One question has always bothered me. It is the question I will grapple with in this blog. As time goes on, more and more people are saved by Christ; but this number pales in comparison to the number of those lost eternally. If God truly loves mankind, wouldn’t He bring an end to the world just to stop the bleeding?
Of course, that reasoning would have ended creation at the very beginning. God’s people have always been a remnant (a minority). The love of God for mankind is a love for all. Jesus died for all. Through Jesus’ death atonement has been made that, at least theoretically, could cover the sins of every person. It is the persistent rejection of such a great sacrifice and love that makes the judgment of eternal death just in God’s eyes, not just the people’s sins or their sinful nature.
It is a wrong conclusion to think that God created certain people to be damned. Yes, certain people in history were the unlucky people to play infamous roles: Pharoah, Judas, Pontius Pilate to name a few. But what we are is not just the product of God’s creation. We are God’s creation plus a distortion that dates all the way back to Adam and Eve. On top of that, we are partially the product of our environment or our reaction to our environment, and I would include Satan as a part of our environment. All these factors create a wide array of people. None of us can choose God all by ourselves. God must do something to open us to Him. But it seems that many remain closed regardless.
It is my conclusion from the information in the Bible that God can know all of human history and know every human heart. He knew or could know everyone’s potential reaction to Jesus before anyone came into being. Jesus said,
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
Jesus knew that many have and would enter into destruction. Is God indifferent about this or is He grieved?
In a very interesting and confusing passage in Genesis 6:6, God expressed regret for creating mankind. It would seem that God does not always use His foreknowledge if He can experience regret. It doesn’t seem like a stretch, then, to conclude that God grieves the loss of so many even though He considers their sentence just.
It is impossible for us to know all that has gone into God’s decisions. We can’t even relate to what it is like to be God. It is certainly different than our frame of reference. Consequently, I can’t say why God didn’t or doesn’t cut His losses with mankind. What I do know is that God wants more to be saved. That is the motivation for His patience. All else remains a mystery.
afterdeathsite 