Many people see the weaknesses of Christians through history or around them. They then conclude: God must not be real.
Others see the weaknesses of believers in the True Jesus Church and conclude: this church must not be true.
But the faithlessness of man does not change who God is.
Otherwise, why would He be God?
Throughout history, we see instances of God’s people failing to live out a life of transformation.
In Ezekiel 22, God lists an awfully shameful list of sins that these supposed “followers of God” had committed.
These “believers” had
treated their parents with contempt
oppressed foreigners
mistreated the vulnerable, such as the poor and needy
slandered others, leading to bloodshed
violated women, including their half-sisters and daughters-in-law!
accepted briberies to murder others
extorted money from their neighbours
robbed others
failed to keep the Sabbath
looked down on God’s holy things
pretended they received prophecies from God
Imagine being surrounded by people who claimed to follow God, yet bullied their way (or worse: murdered their way) to wealth and positions of power.
Sad to say, we do see this in the world today.
And I can see why many would be discouraged by such sights.
Do the evils of such “followers of God” render God as no longer Almighty?
Is it God’s fault that His people lived such horrible lives of wickedness and sin?
Not at all.
God gives us all free will. Unfortunately, these believers made poor, evil choices.
God teaches us clearly through the Bible how to follow Him.
But no matter how these people proclaimed to be followers of God, through their actions, they had stopped following Him.
What we can take heart in is that God sees and knows.
He does not turn a blind eye to such wrongdoing.
“Behold,” God says to them, “I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and will do it.” (Ezekiel 22:13-14)
As this shows, God’s judgment may not come when we wish, and it may seem at times that God is silent.
The question for you and I, then, is whether we can trust in God until He acts—in His time.
For ourselves, though, let us not just be bystanders.
Let’s avoid self-righteously pointing out others’ wickedness, but ironically fail to transform our lives too.