These past few days I feel like God has really been showing me something and allowing my trust to continue in Him.

To start you should know that I have been reading “Erasing Hell” by Francis Chan. This book talks about the idea of hell and if it is real or not and the different comments, thoughts and opinions people have on the subject. In the book, Francis talks about a few of these opinions, but goes on to focus on the things scripture says about hell. I was amazed to see that there are so many passages that speak of the eternal torture unbelievers will go through if the do not trust in Christ and receive His free gift of grace in His mercy. Now most people would say, “why would a loving God do such a thing?”

But some people forget to remember the start of it all.

• We have all sinned against God and have spit in his face. We chose Satan’s fruit in place of God’s garden (Genesis 3)
• You see scripture tells that nobody is righteous, not one single person. Not one does any good (Romans 3:10-12)
• All of us have sin in our life and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
• But we are forgiven, made clean and justified freely by his grace only through the redeemer, Christ Jesus can we be saved (Roman 3:24)
• Yet while we were sinners, CHRIST DIED FOR US (Romans 5:8)
• Now being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him (Romans 5:9)
• For through the offense (sin) of one (Adam) many are dead by sin, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many (Romans 5:15)
• So what shall we do then? Shall we continue in our sin and continue spitting in Gods face, that grace may abound? God FORBID. How shall we that are dead in sin live any more in it? (Romans 6:1-2)
• For the wages of sin is DEATH, but the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23)

The Old Testament says in Ezekiel:

“Behold all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also of the soul is mine: that soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4)

Well dang it says the soul that sin shall die…well that’s a scary thought cause I don’t know about you but I sin all the time being human and all. But the good news is the paragraph I wrote before, Jesus already paid the price for us all we need to do is repent from our ways and live for Him and we will be saved by his blood. But there is good news later in the chapter:

But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? (Ezekiel 18:21-23)

He is The Potter and We Are The Clay

“ ¹⁶So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. ¹⁷ For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. ¹⁸ Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” (Romans 9: 16-18)

Then the question arises does God decided who he gives mercy on? Then further down in the chapter Paul writes,

“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? ²¹ Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?”

(Romans 9:20-21)

Yes God does whatever He pleases, HE IS GOD. And when people ask wow, yeah that sure does sound like a loving God and you find yourself kinda embaressed or speechless, almost agreeing with them.

But this is what we tend to forget, God is perfect and is right in ALL he does.

I have been reading through Isaiah and he writes saying that, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

(Isaiah 55:9-8)

He says it perfectly, who do we think we are that we can make BETTER decisions than the man who created this earth and all the living things in it.

We look at all the evil in the world and blame God all the time and always apologizing for God or wanting an apology from Him, but I think its time as Christians that we start to apologize to God for our little faith and start repenting and actually realizing who God is and that he does everything for His Glory and then for the good of those who LOVE Him.

Francis Chan later writes in his book all the things, that if he were God, he wouldn’t have done. Then Francis writes:

“The fact is, Scripture is filled with divine actions that don’t fit our human standards of logic or morality. But they don’t need to, because we are the clay and He is the potter. We need to stop trying to domesticate God or confine Him to tidy categories and compartments that reflect our human sentiments rather than His inexplicable ways. We serve a God whose ways are incomprehensible, whose thoughts are not like our thoughts. Ultimately, thoughts of God should lead to joy, because those same thoughts designed the cross– the place where righteousness and wrath kiss. Would you have thought to rescue sinful people from their sins by sending your Son to take on human flesh? Would you have thought to enter creation through the woman of a young Jewish woman and be born in a feeding trough? Would you have thought to allow your created beings to torture your Son, lacerate His flesh with whips, and then drive nails through His hands and feet? Parents, imagine it.”

Anyway my point in all this is that God’s thoughts are ultimately for a greater purpose whether you can comprehend it or not. He has every situation under control and we absolutely need to learn to trust in Him with everything and realize that we aren’t the smart ones here.

– Amber