By Dan Puckett

There are many opinions about God. Some say he does not exist. Others say he does exist, but he is too busy or too distracted to care about little ole’ us.

Some believe God is all anger, vengeance, and is best left alone. However, there are some who believe God exists as a heavenly Father, who loves, provides, and protects those who acknowledge him. And who seek to grow in their knowledge and understanding of him, obeying him as proof of their love for him.

It might be considered foolish to deny God, because that pits you against a world that is out to get you. Those who deny God still look for help from somebody, even government. There is an obvious question: “How is that working for you?”

It seems more reasonable to acknowledge God, obey him, live under his protection, and seek his care and provision.

If you joined an organization or moved into a desirable neighborhood for personal advantage, you would, first of all, be handed a handbook or rule book. If there was enough advantage for you in the arrangement, you would seek to follow the rules so you wouldn’t get expelled, penalized, or lose favor with a peer group you desire to be part of.

If you do choose to let God be God, recognize that God can seem a bit wild and seemingly reckless at times. He let that shepherd kid, David, go up against that big, bully giant. That turned out OK, but there were some scary moments. God took his children on a little road trip from Egypt to Israel — only there was no road and they had to walk. Oh, yes, they ran out of food and water, but God was right there to give water out of a desert rock and rain down bread from heaven. Who does not want to love and serve a God like that?

One more thing about this God that you may or may not have thought about. God has a family. He has a son; the son’s name is Jesus. God also has some choice servants, that is, helpers. One of those helpers was highly favored by God and it went to his head, and he rebelled and thought he could do better on his own. That helper is named Satan. Now, God could have snuffed out Satan with a twitch of a finger, but God allowed him to live and continue as an adversary. God placed limitations on Satan, but he is still running amuck.

God loves people. Old Satan had caused God’s children, His very creation, to turn against Him; God wants them back. Rather than just destroying Satan, God took the lower and harder road and allowed His own Son, Jesus, to be tortured and killed by Satan’s minions. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s son, provided the means for all of us to get back to God.

Satan does not like God and will try to do everything he can to get you to not like God either. Satan’s lies look a little feeble when you realize God loves us enough to allow His one and only Son to be sacrificed so we can get away from Satan and get back to God through repentance and faith in Jesus.

Sound too simple? Well, it is simple; not easy, but simple. Think about it. And let God be God.