Thank God, He's Not Like Us

God's Judgment. It's a fascinating topic that is often misunderstood. Throughout my life there have been earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, fires, terrorist attacks, airplane crashes and other horrible tragedies. One thing I have come to expect is that in the wake of tragedies like these there are always, and I mean always, those who are ready to tell the world how those events are the hand of God pouring out judgment on those who deserve it.

To be honest, those statements have never sat well with me. I mean, something deep down just doesn't resonate with comments like this. I feel like we as Christians sometimes think we are speaking for God and he's screaming at the top of his lungs, "Shut-up!" Ok, maybe he's not saying shut-up, but if you can believe he pours horrible judgment out on people then I can think he says shut-up.

I think the thing that bothers me most is the arrogance in which those "undeserving judgment," proclaim with confidence God's passing of judgment on those "deserving." Have we as Christians come so far in our Christian walk as to think we are no longer deserving of judgment? The truth is we all deserve it. No one is more deserving than anyone else. Sin is sin, and we are all in the same boat when it comes to that. The judgment pronounced on sin is death. Since we all sin, we all deserve death.

I really believe that those who are so quick to jump on the "God's judgment" bandwagon are disillusioned by thinking that God is like them. They often make statements about God judging a group of people because if they were God that's what they would do. Thank God, He's not like us! Here's the way God is. Since, we all have sinned and deserve death, God decided to pass judgment. Yep, he decided to pour his judgment and wrath out on sin. So, scripture tells us that Jesus became sin, and God poured his judgment out on him. As a result justice has been served, by Jesus taking our place. The cross is where God's judgment on sin was carried out. Now, as a result, grace, God's undeserved, unmerited, goodness and favor, is available to us. All of us. Don't get me wrong, I still believe that sin has consequences in our life if we choose to walk down that road. For instance, whether I'm a believer or not, if I was to murder someone, that sin would carry some pretty hefty consequences. Sure, I could capture God's forgiveness for my actions but that act carries with it a huge penalty.

I honestly don't know why calamity hits some, while it never comes close to others. And I'm not saying God can't sovereignly move in a way that opposes my theology. I learned along time ago, God will never fit in the box I consistently try to put him in. I just believe that God is the judge and I'll leave that responsibility to him. I refuse to jump on the religious bandwagon that so arrogantly thinks God is in agreement with them. I just pray that I consistently agree with him. I find that life goes a lot smoother for me when I'm trying to be like him and not trying to get him to be like me. I think we can all be very thankful, that God's not like me. Cause' I would have thumped us all off this planet by now.