Reading: “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Romans 9:20
As parents we try to give our children reasons for uneasy prohibitions. We want to respect their ability to think through aspects of life. There are times however, when a simple “no” is sufficient, or should be. So it is with us, when God says “no” or “not now.” “Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’” (Romans 9:20).
Satan’s first form of attack on humanity was to plant a doubt concerning God’s credibility, before he denied outright the word of God. Satan said, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? This is really a statement of shock and surprise that a good and bountiful God would limit and restrain humanity from eating of His bounty. He planted the question in the mind: “Does God not want you to have all the benefits and blessings of His creation? Is this not selfish? Is God being too restrictive? Is God holding out on you?”
The Bible, of course, is our only rule of faith and practice, but it is not the simply rational and legalistic “book, chapter and verse” that has become the mantra of recent generations. It is that which can be inferred by reasonable and spiritual study. God knows what is best; He withholds what He will for His own reasons. The test is a test of simple obedience in faith. It is not logical argumentation, but faithful reliance on the LORD of glory.