Our View of God.

I was in a conversation with a friend of mine and the topic floated towards what our view of God is. It is true that some have a very high view of God and it seems that some have a very low view. I will give you an example.

Sin. Yes, sin is a good example. How do we view sin and God? Some say that God cannot look upon it. That it drives Him away, but this gives me reason for pause. Let us look at it from another perspective. Let’s say I am a cop and I see a robber. If I immediately run away or shield my eyes, who has the upper hand? Certainly not me, the cop, but the criminal. The same as with God and sin. We tend to have this attitude since we here things like God will not hear our prayers if we have sin in our lives.

If God has to avert His eyes or run away every time some form of sin occurs, who has the upper hand? It sounds to me as if sin does. How can that be? It cannot. So we must take one of two views of God in this light. Either He is so close to us in nature that sin can affect Him, or He is so far above us that sin has no affect on Him. I believe the latter.

You see, sin is something God hates because it is the opposite choice from Him. It is clear that throughout Scripture God hates and eschews sin, but this does not stop God from acting, moving, and participating in our lives. He hates sin for us, not for Him.

Have you ever heard someone say that it is amazing that even God can work through sin? I have. My wife’s salvation seems to have resulted through sin. Calvinists would say she was destined to be saved anyway, but the truth is that God can do whatever He likes; and that includes using sin as a tool if we insist on living in it. I do believe I remember someone saying, that you meant if for evil but God meant it for good.

When I taught Bible in NC, I brought a clay cup that I had made. I asked the class what the clay pot could do in my hand. Could it move or run away? Did it have any more free will than what I allowed it to have? Does it have a say so in anything outside of my choices? They all said no. I then threw the cup into the wall, shattering it into several pieces. The class was dead silent. I then said, “Did the cup have a choice in that?”

That seems like a dangerous example, and I know that, but it got their attention. Obviously the difference between us and the cup is that God has given us free will and He has promised in His Word to care for us. So there will be no humans tossed into the wall, but the point remains clear. We are His creation and what pleases Him is all that matters. Remember, we are only here for His pleasure according to Rev. 4:11. And our only job is to glorify Him.

As long as we keep this high view of God that is not linked with our Calvinistic brothers, we will begin to find a new, stronger God that can aid even those who are in sin. He, of course, has not gotten stronger, but our view of Him will allow us to see Him in a new light. God is above everything, especially sin.