Is God responsible?

 

It took me a while to understand that God is responsible for our well-being.

As any good parents who are responsible for the up-bringing and well-being of their children, so is God, our Creator, responsible for humanity's development over the years and its well-being. 

He is responsible that no harm comes to us. He is responsible that we are not led astray by Satan and into sin. He is responsible that all should return to His Kingdom for eternity. 

Christ told us this so many times in His teachings. Jesus taught that birds don't sow grain yet God feeds them and that we are worth more than many birds. Matthew 6:26

Jesus said that God knows the number of our hairs on our heads, and cares for us. Luke 12:7

He also taught that as a good shepherd would leave the ninety-nine sheep and go searching for the one which is lost, and rejoice when he has found it. So, in the same way, God is not willing that any of us would perish. Matthew 18:12

We waste so much time in our lives concentrating on ourselves and our loved one's. It's only natural of course, some might say. We care about our future, our jobs, our health and so many other things besides. Yet all the time we forget that this is all God's responsibility really and that He will never let us down.

Although it is God's responsibility to see that we are well looked after and on the right path to return to Him in Heaven as He truly desires; it is not a one-way street. We have a responsibility too.

What is our responsibility in this deal? 

As any well-brought-up and loved offspring, our responsibility is to respect, love and follow God our Creator. We do this by obeying His Commandments first and foremost. Something that many seem to have forgotten or not even know about. Others seem to have re-interpreted them to suit their own personal selfish desires.

With every passing generation, each discovering for itself its God given freedom to choose, we have managed to alienate and distance ourselves from God our loving Creator. So much so that many have even abused that freedom to the point of denying the very existence of God Himself, and encourage others to do the same.

And as any good parent, God grieves for a wayward child, and continues to love and care, longing for the day of the return of the prodigal child.

The ultimate struggle; man wants to be in control of his own destiny.

And God lets him be.

WARNING - Do not read this.

 

 

WARNING 

This article will make you think and may well change your mind. 

Read no further if you do not wish to be affected.

 Imagine you were omnipotent. You had supernatural powers and you could do anything you like. You could be anywhere you wanted by just thinking it. Your very thoughts controlled all your actions.

What would you do?

Would you sort out all the ills in the world? Eliminate poverty? Stop evil doings? Stop disasters like earthquakes, droughts, famines, tornadoes and so on?

Would you find a cure to cancer and all other terrible diseases? 

What else would you do with your new-found power? Would you let someone you like fall in love with you? Would you make someone change their ways from doing something wrong to going the right way?

If you miss someone dearly, a loved one, would you bring them back from the dead?

Think about it for a moment. You are omnipotent. You can do what you want. What would you do?

Now let's think some more. 

By doing some of these things we mentioned, are you really imposing your will on someone else? Often, when bad things happen it is because people made them happen. Poverty, droughts, famines and so on. It was once said that someone's sunshine and good weather can be a drought for a farmer. Or the farmer's rain can be a flood for someone else.

If you made someone love you, is that really true love or control on your part?

If you bring a dear one from the dead are you imposing your will on them? Maybe they don't want to be brought back into this world as it presently is.

With power, omnipotent power, comes responsibility.

God/Jesus is/are omnipotent. They can do all the things we've discussed and more besides. But they don't. 

Jesus did heal the sick, and help the poor, and even raised people from the dead. But every time He performed a miracle it was at the request of someone else in need. At no time did He impose His will on others. 

God can stop all bad things in the world from happening, but He does not do so. He allows them to happen. Why? It is because He does not want to impose His will upon us; even though we may pray daily "Thy will be done". He responds, "Yes, but I am also aware of your will too!"

Even when He decreed that Jesus would be born as a human, He asked Mary for her permission first.

People often confuse God's omnipotent power and our gift of free-will. God can influence people to His ways, but at all times He leaves the final choice to us and will not impose His will. We always have a choice to walk away, to say "no" and to turn the other way. Even to the point of denying His very existence.

Adam and Eve's sin was not one of disobedience. It was one of wanting omnipotence and power. To be like God.

Responsibility.

Responsibility teaches us to be responsible.

In the past, whenever I had a young trainee working for me I gave him responsibility for a particular task. He had set objectives and goals to meet, an agreed timescale and a budget if needed. He was responsible for that area of work and was answerable to me.

Whether he succeeded or failed I carried overall responsibility for the area of work I managed; but he was responsible for that task within it. And he learnt from that responsibility.

The same applies to marriage. Too many people these days view marriage as a fairy tale wedding with all the trimmings and hope to live happily ever after. But in marriage you have a responsibility for two. You think and plan for two. And if children come along you are responsible for more than two. You’re responsible for their well-being, education, up-bringing and so on.

As a driver you’re responsible for your safety and that of other road users.

Now then: here’s a difficult question.

As Christians, what are our responsibilities towards God? Towards other people? And towards ourselves?

Makes you think – doesn’t it?

Poor.

While Jesus was eating, a woman came in with an ababaster jar full of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head. Some of the people there became angry and said to one another, “What was the use of wasting the perfume? It could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor!” And they criticized her harshly.

But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a fine and beautiful thing for me. You will always have poor people with you, and any time you want to, you can help them. But you will not always have me.” Mark 14 3-7.

It is perhaps significant that no one asked Jesus, “Why? Why will we always have the poor with us?”

Is Jesus saying that God will always allow poverty in this world? Is He saying that all our efforts to help the poor are in vain?

Of course not. He is not saying this.

Jesus is reminding us that there will always be someone worse off than us. Someone who is poor in material things, poor in spirit, poor in health, poor in education or poor in Faith.

He is reminding us of our responsibility towards those in poverty in one way or another.

If we are fortunate to be rich, we should give to those who have not. If we are in good health, we should help those who are sick. And if our Faith is strong, we should help and pray for those who falter and fail in their walk with the Lord.

This is our responsibility to those who are poor in one way or another.

And with this responsibility comes a greater and more onerous one. That is to answer to Him when He asks us: “And what have you done with the riches I gave you?”