Where is God?

 This is a difficult question, primarily because of the motives of those asking this question. So I shall name them, and then answer the questions to the best of my understanding. The first group is those who are angry at God, for the death of a loved one or a series of unfortunate events; unlike others, I do not come here to condemn but to try to understand and give a valid explanation. Others of a similar subset are angry, that a good God would allow suffering to exist. Others have been convinced of evolutionary theory, are naturalistic, and find the idea of the supernatural absurd. Some have lost hope in God completely.

First, we must examine why bad things happen to good people. First of all, in biblical references, there are no good people, every person born sins, and dies; sometimes we die, because of other people's sins. The only one that is good is God. A good God who wants our genuine love has given man free will. The angels have this free will, too. A third of them fell under Lucifer, and now they seek to steal, kill and destroy; this is one reason, evil exists in the world, the devil exists. The second reason evil exists is because we are not supposed to follow the world. Man has free will too.

God gives us the ability to not choose him. Even though there are consequences to our actions, God has given us precepts to live by, of which if followed; one would be wise and avoid much folly in the world. Man suffers primarily at man's hands; these problems are rooted in the heart, a sin issue.

 That is why only God can make one a new creation; that doesn't mean, that one loses the capacity to sin, but one chooses not to, not out of fear of hell but out of love for God. However, the bible tells us man's heart is deceitful and lustful over other partners or wealth; people would do extravagant things to acquire wealth and fame. This search for fame is a lustful greed for attention from others.

The other reason evil exists and is rampant on this planet is that the devil is currently the god of this world. Don't get it confused, like we learned in Job; Satan the accuser, has to ask permission to torment God's people. God allows pain for various reasons, but one thing is certain, we grow from it. Most of us assume the devil to be this grotesque being, but the Bible, says he can transform himself into the image of the angel of light. Many have succumbed to devil worship; as a matter of fact, it is common among celebrities.

 However, making deals with demons is a bad idea; you may have fun for a while, but then comes the drug addictions to escape the irreparable damage of selling your soul which is eternal, for something temporal. Ironically, these people die early, and their record labels wreck in more money than when they were alive. Remember that the devil was the angel of music. Music has been propagated to advocate vices.

It is important to know that God knows the number of hairs in your head and the number of days you will be on earth. Unfortunately, diseases, criminals, or accidents may claim lives too young for us to comprehend. I suppose to put it succinctly pain is the cost, of free will. However, pain is also the lever that makes us stronger. 

It's the mechanism of pain, that breaks our proud hearts and seeks and gives compassion; to those who need it. Pain brings us closer together, I know this first hand because I attended Alcoholics Anonymous for a few years; seeing others candid and open about their struggles, allowed me to be open about my flaws, and allowed us to heal, by listening and providing each other support.

People ask where God is, primarily when we encounter evil, but honestly, no one would want God to get rid of our free will, as intelligent, sentient beings. The angels also have free will. You couldn't love someone truthfully if they didn't decide to love you. God gave us the capacity to love him, and with that, came all the evil possible from free will. 

Some people have given up on God because they lost a job or a hardship befell them. Jesus Christ told us that in this life, we will have trouble so do not despair. God never said life would be easy. He never said the storm would never come, but he would be with you through thick and thin. God allows some pain and suffering, for it matures our souls, and makes us more empathetic towards us suffering. Sometimes, we are too attached to this world, and God lets some of those plans go, before your soul goes; engrossed in earthly concerns, and not spiritual matters. 

The evil that we see is a confluence of both angels and man's free will. Also, God came into history for 33 years ago in the person of Jesus Christ or Immanuel meaning God with us. God entered history, and that is what we started to measure years by; either before his incarnation as Christ on earth, or after. B.C and A.D. the incarnation of God as Christ were so important that they split history in half, and became the reference point of all history.

He was tempted as any man was, and he suffered a death he didn't deserve, so we could be redeemed. Jesus Christ understands human suffering, but God did not remove it, but endured it for both to satisfy his justice and anger towards our sin, and his mercy and forgiveness towards us. God the Son drank the full wrath of God the Father's cup of anger towards man's sin, in his death on the cross. He who was righteous was made to be sin so that he who was sinful could be made righteous. 

For none of our human attempts at holiness can earn our way to heaven. It is said that our attempts at holiness to God are like filthy rags. You don't go to heaven because you are good, it is because of what Christ did for you. You are not good, so you can go to heaven. You are going to heaven, so you are good. Jesus Christ is God and man, so he empathizes with us, and because he is God, he judges and forgives. All authority on earth and in heaven is given to him. So we don't go to heaven because of what we did, but if we accept, what God the Son did for us. 

So where is God? Jesus said that he had to leave, so the spirit would come. God in the flesh was here 2,000 years ago, but we crucified him; the most attrocious thing that we could have done, but what we meant for bad, God used for good, that punishment allowed mankind to gain the righteousness of God in Christ.  Since God the Son left, God the holy spirit is he that is within the world.

