What We Believe About God

Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings. [Jeremiah 36.3]

There is so much that this passage from Jeremiah indicates about God.

God is speaking to His people. He has set in motion curses for disobedience to His Law. He is hopeful however that His people will repent.When they do repent, then He is able to forgive them.

This fact is consistent throughout Bible history: Bad things are the result of disobedience and require repentance for the remedy.

However, we can fast-forward to Jesus' time when His disciples asked why blindness was upon a particular man in John 9:

“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” [John 9.3-5]

While Jesus was unclear who was responsible for the blindness in the blind man, He was very clear that the blindness presented a task to be done and done quickly. The coming "night" I suppose could be rendered as the time after Jesus ascended back to heaven. But then, I don't think so because if we claim Jesus is in us, then, in fact, Jesus remains in the earth and the night has yet to come! This is supported by the fact that the apostle Paul and others performed many great miracles after Jesus' ascension. To say we are now living "in the night" is to say Jesus does not dwell within us!

Somehow we really need to be sure of what we believe about God. It is clear that God punishes sin. It is clear that repentance is necessary. And, while scripture indicates that repentance yields healing, it has become quite 'muddy' with doctrines that do little more for the human condition than to appease pride and arrogance (acknowledging that curses are neither indicators of sin nor indicators of necessary ministry).

Father, help us to just get real about Who You Are and what our response is to be toward curses in the earth (sickness, disease, etc.).