Does God ever get mad? That is the kind of question we often relegate to a bygone belief held by vengeful, bitter people of the past. Today God is described as friendly, happy and always ready to do whatever we want. He’s the “go to” guy who never disappoints. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? As long as what each one of us wants is always good! Unfortunately, that is very often not the case. In fact, if the truth be told, we want God to do a lot of things for us that are just plain harmful to other people.
Can you imagine a parent always giving their child what they ask for? Do we really want a God who never is upset with the injustice, violence and pain which is part of our world every day? You know, it’s kind of interesting, people want God to get rid of all the suffering in our world, but at the same time they also don’t want him to hurt anyone’s feelings? Would anyone say that to a policeman going into a hostage crisis or a soldier preparing for battle?
This Sunday we’re going to begin a sermon series on the Old Testament. More and more Christians are shying away from this part of the Bible because God does indeed come off as angry and in no way gives people what they want. Some go so far as to say the Old Testament does not have the same importance as the New Testament. Interesting that Jesus never gave this impression.
Yes, there are some events in the Old Testament that stretch our way of thinking about what God is really like, but anyone serious about being a follower of Jesus Christ cannot appreciate his crucifixion without understanding how God prepared humanity for that history defining moment during the era we call the Old Testament.
If you feel that maybe you’ve put God in a box and have him all figured out, join us this Sunday. It’s good to be challenged when it comes to God.
Sunday Morning Worship: 10:00 am