ When Jesus died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. ¹¹ So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

¹² Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. ¹³ Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So, use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. ¹⁴ Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

¹⁵ Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! ¹⁶ Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. ¹⁷ Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. ¹⁸ Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

¹⁹ Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. ²¹ And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. ²² But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:10-23 (NLT)

As long as we hinge our hopes of satisfaction in what we believe we deserve, we will continue to struggle with our preoccupation with dissatisfaction. This preoccupation with dissatisfaction is what controls us. We are enslaved by what we covet to be satisfied. Desire then owns us, and outside of relationship with the King, desire destroys us.

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. James 1:14-15 (NKJV)

Imagine a child playing with a stick he becomes attached to while exploring along the bank of a fast-moving stream. He’s trying to find something interesting; maybe a frog or a rare stone. He’s grown to love that stick. But then, he gets a little careless as he loses his sense of purpose while becoming increasing playful and reckless. He drops his beloved stick into the stream. The current suddenly carries the stick away from the shore and quickly down the stream. The kid runs through the thick grass and jumps over tree branches and what not chasing after the stick but realizes the stick is far off. So, he sits in disgust that the stick is lost. Gone forever.

“I was so obsessed with me and the reasons I might be dissatisfied that I couldn’t focus on other people. When I find myself taking the wrong step, I think it’s because I’m trying to protect myself instead of trying to do God’s work.” —Barack Obama

We will work overtime to pursue, then protect, what we’ve come to believe we deserve, controlled by a sense of entitlement that always leaves us wanting for more. That part of us must die so that we can be set free from our preoccupation with dissatisfaction because of what we believe is – by right – ours.

The prodigal son came to realize that his self-centered pursuit of satisfaction led to at-risk sinful behavior that was connected to unfavorable outcomes; logical consequences. As the discomfort grew to higher levels of physical and psychological pain, the young man finally hurt badly enough that he came to his senses and disputed his beliefs until concluding that his way of living was in desperate need of change.

What to do with the Gift?

The young man could no longer justify his thinking as rational and his behavior as sensible. However, the man’s recovery would be dependent on renewing relationship with his father. The issue for his father was how he would justify forgiving the rebellion of his son and welcoming him back home as if nothing had ever been wrong in their relationship. The justification for the father came in the form of who he was. He was the sovereign leader in the home so what he says, goes. If the father wants his son to pay the high cost of disobeying him, then so be it. If the father wants to forgive his son’s debt, then so be it. The story that Jesus told concerning the prodigal son illustrates the point of justification by faith.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2 (NKJV)

While we persist seeking rationale to justify behavior that is sin, God has made a way to justify reconciling us back into relationship with him through this process of redemption, as though to him we never sinned at all. While we in our day-to-day living continue in one way or another to cheat on God, God has sacrificed all that he loves in his son, Jesus, to repair and restore what we have broken by way of Christ’s death on the cross. The sovereign ruler of the universe has established a process of forgiveness of sin by this act of divine mercy. To reject this action of forgiveness by the king is an act of hostility against the king.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 (NKJV)

Imagine receiving a gift from a loved one that you know is of great value; it cost a lot. Then, in front of the gift giver, you drop the gift at your feet, and then stomp on it. Why? Maybe, you resent that you feel obligated to give something back. Perhaps you hate it that there will be expectations put on you. There’s no way you’re going through life feeling like you owe the gift giver.

Now, imagine that you have kidney disease. Unless you have a kidney transplant you will die. The same loved one whose expensive gift you stomped on has compassion on you, loves you, and offers you a kidney. It saves your life. So many of other illnesses and conditions you suffered with because of your failing kidney have also cleared up. You’re transformed. You feel like a new person, given another opportunity to enjoy your life and pursue your hopes and dreams. You feel so much gratitude and love for the loved one who showed you compassion and charity. From a grateful heart, you choose to spend time with this person from a place of deeper gratitude and love.

Can you imagine if after that loved one gave you a kidney, being ungrateful to the person, rejecting relationship with the person, and avoiding the person whenever they come around? Why? Because you resent that you now owe anything to the one that gave you a new lease on life? Could you do that? It sounds terribly cruel, doesn’t it? Yet for Jesus Christ, it happens somewhere in the world every minute of every day. Someone that Jesus suffered and died for rejects the gift of life and stomps on it.

