Is Man's Weakness God's Fault?

Man suffers a great deal with guilt. Why does he feel this guilt? What is the source of this guilt? Who inspired this guilt? Isn't it God? Isn't it God who inspired this guilt in Man? God's rules are so antithetical to Man's essential nature. Man is essentially a rebel. Man is born in rebellion against God. And all his life Man finds it difficult to live according to the rules of God. And his suffering comes from guilt. Human suffering is born of guilt, the terrible guilt that issues from not living according to God's rules. So, isn't God really the cause of Man's sufferings? If God is indeed responsible for human suffering, then Man is not responsible. If God is responsible for Man's fallenness, then Man is not responsible. Man can be exonerated. Man is free from blame. Man should not be blamed for the way he conducts himself. Is this a justifiable position? It does seem that God did not create Man perfectly. It does seem that God came up with rules that are contrary to Man's nature. All this seems wrong. It seems like God made a big mistake. But did God make a mistake? Is Man really not to blame?

Man is the creation of God. God is the Creator. The Bible admits that. Man is also a flawed creation. The Bible acknowledges that. There is a flaw in human nature. It is said that Man was made in the image of God.  But if one were to consider a human being, one may not find much of God in that person. Sometimes one may not see anything of God in a certain human. Still it is said that Man was made in the image of God. Then why does Man have a problem with being like God? Shouldn't it be effortless for Man to be like God? Yet Man finds it difficult to be like God. Though Man was made in the image of God, he has forsaken that image. He has forsaken and forgotten that image. When God created Man he looked very different from the way he looks today. How we human beings look today is very different from how we used to look before we fell. And we fell.

Man fell from a certain lofty place. When God created Man, Man existed at a certain level. And Man fell from that level. Man disobeyed God. Man did not just disobey God, he also wanted to make his own rules. Above all he wanted to be like God. That was the temptation at Eden. The temptation was not to eat a certain fruit. The temptation was to be like God. That is what led Man to his fall. Man forgot his place. He forgot the fact that he was a creation and wanted to be like the Creator. Is Man not responsible for his fall?  Can Man say, "Look, I have been created imperfectly. That's why I fell. The person who programmed me did not do a good job. That's why there was an error."  I don't think he can.

God gave Man the entire world, in fact the entire Garden of Eden. Man was free to eat from any tree in the garden except one. God forbade Man to eat from a certain tree. Man was given the freedom to do anything he wanted except to eat from that tree. But it was the fruit of that tree that Man desired to eat above everything else. He chose to disobey God. He chose to give up all his privileges for tasting the fruit of that tree. He ate that fruit believing that it would make him like God. This was a conscious decision that Man made. So Man then could not say that it was not possible for him to say no to the temptation. The truth is that he could have said no, but he actually said yes. And that has remained the way of all flesh. Even now humans do what God told them not to do. Even now human beings say yes when they ought to say no.

Is God responsible for Man's fall? Or is Man responsible for his own fall? The Bible clearly presents Man as guilty. It presents Man as responsible for his fallenness. Man was given a certain privilege. He was given the freedom to choose. And he chose what God forbade. And that is what all human beings continue to do. We humans often choose evil. It is not that we are powerless to choose good. It is that we prefer evil to good on many occasions. We choose evil because we prefer evil. Evil appeals to us more than good does. The Bible clearly states that Man is guilty. And I believe that Man is guilty because Man has the power to say no to evil, and yet he says yes. He chooses to do evil. Every time Man does evil, he chooses to do it. And it is he who is responsible for his action.

