Too good to not be true
“For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.” Isaiah 54:9
Have you ever broken a promise, an oath, a covenant?
Have you always lived by your word? Have you always made good on your debts? Well, let me tell you that there are some people who wish that God would break His promise to never be wroth (angry) with us, ever again. God is not mad at us, and He never will be. This just seems too good to be true. But in fact, it is too good not to be true because I have never heard of one single religion in the world whose God is not a God of wrath and anger. There’s just one problem with God – He is not religious, and as such, He cannot be put in a box. This is a problem because, no matter how hard we work to confine Him to the parameters of our religious traditions, He just doesn’t fit. So, we invent a different version of God to the point that His unconditional love and scandalous grace are, in fact, too good to be true.
Just about the time we think we have managed to theologize God into our little religious spaces, the Bible (His Word) gets in the way. No matter how grandiose, or eloquent, or refined our theological jargon may be, we can never make God violate His oath. When God swears to do something, He always makes good on His promise. His greatest pleasure is to show us that His love, grace, mercy, forgiveness and blessings are in fact, too good not to be true. If God’s love were too good to be true, then, He would have never sent His Son (Jesus) to die on the cross and save us from our sin. If God’s promises are too good to be true, then, He will break His oath and He will be angry with us. But God is neither a liar nor an oath-breaker, and this makes His mercy, love and grace, too good not to be true.