“Let Me Show You My God”
“Therefore, God handed them over to impurity
through the lusts of their hearts
for the mutual degradation of their bodies.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie
and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator,
who is blessed forever.” Rom 1: 24-25
Therefore? A sentence that starts with ‘therefore’ requires the existence of a preceding argument of fact, which suggests the asserted conclusion. What preceded the therefore, here?
Paul’s preceding fact is simple enough. The existence of God is revealed to everyone, such that we are without excuse. How? Creation. Creation testifies, in a manner that cannot be impeached by a counter reason, but rather only by vain reasoning.
As such, one who does not want to affirm and submit to the God of the universe, will simply create a substitute God.
No reasonable scientist argues that the universe has existed forever, hence it had a beginning. If the material universe had a time it was not, then surely whoever fashioned it had to pre-exist it, and not be part of the created material. What potter is part of the pot he creates, and what pot can deny it was made. (Cf Jer 18).
The Testimony of Creation
Who among us, having gone to a mountain top and looked up at the sky on a clear starry night, has not contemplated the immensity of the universe and its order? Did we not feel small by comparison?
Creation testifies that our God is a God of order. The more science discovers through experiments, the greater the wonder of this order is revealed in the most minuscule detail.
In living things there is an additional order, one not measured materially, often expressed in some form of love – as seen between a cat and its newborn kitten, or a loving dog inseparable from its human master. Here, there is additional testimony of God in His creation.
It is in the revelation of God through His Scriptures and Son, however, that we begin to understand God’s most defining attribute: God does not just love as an action; love is His very essence, it is who He is. Love is founded on the relationship of a lover and the beloved, and that love requires a beloved’s response.
What If I Do Not Want to Be Accountable to The Love of God?
What if I want to choose another god, one that makes no demands of me? I will discover that all gods, even the false gods, make demands. Whether that false god be money, power, sex or an inanimate creature or symbol, that god demands slavery to its service in order to achieve more happiness.
Now we reach the mindset of one who denies the truth of what he knows about God. He is without excuse because he knows there is a creator. He just wants to choose his own god.
Often, he elevates himself to the status of being his own god, deciding for himself what is right or wrong. God created us in His image and likeness, and the nonbeliever returns the favor – creating a god in his own image and likeness.
What is God’s Response?
Sometimes God hands the person over to the lust of their heart. This is not unlike how one fathers a stubborn son. It is difficult to let the one you love to learn from his mistake, yet there is no way to compel love.
Some children abandon their father permanently, while some return like the prodigal son. God, as father, waits equally for both.
Occasionally, the fallen son finds the true God by watching how we Christians love one another. We should strive to bless others as we have been blessed, trusting that the nonbeliever, in the depths of his heart, wants to believe.
