“… that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord, You alone.” (Isaiah 37:20)

“If I were mayor of Perth I would legalise prostitution; I would keep the pubs open all night; I would make beer cheaper; I would get rid of all the weak people;” so said the man sitting behind me late at night on the bus.

Apparently this comment had its background in the death of his wife some two years previous. He had asked God to save the life of his wife but still she died. The conclusion he came to was that God is not a God of love. It isn’t that he had ever listened to God or obeyed God but he believed that a merciful God would have saved his wife’s life. It would seem that he was still suffering great pain at his loss and that he was blaming God for that pain. The conclusion that he came to was that God is not merciful. In unwitting retribution he had turned to every form of evil to find solace but it only aggravated the pain and added guilt.

He did not want to entertain any view of God that was not in accord with his view. In order to do so he would have to admit he had been wrong for the past two years. That would take humility for a very proud and arrogant man. He had unwittingly surrendered his belief to the lies of Satan and was now trapped in them.

Even though he had made a search for the truth about God his anger and bitterness had been Satan’s aid in hiding the truth from him. His association with the “Christian” church seems to have been through an orthodox view of the Bible as well as from history books and philosophers rather than the Bible and genuine believers.

There was no sense of abatement in his anger and vitriol against the notion of a merciful God as we spoke. In fact it seemed to rise with each mention of the name of Jesus. It seemed to me that it was reminiscent of those who crucified the Lord Jesus on Calvary’s cross. Satan did not want to lose his power over this man because he extolled hatred of God and Jesus Christ.

It might be comfortable for us to just sigh and turn away having no more than pity for such a man but what did Jesus say of those who did the same to Him as they nailed Him to the cross?

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34)

This man shouts his hatred of God out of a heart of pain. The very God who can relieve the pain is the One he falsely accuses. In this he is just like those who nailed Jesus to the cross and who mocked His claim to deity. Even so, if he will humble himself and pray, trusting in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, he shall be saved.

O the wonder and greatness of the mercy, grace and love of God revealed to us through Jesus Christ on the cross.

We pray that this man will respond to the Saviour’s pleading with his anguished soul and then all those around him will know that Jesus is Lord and no other.