"What has God ever done for me?" Grumbled an angry twenty-three year old man
named Victor. "I mean, why should I believe this so-called God guy loves me as
you say He does when He hasn't done anything to help me or my life?!"
"Oh?" Said his uncle sitting next to him on the bus. "What do you feel has gone
wrong in your life that God caused?" He continued.
Victor snapped, "I didn't say God caused it, but He sure didn't do anything to
help me out! I had to deal with some pretty bad things all on my own, and, no
thanks to Him, I fixed them all on my own too!"
His uncle nodded slightly and replied, "I assume you are referring to the hard
time you began having when you got involved in street drugs and heavy drinking?"
"That's part of it," responded Victor as he glared out the bus window.
His uncle turned to look at him, and then said, "Did your parent's teach you, or
tell you to get involved with these dangerous substances that can affect how you
think and behave?"
"Of course not!" Snapped Victor.
"I'm guessing they tried warning you, but you chose not to obey, correct?"
Responded his uncle as he straightened himself out in his seat. He continued,
"And they probably taught you the importance of eating right, taking care of
your health, staying close to God, and being careful about the friends you
chose, right?"
Victor hesitated, then angrily replied, "Alright!, They were MY choices, not my
parent's! I take full responsibility for my actions!"
Victor's uncle again turned to look at him, then quickly replied, "Do you? About
everything?"
Victor looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
His uncle straightened his back one more time, and replied, "Do you also take
responsibility for the fact it was YOU who turned your back on God? You keep
asking what has God done for you, but it would seem to me that the question
really is, what have YOU done for God lately?"
Victor immediately snapped at his uncle, "Hey, I prayed out to God a few times
to make all the bad things go away, but He didn't!"
His uncle nodded, reached for Victor's hand, and said, "He (God) didn't, or YOU
didn't?"
Victor quickly replied, "I kept on drinking, doing drugs, being disrespectful to
my family, and other things I probably shouldn't have, but God could have
stopped me, made all the bad things go away, and He didn't! He ignored me, or
maybe He doesn't even exist at all so that's why He did nothing!"
As he held his nephew's hand, Victor's uncle calmly responded, "Victor, God is
not a puppet master who pulls our strings so we will do what He wants us to do.
He loves us so much that He gave us free-will. Even though you may have wanted
God to take all the bad things away, your actions and choices revealed that you
really didn't want anything to change. How do I know that? Because isn't it true
you kept on drinking, taking drugs, and being disrespectful to your family?"
Victor was at a loss for words.
"Words are often shallow, Victor. It is our actions which prove what is really
in our heart. What do you think your actions have showed God? Have they showed
Him you love Him and want to be close to Him; that you want Him to be Lord of
your life? Or, do they show Him that you want to ignore His commands, and remain
in the lifestyle you have been living, and only call on Him when the going gets
tough?"
The look on Victor's face began to change. The anger and resentment he had been
holding in so long toward his family and God suddenly seemed to melt away. "I
guess I had been blaming my parents and God, when I should have been blaming my
self," he said quietly. Real life application: Many people blame God for what
they themselves have chosen. We must remember, when we choose the action, we
also choose the consequence.
As a loving Heavenly Father, God wants the best for us, and He is willing and
able to deliver us from even the most dire circumstances. However, we need to
also want it for ourselves, not just through lip-service, but through word AND
deed.
Melanie Schurr
editor@melanieschurr.com (Copyright (c)2005 Melanie Schurr) Melanie Schurr
is author of "Ecstatic Living: A Christian marriage manual and Life-guide", "Son
Salutations" and "Daily Contemplations", a collection of read-one-a-day modern
inspirations. For more information, visit
http://www.melanieschurr.com
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