He really is a nice guy...

Okay, I know we're not discriminating against eachother or whatever, but you know how it is when you get things on your mind. The recent blog frenzy in which we've been participating has brought me to Lori's blog, where a recent post regarding the existence of God got me thinking (not so much the whole post, just a few choice things). First was this quote:

"LIFE HANDS OUT SHIT AT COMPLETE RANDOM. GET USED TO IT. Random. Random. Random. Random... I'm sick of whiney Christians. It's not God. It's Lady Luck and Y-O-U. Deal with it. "

Amen, says I. It's a crazy world, and sometimes bad things happen to good people. While I agree that "the Lord works in mysterious ways," he doesn't control everything and everyone in the universe at once. Where's that in the Bible, I ask? I've never read that part. Do you feel possessed and puppetted by the Holy Spirit? I know I sure don't. God didn't send the tornados that ravaged Moore; he didn't send the rapists that screwed up the people who call into Loveline; he didn't tell that drunk guy to drive and kill a whole family. Harsh, maybe, but also true. Which brings me to the other quote that got me thinking:

"Here's the way I see it, put plainly and simply...If God's real, he's a total jerk and he doesn't come close to deserving me to fall on my knees and worship him. "

Yeah, I wouldn't worship the sadistic kid-with-a-magnifying-glass God you think of either. Thing is, that's not the God I've come to know over the years. The God I know is not a jerk. The God I know is loving, benevolent, and rich in grace and mercy. It seems to me that the problem is that people don't ever try to get to know him. If you really try to get to know him, I doubt you'd disagree with me. Once you do get to know him, he really is a nice guy. I, for one, am proud to worship him, and feel sorry for Christians who think God is making their life miserable.

Yes, I know, I've taken the quotes out of context, but it was the ideas they express that got me thinking. If you disregard the whole atheist thing, the sentiments are pretty similar, though mine is considerably more optimistic.

Don't blame God for your troubles. Ask him for whatever help he can give, and then press forward as best you can. If success doesn't come at first, get back on the horse. God's still there to give you a hand.