God did not create Man to behave like a robot. He did not want humans to obey his rules without understanding and acceptance. He wanted us to understand and accept his goodness. This is the power that he gave Man -- the power to judge and to know. All human beings have been given that power. Adam had that power. But he preferred to do what was evil. And that tendency has stayed with all of us, his children. When Adam, our father, chose to do evil, he knew it was evil. He knew it was not what God wanted him to do. And yet he did it. He did it knowingly. So he was responsible for his actions. He could not say, "I was too weak. God made me so weak that I could not resist the temptation." That was not the way it was. He could have chosen not to eat the fruit that was forbidden. But he chose to eat. Even today we, his children, could chose not to do many of the lamentable things that we actually do. Yet we do them anyway. We do them knowing well that we should have acted differently. As long as we know that, we are responsible for our actions. So we are responsible for the way we are. We suffer because of the mistakes that we knowingly make, not because of how God created us to be. Therefore it is not God who is culpable, we are.


Samuel Godfrey George

Love The Unlovely

Whom should we love? Should we love people with dirty nails and rotten teeth? Should we love those who seem repulsive to us? Should we love those with dreaded skin diseases? Should we love lepers? Should we love beggars on the streets? Or should we love only those who seem beautiful to us? Should we love only those who seem clean to us? Should we love those who are repulsive to us in a non-physical way? Should we love those who seem hateful? Should we love those who resist and reject us? Whom should we love?

Jesus said, "Love your neighbour." Who is this neighbour? Is this neighbour a person whom I could love? Is this neighbour a person who is easy to love? What if this neighbour has rotten teeth? What if this neighbour has a repulsive disease? What if this neighbour has stinking breath? What if this neighbour is a hateful man? What if this neighbour wants to kill me? Could I love such a person? Who is my neighbour? Who is your neighbour? And why should you love your neighbour? And why should you love him as you love yourself? Isn't that what Jesus said? "Love your neighbour as you love yourself."

Jesus said in the New Testament, "Love those who are difficult to love" (a paraphrase). And the implication of that statement is this: love people whom you would not normally love. Love people whom you would walk away from. Love people whom you would avoid. Love those who seem repulsive to you. Love those who seem hateful to you. Love beggars whom you would normally avoid. Love those with skin diseases. Love those with rotten teeth and dirty nails. Love those whom you cannot stand.

Love. You cannot love in your own strength. You cannot love with what you have. And what you have is not love. But you may love with God. You may love with God in you. God is love, and when he lives in you, love lives in you and you may learn to love just as he does. It may not come quickly. It may not come easily. But it will come if you believe. Believe. Believe in God. Believe in love. And love without restraint and without stipulation. Love. Love those who are difficult to love.

- Samuel Godfrey George

Our Questions Should Lead Us To The Ultimate Truth (Transcript)

How soon this year has passed! Years have passed. Thank you O Lord for the years. Thank you for this year. Thank you for the privilege of life. One is privileged to live. Human beings are the crown of God’s creations. Human beings not only live, but they also think, they also wonder. They rationalize. They come to conclusions. They believe in God. They seek God. I’m one of those human beings that seek God. And I’m grateful to be in this position.

I wrote a little while ago: “God may not view time as we do. The Roman calendar is in our consciousness. We are aware that a year is about to end. Another year is about to begin. We ask ourselves questions, ‘What have we done this year? What have we not done? What should we do in the coming year?’ Our consciousness of the passage of time is good. It makes us think about our lives and it ultimately leads us to reflect on who we really are. This is what we really are: the creations of God made to be in union with God. In this life we encounter trouble. And we suffer with weakness. But these are also what lead us to God and make us cling to him.”

At the end of a year we ask ourselves questions: “What have we done this year and in the previous years? What have we not done? What should we do in the coming year?” These questions may trouble us. They may lead us to self-analysis. They may reveal certain truths about us. But this is the truth that we must be aware of: we are the creations of God made to be in union with God. We are made to be in union with God. And if we are not united with God we will not find purpose in our lives. We will always search for purpose and we will be very sad and dejected when we do not find it. But this is our purpose: to know God, to know the one who created us, to know the one who gave us life, who gave us the privilege to live in this beautiful world, who gave us the privilege to be able to think, to be able to wonder, to be able to even ask this question: “Does God exist?”