Why, why, WHY so arrogant?

Transformed Logic

God didn’t leave us hanging with this problem of free will that leaves us vulnerable to sin against him. Having accept the gift of forgiveness, the One who made us, not to sin but to choose, now picks us up and puts the pieces back together again.

When we fell in our independence from relationship with God, we are reconciled back into relationship with God, redeemed into favor with God, and restored into everything God has always meant for us heirs to the full bounty of his resources.

The process of new life begins with renewal. A transformation takes place, like a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. We will continue to make selfish mistakes but will be intrinsically motivated to learn from them, grow from them, and advance ahead of them. God changes us to want to do and be better, motivated by a love for self and others that is set apart from what we typically comprehend uncorrupted goodness to be.

Believe it or not, God has understood from the beginning that most finite minds consisting of flawed, human reasoning are going to struggle with believing in something not seen or experienced yet. God recognizes that human sensibilities may not allow for confidence in the Word of God. We may not be so motivated to lead a godly life. Fortunately, God made a way for changing the way we think in order to behave in ways that advance goodness and help motivate us do what is right and best… for our own good.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)

The transformation that comes when we willfully surrender our desires and sense of entitlement over to God in relationship with Jesus, changes what we believe, and how we think and behave. This transformative renewal of our cognitive capabilities is what untangles distortions and irrational beliefs, reshaping our values and redirecting our moral compass. Better behavior follows, producing more sensible outcomes that are far more favorable both in this life and in the life to come. Scripture tells us that what we experience is imminent joy.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)

For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13 (NKJV)

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 (NKJV)

So, how do we get to a place where not only do we do better with better thinking, but we want to do better, live better, and enjoy living better in what is best for us and all those affected by us, because we are motivated to live better in the best of what God has and wants for us. God desires that we experience and express authentic joy since what we want is to delight in God’s best.

Then, it is the love and power of God working in us to do and be better. It’s God working in us to “accomplish infinitely more than we can ask or think”, or even dare to imagine. It is God replacing at-risk desires with the want-to and the motivation to do right because it’s right, not because somebody said so; to do what is best because it’s best, and not out of a sense of obligation, or fear, or intimidation.

If God is empowering us to live a life filled with joy, why feel threatened that God is telling us what to do? Why not embrace it? Why continue to be ambivalent about letting go of what appears pleasurable enough, but ultimately is obviously linked to pain and struggle?

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:4-7, 11-13 (NIV)

This writer of New Testament Scripture is hoping to cut through whatever ambivalence we might have, assuring us of this hope we have in relationship with the sovereign ruler of the universe who loves his creation. He is telling us that we should be celebrating what we have here, rather than worrying that God is some dictating thug wanting to condemn what he has made. He is telling us that we are made for something better than we could have ever hoped for.

“Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists… If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” —C.S. Lewis

So Then, Why Hardship?

If God is loving then why is there death and hardship?

What is it about us that we struggle to manage success and happiness?

¹⁸ But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. ¹⁹ They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. ²⁰ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

²¹ Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. ²² Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. ²³ And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like… Romans 1:18-23 (NLT)

It’s great seeing people happy; until they become prideful, gloating in their success. The better things are, the more challenging it can be to remain humble. Too much happiness can become burdensome. Success so often leads to greater temptation. Once conditioned to feeling successful and happy, focus and sense of purpose can come into question. Once feeling you have all you want, wanting for nothing, where do you go from there?

It is our nature to be selfish and, therefore, sinful. Even when we have all we want, we continue to want more; wanting even better. We can’t help ourselves. It leads to our arrogance. Those who seem to have it all can lose focus and purpose and become careless and reckless. Who needs God when you have it all? Arrogance leads to being prideful, and as it’s been said, pride comes before the fall.

Once full of ourselves, we come to trust and rely on ourselves to the point we forget our need of God. In our independence, we once again gravitate toward that which at its root is wicked. We’re once again attracted to that which feels good for a season but is connected to logical consequences. We can make excuses but they don’t hold up. We cry ignorance but yield to knowing better once exposed to the truth that has always been known at the core of who we are.

