Letting Go

Steven was afraid of fire--God's fire, to be exact. He'd heard terrifying sermons about God tormenting the wicked in an everlasting fire. Constantly, he struggled with the question;"If God is truly loving, then how could He be so cruel? He tried to obey God, but the threat of a vengeful death, made it impossible for Steven to trust God. His mind often pictured the death of the wicked like a terrifying b-movie event in his head. While the wicked eyes were rolling back in terror, He imagined an angry and seething God pointing a searing finger toward the lost, like a hot iron just waiting to sear their flesh. 

Worst of all, Steven pictured this continuing for eternity. Do the wicked die as an arbitrary act of God? Or do they die from the intrinsic results of sin? Sinful beings melting in the presence of a loving God. One view is merciful and loving, as God, the lifegiver, allows them go as the result of their own choices. The other view is of a bully god who is vengeful--much like an angry human getting even...

It also helps to remember how God tells us to treat our enemies. What was that verse about heaping coals of fire on the heads of our enemies? We scorn the thought of someone torching the head of their enemy. All Christians know that Jesus said to love our enemies. But the heart of the matter is does Jesus practice what He preaches? Just as Sodom and Gomorrah are not still burning today, sinners will not be burning in torment forever.  They will be burned up like the stubble of the field.  There will not even be coals left to warm by. For Steven, this is good news.  He is no longer afraid of the false image of a God that says, "Obey Me or I'll kill you!"

The intrinsic result of sin is eternal death. The intrinsic result of obeying God is eternal life. God is the life-giver, while sin is the life-taker. Just as God's justice, is not our justice, God's wrath is also not like man's wrath. The Bible describes God's wrath as a giving up of people to their own choices.  When God's wrath was on Jerusalem, He removed His presence from it. God's wrath gives people up to whatever they have ultimately chosen for themselves.  When Jesus died on the cross, He bore the weight of all our sins. When the Father gave Him up Jesus experienced separation from the Father.  This "giving up" was the wrath of God toward sin.  But God's wrath is also His love. He would not be a loving God if He forced sinners to remain in His presence against their will.  Thus God, in sadness, lets them go.  This act of God's letting go and allowing eternal death, is called God's "strange act."  It is against God's wishes to let anyone go for eternity,  but God will never force us to be with Him.

If we choose to live selfishly, we will eventually stop seeking God--the life-giver, and will someday be given up to our sins--the life-taker. The wrath of God is His love--it is a love that loves us so much that He will never force His will on us.  If we continue to choose sin over God's love He sadly, will have nothing left to do but to let us go.

- Cherilyn Christen Clough  www.myfatherinheavenisperfect.com