People have many views on how they look at God and perceive him. Some look at him as "Controlling." Some view him as "Punishing," and Some view him as "Love." I am going to break down each three categories that I have listed.
CONTROLLING:
Some of my friends who are un-saved see God as Controlling and treating us as "puppets." They see him as always having it "HIS way" and they do not feel the need to have God in their life because they do not want that control. The best way I can answer this is to simply say this: They are not educated and they do not know any better. If they truly understood the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then they would know that God is not like that at all. Someone who is like that is: Satan. Let us remember that Satan was a rebellious angel and the sin of "Pride" is what caused him to fall out of Heaven. Satan viewed God as Controlling and wanted to become his OWN God and choose what is right and wrong. Satan wanted to sit on the throne and call all of the shots, and wanted to make the decisions. When people view God as "Controlling" then they are acting out of rebellion and their pride is getting puffed up. The Gospel is very simple to understand, Jesus did not want to complicate it for us, and here he did ALL of the work for us. We are only to acknowledge him as Lord and Savior, Acknowledge that we are sinners, and repent from our wicked ways. The change happens from the inside, and it begins in the heart. Once you give your life to Jesus you will start to have revelation and see things in a way that you have never seen them before. I myself personally have never viewed God as "Controlling," but I can relate with the next category.
PUNISHING:
I personally can relate with this viewpoint because I was raised Catholic and from the very beginning I was taught on how Powerful God is, and how we are to "make it up to him because we are such wicked sinners." I grew up in fear of God, but not the type of fear that the Bible talks about. I feared God to where I was scared of him and wanted nothing to do with him because I felt un-worthy and like a piece of trash. I thought if I just avoided him, then I was good. I had no relationship with him, nor did I want a relationship with someone that I was afraid of. I felt each moment I messed up that he was going to pour fire down from Heaven on me. There are many religions that teach this, and it robs people from a true personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Some religions get caught up in works and acts and to be 100% honest, that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not need our help when he went to the cross. His words on the cross were: "It Is Finished!" We do not need to add onto anything he did. It states in the Bible that Jesus is the ONLY Mediator between us and the Father. I was taught from being Catholic that I needed to pray to Saints, go to a Priest for Confession, and to Pray the Rosary to Mary. I was taught to be a good person and then that will help me get to Heaven. I experienced many years of struggles and trials because I was constantly doing things on my own and doing it my way. It took me to have a face to face encounter with God and I finally saw that he wasn't punishing. He taught me that I do not need to punish myself anymore for my past because Jesus suffered for me. My job is to forgive and follow Jesus. Becoming a Christian was the best decision I have ever made in my whole life. I was able to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and I actually started to read the Bible for myself and see the TRUE character of God. We do need to understand that God is a Just Judge and his standards are incredibly high, and we are not able to live up to them. We do not need to beat ourselves up about this, because God already knew we couldn't live up to them. God sent his ONLY Son Jesus to pay the penalty that we could of never paid ourselves. God punished his ONLY Son for YOU and for ME!!! He did this because he loves you so much and does not want you to suffer or go to hell. This leads up to my next point, Love.
LOVE:
John 3:16 is the true definition of Love!! Many people here on earth try and explain what "Love" is and they do not come close to it at all!!! Here on earth we have "Conditional Love." We love others when they are kind to us and help us out, but the moment they mess up and hurt us, then we cut them off. It is easy for people to say that they would give their lives for their loved ones, but how about for a perfect stranger? How about for a criminal? How about for a murderer? How about for a sinner? THIS IS WHAT JESUS DID!!!!!!! THIS IS WHAT GOD DID!!!!!!!!!!! You and I were born cursed and we were sentenced to hell for eternity. We had NO Hope!! God sent his Son for us because God IS LOVE!! We never asked Jesus to go to the cross, we never accepted what he did at the cross when we entered this world. Jesus went because it was His Fathers Will, and God's Will for us IS LOVE!!! Whenever you truly grasp how much God loves you, you will understand how much you do not deserve it and how much grace he freely gives you. God doesn't want us to get caught in "works," he wants our hearts. God has a specific will for each and every person and it is ONLY good!! He wants to see us prosper and have an abundant life! When we neglect God and continually mess up, he is kneeling down with his arms open wide, waiting for us to run to him. Do you see God as Love? I pray that you get a better picture of him now!! A good example I can give is this: If you are a parent and have children, how do you act when they mess up? Do you look forward to punishing your children? Do you want to control your children? Do you get joy from making them suffer? NO!!!! You want to teach them and explain that there is a better way then they know and you give them love. This is how God is with us!! He is Our Father, and we are His Children!! Accept His Love and bathe in it, Jesus came so you can have an abundant life!! I pray that after you read this blog that your eyes are opened and you receive true revelation from the Holy Spirit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FenkAVsGmEQ
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