Why Play Games?

CodySmith

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Why does God find enjoyment and/or fulfilment in keeping us physically unable of realizing and seeing His angels and other things that would make salvation much less of a mystery and more of a practicality?

This question applies to all history... not just today... like why keep the pharasees in the dark and why didn't Jesus ride in on a chariot and do what He had to do so that no one would doubt? What is the purpose of forcing us to put faith in something physically unseen at all? God did at one time pass through the Garden of Eden... why stop?

And please... no replies from the "well you can ask Him when you die" crowd....
 

brinny

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Without faith it is impossible to please Him.

He wants us to BELIEVE Him. That's why He called Abraham His "friend", and that is because Abraham BELIEVED Him.

The struggles and difficulties you refer to builds our faith.

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." ~Hebrews 11:6
 
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Halbhh

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Why does God find enjoyment and/or fulfilment in keeping us physically unable of realizing and seeing His angels and other things that would make salvation much less of a mystery and more of a practicality?

This question applies to all history... not just today... like why keep the pharasees in the dark and why didn't Jesus ride in on a chariot and do what He had to do so that no one would doubt? What is the purpose of forcing us to put faith in something physically unseen at all? God did at one time pass through the Garden of Eden... why stop?

And please... no replies from the "well you can ask Him when you die" crowd....

Faith is crucial to lasting love and to lasting peace, both. Let me show why.

Consider: to last, love must endure moments when we don't know why a person has done or said something, where we could conclude it's for a bad motive, or bad reason, and then have resentment and distrust towards them.

Faith is trust, the expectation of the good.

With faith -- trust -- the wife can assume her husband isn't doing wrong, but that some other unknown thing is happening, and so she can continue to trust and love him, and get over the difficult moment without spiraling downward into distrust, anger, argument, and worse.

So, faith is then crucial in the eternal afterlife, between those living together forever, so that the afterlife doesn't end up in war. (There already was a war when lucifer was cast down, once.)

See? Therefore faith itself is one of the central, key goals of this life on Earth. The reason we are here -- to get to this goal. Another is Love, of this kind: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (meaning everyone you encounter). Without these heaven would not be 'heaven'. Think on it, and I think you'll see how that's true. Heaven requires love, and to last, love requires faith.

Consider: faith isn't simply seeing. I don't have "faith" I have a car. I just look and see it. Faith is to believe even when it cannot be seen at the moment.
 
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bcbsr

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Why does God find enjoyment and/or fulfilment in keeping us physically unable of realizing and seeing His angels and other things that would make salvation much less of a mystery and more of a practicality?

This question applies to all history... not just today... like why keep the pharasees in the dark and why didn't Jesus ride in on a chariot and do what He had to do so that no one would doubt? What is the purpose of forcing us to put faith in something physically unseen at all? God did at one time pass through the Garden of Eden... why stop?

And please... no replies from the "well you can ask Him when you die" crowd....
Pr 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

There would be no glory in discovery if all was already revealed.
 
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Serving Zion

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Why does God find enjoyment and/or fulfilment in keeping us physically unable of realizing and seeing His angels and other things that would make salvation much less of a mystery and more of a practicality?
Could you provide the evidence of this?
This question applies to all history... not just today... like why keep the pharasees in the dark and why didn't Jesus ride in on a chariot and do what He had to do so that no one would doubt?
I am not sure why you seem to think His riding a chariot would make a difference.

Matthew 9:6-8 should make you think again, especially considering Matthew 13:4.
What is the purpose of forcing us to put faith in something physically unseen at all? God did at one time pass through the Garden of Eden... why stop?
How have you come to assume it is about purpose at all? "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth". It's still the same, btw, God does walk with us, but our relationship with Him is complicated so that there is less joy in looking at each other (notice I have said it is a bilateral problem - Isaiah 6:5, Isaiah 59:1-2, Matthew 13:14-15, Jeremiah 15:1-7.
 
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JIMINZ

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And please... no replies from the "well you can ask Him when you die" crowd....
.

.
Nah, none of that.

From every question all I hear is you immaturity as a Christian, if you read the Bible you would understand why Jesus did and said the thing He did, what would seeing Angels have to do with anyone's Salvation, that is a superficial outlook on Salvation.

If you would only take the time to read, it would all be opened to you, nothing is hid, your just a babe.
 
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A_Thinker

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Why does God find enjoyment and/or fulfilment in keeping us physically unable of realizing and seeing His angels and other things that would make salvation much less of a mystery and more of a practicality?

This question applies to all history... not just today... like why keep the pharasees in the dark and why didn't Jesus ride in on a chariot and do what He had to do so that no one would doubt? What is the purpose of forcing us to put faith in something physically unseen at all? God did at one time pass through the Garden of Eden... why stop?

