Repent

So I was thinking today about how many times in the Bible God is telling us to , "Repent! Repent!!" I mean, the old testament is almost nothing but that. (Which, by the way, brings up another good point--namely, the purpose of the law being to show that we can't live that way, underneath it, because God kept having to tell them to repent over and over and over again!) But nevertheless, back to my original point. The Bible is full of calls to repentance. Especially in the old testament, but throughout the new testament as well. Repent, repent, repent. Almost gets kind of scary, doesn't it? NO!! And here's why not!

Was also thinking today about how most PEOPLE respond to seeing someone else doing something obviously wrong or evil. How you and I respond to the people we see doing bad things in the world around us. How I respond, when I see someone doing something that I know is wrong, to hurt somebody else, or themselves. We, as human beings usually respond with such anger that it's amazing. We, I want to usually go over and stop them, and sometimes the ways that I think of using to stop them are not very nice. There's the key.

None of us think twice about the ways we respond to the evil we see around us in the world, however much damage we may inflict upon the person who's doing the bad thing; verbally, mentally, or even physically. None of us think twice about feeling justified in our feelings of rage, anger, and vengeance. In fact, we even tend to think that we are on God's good side when we are feeling those ways, because this person/people are obviously so freaking wrong and evil. In short, you and I and the rest of the human race feel good about about smashing evil people, and destroying them.

But God doesn't. God never crushes them between His fingers in righteous anger and indignation. He doesn't just automatically snuff out anybody who he sees is doing wrong. Which He most certainly could at any given time, as we all know. All He does is tell them to CHANGE!

I hope that just sank into you like it just did for me. We think nothing of our own evil desires to hurt and destroy people (all in the name of righteousness), all the while living comfortably in one another's company, not fearing each other, and all the while living in fear of God who has no desire to destroy anyone. PROVEN by the fact that none of us are destroyed on a daily basis, but are only continuously, out of love, told to CHANGE.

What in the world are we thinking?? How flipping backwards can one race of beings be?? God we need help.

And to be fair, and completely accurate, God did decide at a couple of places in the old testament to just wipe out everybody. Namely, the flood, that killed everybody. But when He was done doing that, He said this, apparently feeling bad about the whole thing--"I will never again curse the ground for man's sake...nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done."

Constant calls to repentance are a sign of His love and mercy, not His anger.