An article in the Faith section of the Kansas City Star deserves some study. The question was “Does God answer prayers for harm.” And it gave me a word with which I’m unfamiliar: “Imprecatory.” (im-prek-uh-tory) The article explained that cases where there is prayer for bad things to happen to bad people, it’s called “imprecatory prayer.” In its simplest terms, it might be a prayer for the other team to lose. Or it might be for an enemy to die.

We see a number of times in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, where God punished individuals and even entire nations for disobeying Him. There are many examples of God telling Ezekiel what He was going to do to a person or country, and why He intended to do it. One case involved two sisters who became prostitutes and sinned in other ways, and God’s judgment was that they and their sons be stoned and killed with swords and their houses burned. (Ezekiel 23rd- 24th chapters).

And time after time, God punished his Chosen People, the Israelites, scattering them and making slaves of them by enemy countries, because of their disobeying Him. All this because God had given humans free choice from the time they were created. And they chose the wrong path. Even so, there were many times when God justice was mercy, or patience, but always with love that might not be evident for a century. For he sees all, including our future.

And so where does that leave us? That question was solved by Jesus Christ coming to earth in human form to set up rules of love, and to die for our sins as one single human sacrifice, instead of the constant animal sacrifices that had been done in the past, to cover sins.

Jesus Christ chose, instead of stoning the prostitute, to forgive her and tell her to sin no more. He made sick people well and blind people see, but asked that they sin no more. He instigated love instead of revenge; forgiveness instead of divorce; faithfulness instead of adultery…these and many other forms of living for God, instead of the old way of making animal blood sacrifices to atone for our sins.

If you haven’t accepted this Better Way, take the Holy Bible as true history, straight from God Himself, accept Jesus as the Christ, show it with a lifestyle pleasing to Him, and you will have Heaven as your everlasting home when you quit this life.

Do that now.