Gospel

---

The God Test
by Dan Langerock


How we view God is often a product of our own experience in the natural world. If we were treated badly as children we often view God as that type of person also. Here are a few questions to help you understand what you believe about God and why:

1.
What do you believe about God? Is He powerful, weak, loving, unapproachable etc? The Bible tells us He is a loving and caring God, but He is also a just God as well. Regardless of that, we form our own beliefs about God according to what we experience as we go through life. For instance, the other day I met a man in a rest home who had a tracheotomy in 1977, and had it ever since. His outlook was leaning toward being an atheist. What you believe about God will help determine the kind of life you have.

2.
What has happened in your life to make you believe as you do about God? Were there deaths you couldn't understand, divorce, soured relationships, etc? We often look at God and even blame Him for what happens to us. If we have a good life then He is considered a good God, if however we have been assailed with bad luck, we tend to attribute that to God's doing. The Bible says in several places that God wants to give us all good things to enjoy, and that He wants to help us not harm us.
One man I met in ICU had smoked for 60 years. There wasn't much I could say to him except to pray, because he had chosen to smoke for that length of time. We cannot do our own thing in life and then expect God to bless it. To my way of thinking it is hypocritical to do this and then blame God for the outcome. If you don't want to live the way God has designed us to live then that is your choice, but don't blame God when things don't turn out right.

3.
There was a song a while back that espoused the idea that God is a distant God. What do you believe? Is God a personal God caring about your daily life or is He distant and aloof? You know where to find the answer if you want it, but will your belief system allow you to believe what you read?

4.
Is your belief based on a lot of different influences and religious things you have heard about and said to yourself, "That sounds good, I think I will put that in my belief quiver?" This is a way to get confused like going to a religious smorgasbord and picking and choosing what to believe. There are many religions that are like this, but it doesn't mean it is right for you to believe them. Evaluate what you believe and where you got the information. Is it real or a fantasy that isn't true?

5.
Do you believe that God loves you and cares about you? Do you believe that God sent His Son Jesus to die for your sins so you don't have to pay the penalty yourself for sin? Why or why not? God sent Jesus to rescue you but not everyone wants to be rescued. What you do with Jesus will determine what this life will be like as well as your life beyond death. If you were to die tonight, would you be ready for what happens next in the eternal sense--eternal life with God or eternal death separated forever from Him? Only you can make that choice and you only have one life to make it in.

What are your answers to these five questions? Is your spiritual side important to you? It is easy to relegate these kinds of questions to the end of our lives, but we don't always have the time then to resolve them. Take that time now and get close to God because He loves you so much. Don't wait until it is too late to make the most important decision of your life.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE