Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 1 Chronicles 29:11
As a rule it is impossible to be in total control when we are in the midst of violent storms especially when Mother Nature erupts with fury. These natural occurrences can create conditions that take control of our person without a concern for our wellbeing. Time and experience has told mankind to take shelter to avoid the dangers of these intense storms so they can prevent harm to their person.
By the same token God has subjected mankind into an absolute condition where every man must take heed of God and learn to become his subordinate. God has made his eternal power and divine nature known to mankind and expects man to be aware of him.
We may disapprove of it but man has always been subject to the decisions made by another person. Children come into being through a decision of a husband who then disciplined us as he saw fit. We may not like it at the time but it is a part of keeping a father son relationship intact. In the same way it was God’s decision to create mankind but he could have put them into a position of mandatory servitude.
What we may not understand is that God throughout his life has been all powerful and capable of doing what is impossible to man. In the same manner God has the ultimate power of authority in every endeavor he puts his hands to do. His official capacity is ruler of the heavens and earth and creation gave him the right of ownership over everything on earth.
The right of ownership gives the owner official capacity to exercise control over his possessions with unlimited authority. In other words the verse above tells us everything in heaven and earth belongs to God and is his possession to command and use as he sees fit. God’s account of this verse reveals mankind was created from the dust of the earth by the hands of God therefore our person and its human spirit belong to God.
Although we can’t see God with our eyes God chose to be a God of faith. In addition we learn that God’s eternal power and divine nature is a balance of authority disposed through his nature of truth, love and holiness. For this reason it is to God’s glory that he demonstrates all of his characteristics to his creation. Human beings may never agree with God because God is in control and it was God’s decision to create mankind.
The holiness of God demanded justice in that there was a penalty for sin balanced by the grace to forgive and the ability to establish right standing with one another. Although God had the right to subdue mankind by physical force to bring them under his control God chose to give everyone the right to choose between life and death. His decision came from a disposition of love that motivated man by an eternal inheritance. Because he did not want anyone to perish he encouraged man to choose life so he and his children would live. In addition God wanted you to know that his plans were designed to give you a hope and a future.
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
We all had human parents who brought us into the world and raised us to be an adult. Again by that order of life we bring our children into the world and attempt to raise them not to be unruly, bullheaded and obstinate using the same methods our parents taught us. This is the normal reproductive cycle of mankind where we are mature by learning the social ethics and love for God and our fellow man.
From God’s eye, the choice to live starts with the born again experience that initiates a relationship of God the Father with his children. The love of God (agapao) is a social love balanced the wisdom of morals. The agape love of God is a charitable form of compassion, combined with a logical approach to life that uses common sense in every decision. God infuses these attributes in his child through training in hope that he may become the fullness of Christ.
The commonsense approach to life is found in the bible when 1 Peter 3:13 tells you “who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?” The bible tells us further that “you reap what you sow” on the other hand as man says what goes around comes around. Within these expressed ideas we find the kind of love God uses to train his children into right standing with mankind and the righteousness of God.
Paul writes in Galatians 4:16 have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? Perhaps God may feel the same way when his creation refuses to listen to him or doesn’t do what he expects of them. The unruly child tells everyone that you cannot make me obey you, because you are not my father. We may not like it but we recognize our father has authority to rule over his children and in like manner God has the same divine authority.
Nothing grieves a parent more than to see his offspring become a part of the criminal element especially when they have trained them to be decent and honest. Isaiah 1:2 reveals how God feels when he proclaims Listen, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.
Is mankind capable of hearing God? Experience reveals the answer; man is capable of doing what he sets his mind to do just as he is capable of blocking everything else out to set his mind on his desires. Do you turn the football game on TV off to listen to someone important such as your wife? Hearing God depends on the attention you give him. Consecrating on God’s inspired word will make you capable of hearing the spoken word of God. In other words you need to shut the world out, be interested, have a devoted mind set and learn to listen.
The parental relationship of the father and mother has the right and authority to administer correction to their offspring. The obedience of the child may determine whether they are a spoiled brat or one that honors their parents. We also bring our child up to be love and caring within the family with a desire they would react the same way among society in general.
However any training by the family doesn’t deal with the sin nature of mankind. The divine nature of God was demonstrated by Christ dying on the cross to atone for man’s sin and it dealt with the guilt that made serving God possible. Christ’s death appeased God’s sense of justice because the penalty for sin had been carried out. Since Jesus died once for all we have access to the throne of God through the blood of our Lord.
God is building a kingdom based on his disposition of love and holiness. For this reason God’s plan for training his children is to instill love and holiness into their character. In considering God’s holiness we learn that it is a lifetime method of honoring one another having respect for the life of God and our fellow man. The holiness of God respects me as a person capable of saying no to him. Jesus said I will repay each of you according to your deeds (Revelation 2:23). However God would prefer for mankind to repent of his free will not as a possession forced to do his will. 9/02/2014
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