Some of us wonder whether God exists. Do we wonder why we exist?  Do we have any doubts regarding our existence? Is our existence something that needs to be proven to us? We are certain that we exist, aren’t we? Why can we not be certain that God exists? How could we come into this world without being sent? We’ve been sent, in fact, we’ve been made by God. This year has passed. God may not view time as I do. God may not view time as people do. But the passing of a year and the beginning of another year make us consider certain basic facts concerning life. These basic facts are the most important ones. We are here for a purpose. Have we achieved that purpose? Do we know why we are here? Do we know who we really are? This, these questions should remain with us and should stir us and lead us to the ultimate truth: God.

(Transcript of the speech made by Samuel Godfrey George on 31 December 2013)

When We See Jesus We See God

Jesus Christ - have you heard that name? Do you know what that name means? Jesus was his original name. And then he was called the Christ. Do you know what that means? The Christ means the Messiah. Do you know what is meant by the term, “the Messiah”? The Messiah is a divine figure, who was prophesied to enter the world and save the people of God. Is this Jesus, who was born two thousand years ago, the Messiah? Is this Jesus the Christ? Some people thought so. Others had their doubts.

We read in the Bible, in the Gospel of John: (Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem had this question) “Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes he will simply appear. No one will know where he comes from.” So they had it worked out. They had a certain notion of God. They expected God to do a certain thing. They expected God to send the Messiah in a certain way. They expected the Messiah to arrive just like that, to appear out of nowhere. They couldn’t accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah because they knew where he came from. Jesus understood their thoughts and said to them, “Yes you know me. And you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true and you don’t know him. But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.”

So Jesus said to the people who questioned his status as the Messiah, “You know me only so much. But there is something you do not know. I came from a certain person. And you don’t know that person.” I think these are significant words: “I came from a certain person and you don’t know that person. But I know that person because he sent me. I have seen him.” Jesus was referring to God, God the Father. He claimed that God the Father sent him to the world, and that the people who questioned his status as the Messiah, didn’t know God the Father.

At this Christmas time, when we are about to celebrate the birth of this Jesus, who is also the Christ, let us throw away all preconceived notions regarding God. We have a certain understanding of God, and we expect him to work in a certain way. But God didn’t do that two thousand years ago. Though Jesus fulfilled many prophecies during his lifetime, his entry into the world was most remarkable because it was not at all noteworthy. He was born in very humble circumstances. He was born to very humble people. Except for the three wise men who visited him and honoured him there was nothing particularly remarkable about his birth. The angels did announce his birth to shepherds. That was a remarkable moment. But when you consider the fact that he came very humbly into this world, that he was born in a manger, and that he was born to a carpenter, and a woman, who became pregnant before her marriage - these are not ideal circumstances in which a person is born. God defied human imagination and expectations when Jesus Christ was born. And he continued to defy human expectations.

The message of the Lord Jesus Christ was nothing like the message that was preached by people before him. It was remarkable. He preached forgiveness. He preached loving one's enemies. He preached that people should bless their enemies and pray for their enemies. This is a remarkable message. One doesn’t hear this message in anything that came before the Lord Jesus Christ.

This Christmas I have this message to convey to the world: we have certain expectations of God. We believe that we know God. Those who have studied God, those who have read about him have this idea that they can work out God. Jesus proved to everyone that God’s mind cannot be worked out. He was an exceptional manifestation, he was a shocking manifestation of God. One of his own disciples asked him at a certain time, “Show us the Father”. And Jesus said, “How can you even ask such a thing? The one who has seen me has seen the Father.”

This is the truth. This is the Truth whom we call the Lord Jesus Christ. When we see him, we see the one who sent him. We don’t know the one who sent him. This world doesn’t know God. But Jesus came into the world to reveal God to us. He is the Christ. He is the Messiah, who came in a way in which no one expected him to come, and who went away in a way in which no one expected him to go away. Everything about him was remarkable. This is the Christ that we will remember during this Christmas. He defies our expectations. His love is beyond description. His grace is beyond our belief. He loves us beyond measure. He forgives us of all our sins. This is Jesus. And he represents God. When we see Jesus we see God.

