Forced Faith is not Faith

God does not force us to believe in Him.

Like a lover Who is madly in love with us, He waits. He woos. He rescues us. He sends messages to us. He sends messengers. He gently pleads, He reveals Himself in His handiwork. But, He never forces Himself on us. Ever.

Think about it for a moment:

If a baby were born into the world and prevailed upon to believe in a demanding "God" who insisted on certain prayers at certain times and in a certain way, how would that be pleasing God?

If God is Love (as the Bible tells us) then, how would it please a God of Love to pray and worship Him without involving one's heart?

God does not want robots who are forced to love Him. In fact, God made a very big deal about giving humans the majesty of choice. Yes, even the choice to rebel if we choose to. Choice is an important part of being human.

If we had no choice but to worship and love God, I think we would become slaves or robots and... more-than-likely, not really in it with our whole hearts. If we were forced to pray and praise God every day, it would get to be a habit and would very soon (I imagine) lose its appeal due to the repetition and non-voluntary state of the worshippers. This would seem true even more when the habit is forced upon us by humans rather than by a willingness to obey God.

(That doesn't necessarily mean that, as believers, we will always "feel" like praising God. That's a different subject altogether.)

How much faith does it take to believe in the "God" you are taught to believe in from birth along with the rest of your family? How much faith does it take to believe in something you are not allowed to stop believing in?

Well, that is a question.

If a person is in such a case, I think they should ask themself another question:

"Would God want or even need me to believe in Him if I had no other choice?"

There are loads of gods out there to choose from. There are loads of religions, cults, gurus and idols. But, there is only one God Who is the actual Creator of heaven and earth, our bodies, hearts and souls.

It is up to us to choose. I believe that unless we have the majesty to choose, we will not have the honour of knowing the One True God.

God wants us to know Him. He wants us to have a loving relationship with Him. He wants us to want Him. He wants us to choose Him.