Will God Force Me?
Myth: God Forces Us Against our Will
Dear God,
I know you are so big and strong,
so please be gentle with me when I mess up.
Love, Cody
Have you ever felt like Cody?
How can such small, fragile human creatures
ever feel at ease with a God so huge
that He tossed the stars across the universe?
When Sarah was a little girl she loved her daddy.
He used to swing her around in his strong arms.
He gave her presents and took her to the zoo.
Sarah adored and trusted her father completely.
Fast forward a few years to more kids and a lot of bills later.
Sarah's father had more stress
and less time to spend with her.
He wanted to be a good father and that meant
raising his children to be good Christians.
One day in church Sarah was talking with her sister
when her father asked her to be quiet.
Soon her seven year old mind wandered and
she forgot to obey and began talking again.
After several attempts to quiet Sarah,
her father felt constrained to punish her.
Suddenly Sarah felt the strong hands
that used to swing her around in fun,
grip her shoulders as her father picked her up
and took her to the other end of the church
where he found an empty room and shut the door.
Inside that room he took off his belt,
and holding it by the middle,
he hit her legs over and over again.
When he was finished,
her skinny little legs were covered with bruises
some shaped like the buckle of his belt.
Silently, with tear streaked cheeks,
Sarah held her father's hand
as they made their way back into the sanctuary.
Older people smiled with approval.
Her father felt he had done his Christian duty.
Sarah was quiet for the rest of the service.
She could not comprehend the sermon that day,
but she did receive a message--
"When someone is bigger than you,
you must obey them or they will hurt you!"
This experience influenced Sarah's relationship
with her Heavenly Father.
Her image of God was based mostly from fear.
She had heard that Jesus loved her,
but God was still the big Father in the sky
that would punish her if she disobeyed Him.
Many times in her adult life
Sarah feared that God would punish her
for not being a good enough Christian.
Sarah could not really be a friend of God's
because she was afraid of Him.
One day Sarah was driving down the road
when she heard a song on the Christian radio station.
The song stated that no matter what you did,
Jesus would still be there for you.
At first Sarah thought it was misleading--
Why would God help someone
who hadn't even bothered to pray?
Then Sarah remembered some Bible stories.
Jesus forgave and healed people who hadn't even repented.
Did they deserve His forgiveness? Did she deserve it?
She knew the answer.
No one is worthy of God's grace,
but is God really that kind?
Suddenly Sarah slowed the car down
and pulled over to the side of the road
as she experienced God's unconditional love
for the first time in her life!
Her eyes began to water as she realized
that God's love was so much bigger than her sins,
and that God loved Sarah--in spite of her sins!
That day in the car,
she felt strong arms reach down from heaven
as her heavenly Father reassured her
that He would never force His will on her
or beat her into submission.
Even though she had been afraid to trust Him,
Her heavenly Father had been watching over her with love.
Sarah wept with joy and relief!