And please... no replies from the "well you can ask Him when you die" crowd....

Something that occurred to me ...

God desires our LOVE, ... and RELATIONSHIP and FELLOWSHIP with Him.

So ... God is wooing us ... with His LOVE, as opposed to His grandeur, power, majesty, etc.

That way ... if we choose to LOVE Him, ... we are LOVING Him as a response to His LOVE for us, rather than being awestruck by all/any of His other qualities.

For instance, what binds my wife and I together is our LOVE for one another. Are there other things that we LIKE about each other. Of course, ... but LOVE is the only thing that we can count on to last a lifetime.

So, perhaps God HIDES all but the core of His nature when He comes to us in Christ. Because He wants to know that we will love Him for Who He really is, without all the glory that surrounds Him.

If God made more ostentatious displays of His power and glory, ... He might unfortunately draw those who really do not LOVE Him, and are only there for the show.
 
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CodySmith

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Faith is crucial to lasting love and to lasting peace, both. Let me show why.

Consider: to last, love must endure moments when we don't know why a person has done or said something, where we could conclude it's for a bad motive, or bad reason, and then have resentment and distrust towards them.

Faith is trust, the expectation of the good.

With faith -- trust -- the wife can assume her husband isn't doing wrong, but that some other unknown thing is happening, and so she can continue to trust and love him, and get over the difficult moment without spiraling downward into distrust, anger, argument, and worse.

So, faith is then crucial in the eternal afterlife, between those living together forever, so that the afterlife doesn't end up in war. (There already was a war when lucifer was cast down, once.)

See? Therefore faith itself is one of the central, key goals of this life on Earth. The reason we are here -- to get to this goal. Another is Love, of this kind: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (meaning everyone you encounter). Without these heaven would not be 'heaven'. Think on it, and I think you'll see how that's true. Heaven requires love, and to last, love requires faith.

Consider: faith isn't simply seeing. I don't have "faith" I have a car. I just look and see it. Faith is to believe even when it cannot be seen at the moment.

Interesting... I guess I can't really relate then. I don't trust anyone, parents, children, or spouse, and never will.... I guess that's just me. Do I love them?... YES. Do I have undoubted faith in them?... NO - thats a horrible idea. People make mistakes.

Also, I can SEE my relatives on this earth and I STILL don't trust them .... and yet God expects us (at least in Christianity) to spend our lives seeking out a mystical relationship with Him with no immediate reality as the foundation.
 
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Halbhh

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Interesting... I guess I can't really relate then. I don't trust anyone, parents, children, or spouse, and never will.... I guess that's just me. Do I love them?... YES. Do I have undoubted faith in them?... NO - thats a horrible idea. People make mistakes.

Also, I can SEE my relatives on this earth and I STILL don't trust them .... and yet God expects us (at least in Christianity) to spend our lives seeking out a mystical relationship with Him with no immediate reality as the foundation.
Ah! It's not men and women i place my faith in, but Jesus and His power to change us over time, to rescue us from our wrongs and make us renew in spirit, born anew, to become more like Him. And that's a very good direction to be going.
 
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Why does God find enjoyment and/or fulfilment in keeping us physically unable of realizing and seeing His angels and other things that would make salvation much less of a mystery and more of a practicality?

This question applies to all history... not just today... like why keep the pharasees in the dark and why didn't Jesus ride in on a chariot and do what He had to do so that no one would doubt? What is the purpose of forcing us to put faith in something physically unseen at all? God did at one time pass through the Garden of Eden... why stop?

And please... no replies from the "well you can ask Him when you die" crowd....

Evil cannot perceive good and good cannot perceive evil.

" 'Pursue peace with all men, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.' (Hebrews 12:14)"

" 'Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!' (Isaiah 5:20)"
 
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Steven Wood

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Why does God find enjoyment and/or fulfilment in keeping us physically unable of realizing and seeing His angels and other things that would make salvation much less of a mystery and more of a practicality?

This question applies to all history... not just today... like why keep the pharasees in the dark and why didn't Jesus ride in on a chariot and do what He had to do so that no one would doubt? What is the purpose of forcing us to put faith in something physically unseen at all? God did at one time pass through the Garden of Eden... why stop?