Wander to far from home and drift back into the land of folly and confusion, we’ll stumble all over the place until we fall and on our own cannot get back to our feet. So what felt clever at the outset now sinks into utter foolishness. The burden of consequence hurts way too much.

It’s too bad it needs to be this way but it’s hardship that keeps us humble. Loss and the threat of death has a way of helping us to stay focused, strengthening our sense of purpose.

You might think that sounds ridiculous.

You don’t have to like it. I sure don’t. I hate being uncomfortable. I hate pain and struggle. I hate not knowing. I hate not having enough control. I hate bad weather. I hate not having enough money. I hate being sick. I hate seeing people I love sick and hurting. I hate crisis. I hate tragedy. I hate anxiety and stress. I hate feeling inadequate. I hate getting old. I hate that my body is breaking down. I hate fatigue. I hate regret. I hate losing.

When it hurts bad enough, it strengthens my resolve to do something about it. It’s not like the “Rocky” theme starts playing in my head or anything like that. It’s more like the prodigal son coming to his senses and recognizing that it’s bad; really bad. I can’t keep going like this.

Maybe, if he’ll have me, I should check with my father – who just so happens to be the creator and sovereign ruler of the universe – to see if I can return home. Perhaps, I should shed my selfish preoccupation with dissatisfaction and discomfort, and see what he has for me.

Come Home, Or…

In the movie Schindler’s List, Oscar Schindler is a (beyond) wealthy German who applies his resources to saving as many Jews as he can from extermination by the Nazis. Oscar Schindler advocated for the Jewish people constantly under the threat of extinction. This one man was responsible for saving more than 1100 people’s lives.

Oscar Schindler used his wealth and influence to ransom more than 1100 Jews that were sentenced to extermination. He paid a steep price to redeem a people he knew to be of great value as people; human lives sentenced to certain death.

All the people needed to do was be willing to be productive working in the factory. That was the condition. Of course, everyone selected chose working in the factory over extermination in the gas chamber.

Can you imagine if some were so arrogant as to reject this gift of life because they didn’t want to work in the factory? To reject Oscar Schindler’s offer would be to choose death.

Toward the end of this scene, Oscar Schindler breaks down because he realizes that he could have done even more. As much as he did to save lives, he recognizes that he still owns possessions that he could have sacrificed to save even more lives.

“Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.” —from this scene in the movie, Schindler’s List

Some will read this and cast it aside as merely more religious mumbo jumbo. Religion is merely the attempt of mortal people to please God in their own strength. While religion can be a decent act of self-discipline, religion on its own cannot and will not save anyone.

¹⁴ For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

¹⁵ And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,

¹⁷ Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”

¹⁸ And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. Hebrews 10:14-18 (NLT)

There it is. The only sacrifice God desires from us is to live the transformed life that comes when our desires are renewed by the intentional motivation God has installed in our hearts, and godly sensibilities written on our minds. Has God, in his arrogance, then made us robots?

What God has for us is freedom. God desires to give us life. To reject that is the epidemy of arrogance. If what you want for your life is to be free, than to reject relationship with the giver of a life that is free is antithetical to what you want. Instead of moving toward the freedom you desire, you’re moving in the opposite direction, distancing yourself from what you want and value most.

No, God has left us without excuse. As we choose to embrace relationship with God we are directed by transformed hearts and renewed minds to live in his best; not ours. Our best thinking is foolishness compared to that of God. And yet, the transformed life means that it is God’s thinking that drives how we live.

¹⁰ But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. ¹¹ No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. ¹² And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

¹³ When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. ¹⁴ But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. ¹⁵ Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. ¹⁶ For,

But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (NLT)

If this is something you believe in, it makes perfect sense to you. If you’re reading this as someone who doesn’t believe, you can simply reject it as religious dogma, or it may leave you in a bit of a quandary. There may be something in your mind that has you wondering about some truth you have been seeking. Perhaps, your search for truth has led you to this. If this is the case, then you have a choice to make.

