Many people, who have a vague notion or belief in God, feel like God is very distant. Some people even curse God in their trials, feeling God has abandoned or even cursed them. Yet, the Bible gives us a very different picture of God then what we might believe. God is not some evil puppet-master who likes to make us suffer. The Bible tells us God loves humankind and draws people with an everlasting love (Jn 3:16; Jer 31:3). Everyone has been disobedient and forgetful of God at some point in their life. The world today, with all its violence, immorality, and pride, shows why humanity, left to its own ways, will eventually destroy itself. This may seem pessimistic, yet massive problems like war would be easy to resolve if the international community lived by biblical principles. God does not want to destroy people. In fact, God’s faithfulness and love give all of us an opportunity to turn from our sins and receive God’s saving grace. Jesus once shared a parable about the return of a wayward son, who forsook his father’s kindness to make it on his own. The father received the son back with open arms, even though the son wasted his inheritance. Jesus used the parable of the prodigal son to demonstrate how God’s treatment toward those who left God’s kindness to seek after their own agenda. God wants to receive us back with open arms (Lk 15:20; 1 Jn 3:1), but we often deny God. So God once said, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people†(Rom 10:21).
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