Monday, October 29, 2018

Hating God



"Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their evil deeds will be exposed." - John 3:30

"I hate you!" 

Most of us can relate to this statement.  We remember saying this as teenagers when our parents grounded us, or did anything else that took away our budding independence.  Or we experience hearing this now with our own children, as they react to decisions we make for their own good, and we try to keep them on the right path through correction.

Or maybe while you wouldn't want to admit it to others or even yourself, you hate God, because you didn't have parents that cared enough to correct you.  You blame God for giving you parents that never showed love in their actions or decisions.  They hurt you spiritually and physically.  They got divorced and you felt abandoned.  Even if there is a God, you don't want anything to do with Him because He wasn't there for you when you needed Him.  You had faith for healing but saw your child die anyway.  You lost your job and are struggling to find your purpose.  You tried going to church but were hurt by church leaders and members.  You see the world crumbling around you with death, war, and destruction, and don't see how God can sit idly by while it all falls apart.

But if you hate God right now, you may be closer to Him than you realize!  Hate means to "feel intense or passionate dislike for someone."  By feeling like you hate God, you are at least acknowledging His existence and influence in your life.  You were created with a mind, will, and emotions, so God is not afraid of your feelings of anger or hatred.  He desires relationship with someone who is passionate rather than apathetic or indifferent.

Something (or someone) is whispering lies to you about who God is.  It may be yourself and your resistance to giving up control over your own life.  It may be the devil causing you to question God's goodness in an imperfect world.  Or the enemy of your soul is telling you that whatever hope there was, God would not want you now because of how you feel about Him.  It's too late, you're too far gone. 

But no matter how you feel about God right now, He has a different view of you.  He only sees His son or daughter and wants you home with Him.  He has this to say to you, taken from the song "Times" by Tenth Avenue North:

My love is over, it's underneath,
it's inside, it's in between.

The times you doubt me, when you can't feel,
the times that you question: "is this for real?"

The times you're broken, the times that you mend,
the times you hate me, and the times that you bend.

My love is over, it's underneath,
it's inside, it's in between.

The times you're healing, and when your heart breaks,
the times that you feel like you've fallen from grace.

The times you're hurting, the times that you heal,
the times you go hungry and are tempted to steal.

In times of confusion, in chaos and pain,
I'm there in the sorrow, under the weight of your shame.

I'm there through your heartache, I'm there in the storm,
My love I will keep you, by my power alone.

I don't care where you've fallen, or where you have been,
I'll never forsake you, my love never ends.
It never ends...



As we reflect back on how we reacted as a teenager, or when you see this today with your own children, you know it was just a matter of maturity.  When you got older, and especially when you have your own children, you can see things from your parents' perspective - that they corrected you out of love for you and to try to keep you safe from others or yourself. Or if you didn't have parents who treated you with the love you deserve, it's time to reach out to a Father who can show you what a real parent's love is like.  

If you are in a place of anger and hate, I would venture to guess that whatever you are doing isn't working, and never will.  It's time to turn from hate to something better, to love.  God is not afraid of how you feel about Him.  It may be uncomfortable and you may find resistance to surrendering to someone else, resistance from yourself or something that's holding you back.  But reach out and ask for God's hand, and discover a path to love through his son Jesus Christ, the "way, the truth, and the life."


"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39


-Adam Gellert
adamgellert.com


No comments:

Post a Comment