When human history is over, God will be totally justified in
how He deals with mankind. He has given
us every opportunity to seek and find Him, and we collectively have failed.
At first, God gave us a set of rigid laws to follow. The Jews were not only given the Ten
Commandments, but many detailed rituals were prescribed. Although specific punishments were also to be
meted out for infractions, and judgments fell for disobedience, man found many
creative ways to disobey and attempt to assert his independence from God. Mankind in general refused to come to God
through rules and sacrificial ritual.
From the beginning of time, however, God knew He would reach
out to us in another way, and so, He changed His approach. Instead of detailed rules, He set forth the
law of love. He demonstrated the change
through Christ, who became the ultimate sacrifice. The sinless One died for our sin, and we
entered the age of grace. God, who knows
our hearts, is more interested in our motives than in our specific
actions. But, mankind finds many creative
ways to abuse this grace, and we shake our collective fist in the face of God.
God bides His time and watches. We have refused to come to Him in repentance
either through the law or through grace.
He has given the human race both opportunities, and we have persisted in
our desire to set ourselves up as our own gods.
We want no sense of responsibility to Him. Many in our culture even deny His existence.
But, He does have a claim on us. He did create us and loves each of us
uniquely. He values each of us
individually. We are our brothers’
keepers. How great must be His grief
when we abuse and take advantage of one another. Human cruelty and hatred knows no bounds, in
contrast to God’s boundless love and mercy.
How will any of us be able to stand, when at the end of
human history, the Lion roars?