 "But you belong to God, my dear children.

 "You have already won a victory over those people because the Spirit who lives in you is greater

 than the Spirit who lives in the world." 1 john 4:44

Though lots of things happen because demons are real, also lots of things happen because there are angels, and there are more of them; to be fair, there's thousands of angels, and each has a distinct task before God, and there are different types of angels like the Cherubim, sometimes angels are sent by God to people like Gabriel did with mary, or sometimes God comes in the form of a man, as the three men that went to visit Abraham, and Abraham pleaded for lots life. Also, in the Old Testament, there is a constant reference to the "Angel of the Lord" It seems as if God appeared as an angel to others.

Angels are reasons lots of bad things haven't happened to us or our families, every once in a while a disease or an accident may claim the life of our brethren, but remember our days on earth are numbered, and only God knows how many those are. We don't pay much attention but we should truly be grateful just even to wake up, many people planned on it last night, but never made it to today. Every day above ground is a blessing from the lord.

However, God is a spirit, and so we worship him in spirit, and we honor him with our spirit. Our flesh causes us to sin, and indulging in the flesh leads to all types of perversion and filth. So if you are looking for where God is. He certainly is not in the debauchery that pervades the culture. Unfortunately also, this doesn't satisfy naturalists.

Yes, naturalism is the philosophy that everything that exists is physical, that nature is the end all be all. So with this came the decline of Christianity in the West. However, this is ridiculous. Not everything that exists can be measured in a test tube, and two, we know that human senses don't detect all that exists, and third if higher dimensions exist, who is to say there aren't beings that exist within them?

However, ideas have consequences. Accepting naturalism in our sciences has led us to be materialists. Our culture is plagued by consumption. We just never have enough. In some parts of the world, people are dying because they don't have food. Here, people are dying because they have too much food. People are obsessed with material possessions, and getting rich.

So unfortunately, if people expected me to say where God is, like the address, city, or state; that is disappointing because it seems like we are not talking about the same God. The God I am speaking about is all present, all-knowing, is, was, and is to come. He is eternal, but God the Son took the form of a human; though he is still a part of the God head.

People say this whole trinity thing doesn't make sense, but it does, people are just refusing to look at ideas beyond their narrow lenses. The father is not the son, the son is not the father, the holy spirit is neither the father nor the son, but they all are God in essence. In fact, Christians have salvation because of God, the actions of the Father, the Son, and the holy spirit.

"“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”Peter 1:2

 

God the Son is coming back in human flesh, as Jesus Christ. However, it is not the meek image we have of Jesus portrayed in the bible that we expect, but Jesus as lord and God, rightfully here till all rightfully under his dominion. For the first time, God the Son came as a lamb, he came to take away the sin in man. However, the second time he is coming as a lion, he will take away the man in sin. 

So right now God is here in spirit, nothing is done in the dark that God does not know about; all shall be brought to light, and all evil shall face defeat by the glory of God. We should live in victory knowing God the Son conquered death, and he will call us all back to life on the last day; either to a beautiful eternity with the Father, or a miserable existence away from him, we choose.

Lastly, people always say that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament, but this is not true. This is the same triune God I explained is the trinity, for he is not referred to just as that in the New Testament, but also in the Old Testament. 

"Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over

 the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26

 

Let us make man in "our image" meaning Elohim, it's not multiple Gods, there's only one God, but he is three persons. Similar to how you are, but you are still composed of mind, body, and spirit; and we know that those three often have conflicting needs and passions, but unlike us, God does his actions in unison, agreement, and foreknowledge. 

The reason the world is like this for now, is God is giving more people a chance to repent, for he does not want anyone to perish. I mean he took the whole sin of the world on his shoulders, out of love for us; we are nothing but worms to God, but yet he loves us. Just to clarify it is the same God of the Old Testament, that is the one in the New Testament; is that we are saved by faith, and not by actions, and this was not a new precept; this was a precedence God set with Abraham

4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a]

4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Romans 4

Therefore, we must understand that the law does not save man, but condemns him. However, the law is important, for it clarifies sin; by the law, I am not referring to ceremonial laws but the Ten Commandments. Jesus Christ was asked what is the most important commandment, and he summarized all ten commandments like this. 

"36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40

Where is God? He is within you, he is within your spirit; if you allow him to guide you to a good life. The Bible is what the holy spirit used to communicate his message in writing, through 40 men who lived within 3,000 years, that holy spirit is still here us with us, but I know it's common for people to say that it's the end of times. However, with the moral decline and the evil in the world; I feel as if it is within the end of the world or close to the end of the world. By end of the world; I do not mean nuclear apocalypse, but I mean, the end of this world as we know it, and the return of God the Son in the flesh, to rule for the milllenium.