Let us see God during this Christmas. And let us remember this: that God will surprise us as he surprised us two thousand years ago. We can never ever claim to know him. We just know that he is love. And he expressed his love through the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us be grateful for that love. Let us thank God, and let us truly celebrate Christmas by celebrating his love. I wish you all a blessed Christmas.

(Transcript of the message given by Samuel Godfrey George on 20th December 2013)

Christmas In Suffering

O Lord, when will this suffering end? Are you here? Are you here with me? Or am I fooling myself into thinking that you are here with me? How difficult this journey is! How impossible it seems at times! How unbearable this cross is!

We all bear crosses for the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who trust in Jesus, those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, have to carry a cross. This is a requirement. Jesus said, “If you want to follow me, deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me on a daily basis.” Sometimes I am tempted to ask, “O Lord, will this cross get lighter? Will a day come when I can lay aside my cross? The suffering seems endless.” “Why must I be persecuted by my enemies all day long?”, a certain psalmist asked. “Why must I endure this oppression? Why must I suffer so much?”

I have come to this understanding. The people of God suffer in many ways. Each one has a certain kind of suffering. And this suffering has gone on for a very long time. I’m not the only one who is suffering. Others are suffering. I know that they are suffering. During this Christmas time I need to think about them. I need to think about this suffering that all of us are going through.

Our lives are not perfect. There is something missing. There is something that troubles us. There is something that refuses to go away no matter how much we pray, no matter how much we believe in God. A certain suffering remains, as it remained with Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, who prayed three times about a certain suffering. And God said in reply, Jesus said in reply, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Today all that I have is God’s grace. And that is enough. “My grace is sufficient for you.” All that we have today, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, is his grace. His grace is sufficient for us. Let us believe that. Let us declare that. And let us continue to declare that despite how we feel. And we don’t feel very well. It doesn’t matter how we feel. God’s truth cannot change. If he said (that) his grace is sufficient for us, it means that his grace is sufficient for us.

There are certain problems that will not go away. There are certain tendencies that will remain within us, tendencies that we are not proud of, that we are not happy with. A certain problem will remain; a certain disease will remain. A certain rebellion will continue. But we must trust in God, who is working in us. He alone knows what he is doing. We must trust him to do his work, though we do not understand the way, the way in which he works. His ways are different from our ways. His thoughts are different from our thoughts. This is God. This is the fact regarding God, which we must reconcile ourselves to. We should be reconciled with this fact that God has his own way of doing things and we should trust him. He who promised is faithful. He who promised to save you is faithful. He will not abandon you. Believe that.

Your sufferings will be many. The Bible does not promise people that we will have a trouble-free life if they (we) believe in God. The Bible does promise problems. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord will deliver him from them all.” “When you are faced with many trials, be happy”, says the Bible. “Consider yourselves blessed.”

I have many troubles in my life today. So I am blessed. And if you have many troubles in life you are blessed as well. Rejoice in the fact that God is working in you, that you are a work of God and that he will complete his work. “He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it.” And no matter how it feels, despite our cries, despite our impulsive cries, and we cry out to God and say, “How long O Lord, how long?”

It’s Christmas time. It’s time to think about what God did two thousand years ago. Let us celebrate what God did two thousand years ago. He sent Jesus Christ, the only one who could save this humanity. He provided hope to a hopeless world. It was God’s way of saving a world, which was doomed to destruction. We all live in this world. We ourselves were doomed to destruction before Jesus Christ died for us on the cross, and saved us, and saved us by spilling his blood, by laying down his life for us. Today, in the midst of our problems, let us not forget God’s great answer to the greatest of all problems – the ultimate destruction of the human soul. God provided Jesus Christ as the solution. He who could save us from ultimate destruction can also save us from temporary problems. And we will have many temporary problems, and we do have many. But let us cast our cares on God today and despite how it feels let us trust him. Shall we do that today?

God bless you. Enjoy your Christmas because God is with you. 

(The transcript of the message of Samuel Godfrey George given on 20 December 2013)

Is God In Control Of The World?

