A Wellington, Kansas woman read the Old Testament, but condemned God for being heartless. Heck, He wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah and punished the Israelites for idolatry and disobedience.
“Why would anyone want to spend eternity with a God like that?” she said.
The thing is, the Old Testament also shares stories of His love for people. Many times God forgave and restored sinners to His love and grace.
It is only when people become hard-hearted, stiff-necked against Him does He punish them, if they refuse to repent of their sins and return to him.
To base all of one’s beliefs on this side of God’s nature is stupid. He is so much more.
As any father would with His children, God punishes those who go against His wishes.
God is long-suffering and kind toward us, His compassion great. He only wants what is best for us. And he blesses the wicked as well as the good. He shows no favoritism. He waits for us to come to Him with great patience, tolerating our disobedience, our confusion, our ignorance of spiritual things.
But He will only wait so long for us to come to knowledge and belief in Him. He will reveal Himself to us in many ways. It is up to us to choose Him, to love Him, to accept Him as Lord over our lives.
God is not just a God of vengeance. He is also kind, generous, and loving. And He has a sense of humor. He loves to laugh. Did you know that?
Heck, God made pigs, with little curly tails and ugly snouts. How funny a creature. Even bullfrogs and hippos are pretty funny-looking.
A friend once misplaced a special pen, prayed about it, then found it in bed between her and her husband the next morning. They thought it funny.
Another needed money to pay the paper boy, later finding a ten-dollar bill just lying in the bathroom sink. God could have just placed it in her wallet. But He was, perhaps, in a joking mood that day.
No doubt God laughs at all of us for the sometimes idiotic, ridiculous things we do. He is a God of judgment, yes. But He is also a God of love, humor, and so many other things.
And to know Him is to love Him.
“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45 KJV)
For more information:
http://keithreich.blogspot.com/2010/08/rain-falls-on-just-and-unjust-alike.html
http://binnyva.tripod.com/bible/articles/humor.html
http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/how-did-jesus-use-humor-to-teach-about-god.html
http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/questions/theology/godhavesensehumor.html
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/787911