CNN

*Sigh* Perhaps I shouldn't go onto CNN's website and read people's comments on various issues. I try to go on the website to keep up on news- World and US news. Anyways, Obama decided to pick Rick Warren to deliver his invocation at the presidential inauguration. Personally, I could care less who he picks to deliver that speach and am neither ecstatic nor bummed that he picked Rick Warren. I could honestly care less. But what bothered me about the article was reading the posted comments referencing it. The biggest issue people had with Obama choosing Rick Warren was over the fact that Rick Warren opposes gay and abortion rights and he's "religious." In choosing Rick Warren, people felt like Obama was compromising his liberal stance he claimed to have during the election process. Anger built up inside of me when I read people making mocking comments toward God and Christianity. God is a loving, merciful Savior, but more often than not people think He's a prideful God of war, who is out to condemn, judge, and send to hell anyone who doesn't do what he wants them to do. FRUSTRATING! I know I shouldn't let it get to me- those who do not have the Spirit will not understand the Spirit, and I can't expect them to. Better they be this way than to claim to know Christ, while living a life of hypocrisy.

Often times I don't know how to respond to those who fight so hard for things that are so obviously against God's design. And I don't know how to respond to those who so deliberately curse God. The Spirit inside of me gets so angered by it, and yet at the same time my heart aches.

God is loving, merciful and gracious and the gift of salvation He offers through His Son, Jesus Christ IS available to all. Irregardless of nationalality, race, education, or social position, Christ IS available to all (Colossians 3:11). Yet people are not seeing this. People are seeing condemnation and judgement. ...And yet I know this is not a new thing. Satan is influencing our world and will and has always decieved people into distrusting God. And he will use those he's decieved to decieve others.

We have to have a balance in understanding God's mercy and righteousness and as humans, limited in our understanding, that balance can be hard to find. We can focus too much on His grace and mercy, neglecting His impending holiness, or we can focus too much on His righteousness and hatred of sin, neglecting His love and grace. Neither extreme fully reflects who God is. In witnessing to others I do believe we have to reflect this balance. God is righteous and we desparately need Him to save us from the judgement that will result from sin, and yet in His righteousness God is also loving, gracious, and merciful.

I wish people could see clearly both beautiful characteristics of God, and I wish we knew how to purely reflect it to others. Thanks for letting me vent :)