Don't Fret, The Choice Is Yours

It is absolutely amazing to me how people blame God for tragedy. When something catastrophic happens, God gets blamed for causing it. Or He gets the blame for not intervening and stopping it. ("God, you could have prevented this!")

Could God have prevented 911 and the tragic deaths of nearly 3,000 people? Of course He could have. Could God have prevented the tragedy in Newtown a few days ago? Yes, He could have. How do I know this? Because the Bible says "Nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:37) Did God know about Newtown before it happened? Absolutely. God knows everything. He is omniscient. (All knowing)

The truth is...if God stopped or prevented every tragedy He would also intervene in your life! He would see to it that you went to heaven and not the tragedy of hell...whether you agreed or not. He would force you to serve Him and bless you...against your own free will. Every time you attempted to gratify your flesh (in a sinful manner) He would forcefully stop you to prevent you from sinning. And you would hate Him for that! Every time He wanted you near He would force you there. The point is you would have absolutely no freedom of choice.

The reason bad stuff happens on planet earth is because of Adam and Eve's God-given choice a very long time ago. God had given them the keys of eternal life. God also allowed the serpent to come and attempt to deceive them. They chose (of their own free will) to listen to the serpent. Could God have intervened? Definitely. But God offers the freedom to choose. God wants you and me to choose Him, after having been presented with the truth.

Listen to this very carefully. God never gives the freedom to choose without fully disclosing and explaining the consequences. He will never deceive. He makes it clear. Adam and Eve knew exactly what they had with God. They also knew what would happen if they chose another way. The result of their choice is all the sin, evil, and tragedy in the world today. But they, and all of mankind had to live with their choice.

The good news is that God sent Jesus 2,000 years ago to be offered on the cross for our sins and short-comings. He paid the price for all the sin that came about as the result of the choice made in the Garden of Eden. We still have a choice, redemption and salvation through Jesus, or our own way. You have the freedom to choose your destiny...Jesus or self...heaven or hell. God will never force Himself on you. He has given us His Word to make it clear, so that our choice will not be one based on ignorance. Those who choose Jesus will live forever with Him. Those who don't will live forever as well...except in hell without Him.

You can choose to reject Jesus if you desire. The choice is yours. But when you stand before God on the day of judgment this is a choice you will regret.

The next time you are quick to blame God for a catastrophe or a tragedy, think again. Think about your own life. Should He forcefully intervene and make you choose Him? Or should you have a choice? If you freely reject Him (and all He offers) there will come a day when you will  blame God for not intervening in your own soul's destiny. On that day it will be too late.