acts 4

In small group we talked about Acts 4 with Ananias and Sapphira. Why did God choose to kill two people who gave up their belongings for him? Given, they lied about how much they gave up and had mixed intentions, how many good deeds have I done that have been tainted with ulterior motives?

I remember Mr. Lin saying that if God saved ONE person in the entire world, he would still be giving more grace than we deserve. I've known this, but if God really did that, my views on God would change drastically. Honestly, I'd think of him as "kind of a dick," as I worded in small group today. 

Kev brought up the point that sometimes we see God to be so loving that we take the grace we've been given for granted. We don't really see the necessity to flee from sin. We want the forgiveness and grace but we don't want to turn away from sin. God is love, right?

I'm reminded of a sermon that Billy and I listened to on the way to Workcamp, The Doctrine of God by D.A. Carson. [link if you have a lot of time.] Carson spoke of some passage in the old testament, where the seraphims are flying around God, with two wings covering their eyes because they cannot bear to see the glory of God, and the other two wings flying, singing and shouting, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the LORD ALMIGHTY." 

These pure creatures cannot bear see him, yet they worship him day and night. I remember Carson saying, "You cannot put God in a BOX. GOD IS GOD. GOD IS GOD." Just like C.S. Lewis describes Aslan as "good" on one hand, but at the same time he says that "He is not a tame lion. How should we know what he would do?" 

I forget. I put God in a box, thinking the only emotion he feels is love. No doubt, Jesus is the most loving man who walked this earth, but there is more to God than that. God is God. He's not our little bitch who we go to to be forgiven and freed. HE deserves our respect and demands it. 

P.S. Normally I can't pull this many references, but for some reason that sermon stuck in my head and that quote.