You can choose to accept this truth for your life with the opportunity to embrace relationship with God, who presents himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who extends mercy through the forgiveness of sin.

Jesus is the one who enters into your life, so much so, that you experience his love in the depths of your soul. Jesus is the one who humbles your soul with an attitude of grace, compassion and kindness. Jesus is the one who substitutes deep within you forgiveness while ridding you of resentment. (You will still need to choose to forgive debt owed to you, but you will possess the capability to do just that.) Jesus is the one who renews your mind with knowledge and sensibility deep in the core of how you think. Having the mind of Christ is a beautiful thing and you will love him for it. Jesus is the one who is your healer, your provider, and your deliverer. It’s in the power and authority of the Spirit of Christ alive in you that perseveres, endures, and ultimately overcomes the challenges of this life, both in this life and in the life to come.

The other choice is to live without God, independent of his desire and purpose for you, specifically. To reject the gift of God’s mercy then leaves you vulnerable to the opposite of everything in the previous paragraph. It doesn’t matter that you declare it arrogant that God forces you to make this choice. You have the choice to return home and live the One with every resource you can imagine and so much more that you cannot in your wildest dreams imagine.

It would seem that to reject God’s gift of grace and generosity, considering what it cost, is to stomp on it. Ever have anyone stomp on your generosity? Did you find it hurtful? Did you get angry? Got mad, did you? Be honest, did you feel wrath in your gut?

To reject relationship with God, is to choose to embrace self-centered sin. God paid your debt through the ransom of his son. To reject this payment for your the consequence of your sin, is to assume the debt then that you’ll have to pay, according to Scripture.

Jesus is not merely some manufactured martyr. Jesus is the martyr that paid it all. Unlike Oscar Schindler, God gave everything he had for you and all who have sinned, sparing nothing, essentially laying down his own life.

If that’s not enough, then prepare for the alternative both in this life and in the “life” to come. The alternative is to experience what comes with your choice. YOUR CHOICE!

In the end, you are either with God or against him. To deliberately continue to embrace sin after learning this truth, having been offered the gift of life in relationship with God is, well, what is written below.

²⁶ Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. ²⁷ There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. ²⁸ For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. ³⁰ For we know the one who said,

He also said,

³¹ It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:26-31 (NLT)

I don’t know what hell is. Even if all hell is, is the absence of quality of life; the absence of love; the absence of joy; the absence of peace; the absence of rest; constant anxiety and stress; constant guilt, shame and regret; rife with jealousy and resentment, rife with hatred; constant dread, paranoia and fear; in the depths of sorrow, fully aware of what’s missing. Even if this is all hell is, awful as it sounds, who would choose this?

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Galatians 6:7 (NLT)

But what if hell is some kind of consuming fire? Is fire a metaphor of what’s described in the previous paragraph, or is it actual fire? With Jesus in relationship with God, you never have to know. It will not matter to you. You will live forever in whatever heaven is.

Call God arrogant or not because you have been “forced” to choose between living at home in heaven with the father of all things, or choose to live the alternative experience elsewhere. You have been granted the freedom to choose. The choice is yours to make.

The truth is that as soon as I make that choice and make a move to return home, God comes running to me until he finds me, and lays hold of me with an embrace that changes everything for me.

I love that God loves me, and lays hold of me. I love that he will never let go, so long as I am willing to live there with him. Humility is letting go of what I want and believe I deserve. Instead, wanting what my generous father wants and has for me. IT IS FOR MY BEST, AND WHEN I ACCEPT THIS BEST GIFT, I AGREE THAT IT’S BEST, AND I LOVE IT WITH ALL OF MY HEART.

There is a day coming when everything I hate is vanquished. Everything I love is in view. It is mine. It’s ours. We’ll get to live in the best of what we love with those whom we love. It will be a day of festive celebration. It will be a day that never ends. Talk about a party.

Will you be there? The party is about celebrating your life, too. You ARE invited.

There is one condition.

Lay down your arrogance. Let go of what you want and believe you deserve, make the choice, and make your move toward home.

Come home.

“Today, I have given you the choice between life and death… Oh, that you would choose life.” Deuteronomy 30:19