And please... no replies from the "well you can ask Him when you die" crowd....
That's really a fantastic question and it took me years to find an answer that actually ANSWERED it for me. The sad part is no-one could answer it for me, I had to find it myself. I'll tell you the conclusion that I came to and hopefully you'll be luckier than me and it may resonate with you. God created us to love him and him loves us with no forced hand behind it. Even though God didn't create us with the knowledge of evil in us he didn't keep us from it. He gave us a choice and we chose wrong. Throughout history it has never been the rebellious people that have been graced with sight and wisdom, but the ones that made the right choice humbling themselves. Now, saying that I'll give my answer by asking a question. If you owned a huge business. and you told your workers that if they were faithful and loyal to you, not only would it be the best job they've ever had but they would be taken care of by you and never worry about anything ever again. Would you want that group of workers to be there because they admired you, were loyal to you, kind to others, and preformed excellent work because of loyalty and dedication. Or would you want a group that was there because they were forced, scared, felt pressured, did the bare minimum and preformed terribly because they looked at you as an evil dictator? God wants love from people that choose to love him. He doesn't want fake love from people who are deathly afraid because they've seen his power and were forced into it. would you love him by pure choice if you saw all of his angels and the power of his son, or would you only act like you were loyal because you were afraid to die?
 
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CodySmith

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That's really a fantastic question and it took me years to find an answer that actually ANSWERED it for me. The sad part is no-one could answer it for me, I had to find it myself. I'll tell you the conclusion that I came to and hopefully you'll be luckier than me and it may resonate with you. God created us to love him and him loves us with no forced hand behind it. Even though God didn't create us with the knowledge of evil in us he didn't keep us from it. He gave us a choice and we chose wrong. Throughout history it has never been the rebellious people that have been graced with sight and wisdom, but the ones that made the right choice humbling themselves. Now, saying that I'll give my answer by asking a question. If you owned a huge business. and you told your workers that if they were faithful and loyal to you, not only would it be the best job they've ever had but they would be taken care of by you and never worry about anything ever again. Would you want that group of workers to be there because they admired you, were loyal to you, kind to others, and preformed excellent work because of loyalty and dedication. Or would you want a group that was there because they were forced, scared, felt pressured, did the bare minimum and preformed terribly because they looked at you as an evil dictator? God wants love from people that choose to love him. He doesn't want fake love from people who are deathly afraid because they've seen his power and were forced into it. would you love him by pure choice if you saw all of his angels and the power of his son, or would you only act like you were loyal because you were afraid to die?

Great post indeed! Truly. Thank you.

Loving God and admiring everything Good that He is, doesn't save us from eternal death sadly. Everyone on earth does at times - its relatively easy. So apparently He wants more than that (to solve the riddle of Jesus).
 
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Johnny4ChristJesus

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Why does God find enjoyment and/or fulfilment in keeping us physically unable of realizing and seeing His angels and other things that would make salvation much less of a mystery and more of a practicality?

This question applies to all history... not just today... like why keep the pharasees in the dark and why didn't Jesus ride in on a chariot and do what He had to do so that no one would doubt? What is the purpose of forcing us to put faith in something physically unseen at all? God did at one time pass through the Garden of Eden... why stop?

And please... no replies from the "well you can ask Him when you die" crowd....

First, maybe because God isn't planning a future with all people. Maybe He only wants those who are willing to fight for a relationship with Him. If you see angels flying around, you might be scared and therefore run to God for protection. But, that doesn't mean you want a relationship with Him. If you see demons, you might be scared and run to God for protection, but that doesn't mean you want to have a relationshiop with Him. If God, like the genie, grants every wish every human asks for in prayer, they may just want Him for what He does for them. He wanted a relationship with those who would want such a thing with Him and are willing to do what it costs to have one anyway! That is why He sent His Son to die for us.

Secondly, the reality is that none of us are worthy. The reality is that none of us have a right to claim God owes us something. When God decided what He was going to do, He chose to make it contingent on belief/faith. God said "without faith it is impossible to please Him and this is faith, according to God: That we believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Heb 11:6) or you could use the more mysterious "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Jesus said that the time is coming and now is when true believers will worship the Father in spirit and truth....(John 4:23-4)

Jesus expressed extreme pleasure with two individuals with regard to their faith. The one was a woman he called a dog. That woman understood who He was and what He could do for her daughter so strongly, that she endured the label and said "yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the scraps from their Master's table." Jesus said "Woman, great is your faith...." Then, there was the centurion who understood authority and therefore just needed Jesus to say the Word and the centurion knew that his servant would be healed. He knew that Jesus didn't even need to go with him, but just say the Word and his servant would be healed! Jesus said "I have not found such great faith in all of Israel...."

Faith pleases God. Paul questions if we see what we hope for, why would we still hope? In Rev 21:8, the first two groups that we are told will not be in heaven are the fearful and the unbelieving.

There are some who do see or feel angels though. If we believed their testimony, we could know (by faith) that they are there. Scripture also tells us that both angels and demons are here. We could simply believe God's Testimony without proof, couldn't we? What if the more God shows us, the more we will be accountable for and out of His mercy, He doesn't give us too much for us?

Just food for thought.
 
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