May 8, 2011
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Questions That Receive Platitudes..
Why did God create man?
To not be alone? To glorify Him?
Isn’t that a little selfish?
How then are we supposed to be selfless?
If He is a jealous God, why is it a sin for us to be jealous?
If man was created in His image, then why is man imperfect? Why did He create us imperfectly? Why give us free will and flesh and then deem them sinful? Why does He judge us, if He created us this way?
Why does God allow free will?
To give us a choice?
Why give us/allow us have choices/temptations that lead to our own and others’ demise/destruction?
Why not just abolish sin and temptations? Are sin and temptations necessary to free will?
Will we not have these choices (free will) in Heaven? Why do we have them now?
If He is omniscient & omnipresent, if He knows when, why, and how we’re going to succeed/fail/live/die, why create us in the first place? Why create a person He knows is destined for Hell? Why create/allow the creation of anyone that He already knows will disappoint Him?
How do we know if we’re predestined for Heaven or Hell?
Why create Hell if He is loving and forgiving? How does the creation of Hell fit in with scriptures that say He is loving/forgiving?
Why create Satan? Did He love Satan? Would He not be able to forgive Satan? If all we have to do to get to Heaven, is believe in Jesus, wouldn’t Satan be allowed in Heaven? I’m pretty sure he believes in Jesus.Why didn’t He come Himself to be crucified? Why would He send His Son? How can His Son be Him at the same time? It wasn’t Jesus’ will to die. “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
Please, Lord. I don’t know if I need or want the answers to these questions. But there they are. These questions challenge You, I’m sure. Please forgive me. I need peace. I need these answers. I need this confusion to be untangled. I need Your Word, Your explanations. If anything is in me, that You haven’t put there, I BEG You to take it out, cast it away, these parts that have predestined me to damnation. And if I am predestined to fall away from You, anyway, to be cast away from You, please be merciful and cast me into nothingness. And withdraw my consciousness of the separation, and the pain of being wherever You have destined me to be if it is not with You.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5).“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goes forth, he returns to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish” (Psalm 146:3-4 KJV).
“For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 NIV).
“Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, where you go” (Ecclesiastes 9:10 KJV)
“The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence” (Psalm 115:17 KJV).
“Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: oh save me for Your mercies’ sake. For in death there is no remembrance of You: in the grave who shall give You thanks?” (Psalm 6:4-5 KJV).
“Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but You have in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for You have cast all my sins behind Your back. For the grave cannot praise You, death cannot celebrate You: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for Your Truth. The living, he shall praise You, as I do this day: . . .” (Isaiah 38:17-19 KJV).
Comments (1)
I’ve heard answers to a lot of these questions that were either satisfactory or very close to satisfactory to me at the time. Whether or not they really are ultimately satisfactory is a matter of opinion. You might just find what you’re looking for.
“If anything is in me, that You haven’t put
there, I BEG You to take it out, cast it away, these parts that have
predestined me to damnation.”
I can relate. I’ve expressed similar sentiments at different points in my life. I know others who have been through it as well. It sounds like you are in a very vulnerable place, among other things, so I hope you have people who you can talk to who are both accepting and trustworthy. It seems to me like you need to be able to express your heart plainly, without fear of recrimination. That can be difficult as far as friends and family go. I wish I could be of more help to you myself, but any involvement on my part would probably be counterproductive to your stated goal of reconciling your faith. Mainly just because I have gone very purposefully in the other direction. Well, hopefully not towards damnation. But my comments would hardly be constructive. And I’m not all that trustworthy in all regards.