Is God really in control of life? When I ask myself this question I have to define the word “control”. What do I mean by control? Does he control the living beings on earth in such a manner that only good takes place and all bad is avoided? If “control” means that, then God is certainly not in control, at least not displaying this sort of control in life. He is not in control of life, at least he is not displaying this kind of control. He doesn’t control us. He doesn’t control human beings. He doesn’t control animals as well.

This morning I saw a scene, which made me very sad. I saw a dog maul a little kitten. The poor kitten was badly injured. It was not able to walk properly. But it had the spirit to drag itself under a car. It rested under a standing car. I don’t know what happened to the kitten later. I said a prayer for it. I asked God to take care of the kitten. But many kittens would have been mauled today by bigger animals. Many smaller animals would have suffered today on account of what the bigger animals did to them. There seems to be cruelty in life. I see cruelty in every place. I see cruelty among human beings. And I see cruelty among animals.When I see cruelty I need to ask myself the question, “Is God really in control? Or is this world without control? Is there no control at all?

Control is what we find in human minds. Human beings talk about control. Human beings would like to be controlled in the way they interact with other human beings. Human beings talk about restraining themselves. From where did they get this concept of control?  Why are human beings trying to control themselves? Why can’t they be uncontrolled? Why can’t they do whatever they want? Why should there be any restraint in the way human beings behave?And why do some human beings believe that they need to be restrained because of what an external presence may think of them? Why do some human beings believe that there is an external God who wants them to be controlled in their behaviour?

I have asked a few questions: “Is God really in control? If he is, what sort of control is this?”It is certainly not a control, which eliminates undesirable behaviour and promotes only desirable behaviour. It is not such a control. God doesn’t police us that way. If he is in control, what sort of control is this? When we see cruelty all around us, when we see unfairness and wickedness all around us, what sort of control does God display in a world like this? How can we say that God is in control? Yes, there is cruelty in life. There is unfairness. There is wickedness. But there is also control. There is control in the human mind. Many human beings want to be controlled in the way they behave. Many human beings also attempt to control others in the way they behave. There is a certain desirable code of behaviour and human beings are expected to adhere to this code. And those who do not do so will be controlled to do so. The law enforcement agency will control human beings to behave in a certain way, and if they don’t (behave in that way), they (human beings) will have to pay a penalty for their lack of control.

If human beings are controlled in the way they behave, then how does this reflect God’s control?How does this mean that God is in control? Man is made in the image of God. Soif Man desires control, if Man feels the need to control himself and others,then this need reflects a certain divine characteristic. To put it in another way, God works in human beings, and it is in this way that he controls the world, by getting human beings to be aware of a certain lawlessness in their behaviour and to do something about it. Human beings are made aware of the dangers of lawlessness,and they are also directed to control this lawlessness in their own behaviour and in the behaviour of others.

Though cruelty can be found all around us, control is also found, the desire for control is found,the desire for acceptable behaviour is also found, the insistence on good behaviour is also found. One cannot behave any way one wants. There are controls. Human beings employ these controls, and they do so because they are made aware of the need for control. When human beings are made aware, I believe they are made aware by a superior force. There is a superior force in each and every one of us. We are made in the image of God. We have his image in us.Though it may not be a perfect image of God, there is a certain image, and we feel the need to conform to a divine principle of control.

Is God in control of this world? Not (in) the way one normally considers the word control, one normally understands the word “control”. God doesn’t control us. He does give us the freedom to decide for ourselves. At the same time he also plants in us the awareness of the dangers of lawlessness and thus he persuades us to control ourselves and to control others.

It’s not an easy life.It is difficult. But it is not hopeless. It is not a lost cause. This life on earth, difficult as it is, cruel as it is, unfair as it is sometimes, perhaps even many times, is not a hopeless act. It is certainly not something that we must give up on. There is control. Let us hang on to this control. And let us live desiring good not only for ourselves but also for others.

(A transcript of the speech made by Samuel Godfrey George on 15 December 2013)