WHO CHANGED?

Firelight, Jamestown, NC

Have you ever had the experience of standing around a blazing fire out in the great outdoors on a chilly late fall night? There’s a great lesson to be learned as you slowly walk toward the roaring fire. First of all, you find yourself becoming warmer. And secondly, the light slowly becomes brighter as you move out of the darkness into the welcoming brightness of the flickering firelight.

The Old Testament Scripture writers generally wrote about a rather severe and stern God who was seemingly frustrated with the creation of man and his constant turning away from Him. Even His chosen people of Israel were overrun by the Assyrians and Babylonians as God withdrew his protection from the unfaithful.

But we see a rather radical change in the writings of the New Testament authors who describe the character of God as revealed in His Son. This revelation shows a God of compassion and love for all His creation, culminating in His righteous self-sacrifice nailed onto a Roman cross to redeem His creation.

So, who changed? Was it our timeless and loving Creator whose eternal light shines in the darkness like a blazing fall bonfire? Or was it perhaps mankind himself who had progressed enough towards the warm light of knowing his Creator to finally understand and write about His true character?