WHAT IS GOD REALLY LIKE?

Is God some sort of cosmic bully who demands to be loved or he'll send people to eternal torment in hell? This is what most non-Christians believe. Having been both a Christian and an atheist, I understand the misunderstanding that many people have toward the creator of the universe. Thanks to wise Bible teachers, I now comprehend who God really is and why he created hell for those who insist in refusing his generous offer of salvation.

Contrary to what God-hating people claim, the Lord has made his presence plain through his creation. Romans 1:20-21 says, "For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing: Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark."

But God didn't leave us without help or hope. ? Jesus said in John 3:16-19   "For God had such love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith in him may not come to destruction but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to be judge of the world; he sent him so that the world might have salvation through him. The man who has faith in him does not come up to be judged; but he who has no faith in him has been judged even now, because he has no faith in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil."

Right from the start, humans chose to rebel against their maker rather than obey him. History shows how people choose wickedness rather than obeying the Lord. Furthermore, children are an apt example of how humanity is born depraved. After all, parents never have to teach children how to be bad whereas obedience needs to be taught.

Additionally, people suppress the truth to keep their consciences blind. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1:21-22, " Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark. Seeming to be wise, they were in fact foolish,"
 This shows that everybody knows that there's a creator but they dismiss the knowledge from their minds.

So we can see by this, and many other scripture verses, that God doesn't want people to go to hell but he does respect our choices. If he didn't, we all would be in eternal torment. C. S. Lewis said that believers say "Thy will be done," to God whereas he says to unrepentant folks "Thy will be done." In other words, people volunteer to go to hell.

I wrote about how I came to know God as a loving heavenly father in How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. Read more about this inspiring testimony at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm Publishers.