On the Nature of God by John R. Haws
	A recent letter in the Readers Column of The Olympian has caused me to reflect on the nature of God.  The writer of that letter accused God of being nothing more than a dirty old man, callous and without mercy.  I don't find that kind of God when I read the Bible.  I find a God who loves Mankind as a whole while occasionally holding some of his people accountable for not following his instructions to the letter (Moses, for example).
	In the Bible, I find a God who knows every person's heart, a God who is not fooled by jealousy or false reasoning (Cain, Saul, Judas).  I find a God who loves those that regularly pray to him (Daniel, Job, King David, Jesus).  The God I know, is quiet, tender, all knowing and all caring about his followers.  He does not promise me Heaven on earth for simply doing what I know is the right thing to do, anyway.  He does promise me trials and tribulations for being His follower.  "The road is hard and few are they that follow it."
	Time and again, God makes the point that His ways are not the ways of Man - that His ideas on truth, justice and mercy are not the same as Mankind's perception of these same ideas.  Can a judge or jury sometimes make a mistake?  Yes!  Can innocent persons sometimes go to jail.  Yes!  Can God make these same mistakes?  I believe He cannot.  Even when circumstances seem to indicate otherwise (Joseph sold into slavery), God's plan is so much more complex than we mortals can ever comprehend.
	God is not locked in time the way you and I are.  He is outside of time - beyond it.  Thus, He knows the end of our lives just as surely as He knew our beginnings.  People die every day.  What makes their deaths any different than yours or mine?  Nothing.  We all die.  We all stand before our Creator on the final day of His judgment - even if our spirits have no feet!  And all of us will be judged for what we said and what we did.  Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.
	April 2003 Return to Essays