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I read and hear this statement periodically and wonder about it. Thoughts?

i'm not sure i've seen the words as presented, but, the message runs throughout OT and NT.
i chose 1.

conversely, children may be the exception.
they have a special acceptance and love of God without having faced darkness in self.
not sure where/how we take that step out of innocence. God knows.

I think its the other way around. When we see how good God is, we then are made aware of how bad we are. Like Isaiah 6:5. When our eyes are opened to the glory of God like Isaiah, we see ourselves for who we are - lost among lost people needing a Saviour. God has revealed Himself to us through Jesus Christ and when our eyes are opened to see the goodness of God reflected in Christ, the more we see how sinful we are. The more I know about Jesus, the more I see where I fault short of the glory of God.

I think I have to endorse what Sudsy said. We have no way of seeing how bad we are if we do not know how good God is.

Hats Off wrote:I think I have to endorse what Sudsy said. We have no way of seeing how bad we are if we do not know how good God is.

I don't think we dare see how bad we are until we know God's grace. And I don't think people who really know God's grace trumpet their own righteousness, they know better than that.

Hats Off wrote:.. We have no way of seeing how bad we are if we do not know how good God is.

interesting. i think of how often people refuse God, live in defiance, only reach out when on on rock-bottom, on their knees. this is not true for everyone, and, each one has a diferent threshhold for "bottom." many "always" have to learn the hard way, for others, "a word to the wise" really is sufficient.

in scriptures, tho, examples abound of the lost and/or hurting finding Grace, then being healed.
not all who are in pain suffer from sin, or, self-affliction. but, in this state, all seek relief from God.

i often think, i do not believe in atheists.
i don't. because, i believe, when pushed hard enough, each will reach for God's Grace.
it's a matter of being pushed hard enough (to submit.)

my go-to example is Gomer.
but, in varying degrees, each of us is Gomer. my goodness, she was willful!

i don't think of the OP question as right or wrong. it's just something to think about.

temporal1 wrote:

Hats Off wrote:.. We have no way of seeing how bad we are if we do not know how good God is.

interesting. i think of how often people refuse God, live in defiance, only reach out when on on rock-bottom, on their knees. this is not true for everyone, and, each one has a diferent threshhold for "bottom." many "always" have to learn the hard way, for others, "a word to the wise" really is sufficient.

Yeah, people really do have different paths. It's a little like suffering - some people fall away from God when they experience great suffering, others grow closer to God. Or like persecution.