Pastor Judah Smith: God Is Not Vending Machine; God Defies Our Human Logic (CP Video)
NEW YORK — Pastor Judah Smith, who has made headlines for spiritually mentoring big name celebrities such as singer Justin Bieber and football star Russell Wilson, recently sat down with CP Voice to discuss his latest book, Life Is _______, which is a follow up to his 2013 work, Jesus Is _______.
I asked him about the blank line on the cover after the words, Life Is ________.
"The blank is there similar to our previous project because Christians are famous for monologues and not so much dialogue, and the heart behind the project is really to create a conversation," said Smith. "The blank is there because it's like, OK, this is how I would fill in the blank. But just because I fill in the blank, that doesn't mean that you would fill in the blank like that. And here's my value system predicated upon the ancient Scripture and what I believe about God. That's how I fill in the blank."
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Smith explained that the overall point is to get people to stop in their daily lives and really ask the question: "Why am I here?" He hopes to start a dialogue to get people to challenge their idea of a full life.
He also discussed one of the main points made in his book which talks about God's love defying all logic.
"We see in Scripture that God is love personified. He doesn't do love, doesn't just feel love," said Smith. "How we see that played out in the story of Jesus the son of the living God, He comes with this unconditional love for humanity, and I think that's the part that is illogical in nature."
Smith believes the principle of "cause and effect" permeates human culture and holds it back from understanding God since He is the only thing that exists without a cause.
"We're born and raised in a world that believes in cause and effect. And when it comes to God we didn't cause it. We just received the effects of who He is. And that is difficult, because I think we're continually challenged in our journey of faith of not again reverting back to cause and effect — meaning right now people are discouraged watching this program because of their performance, and they're discouraged because they believe God's love for them is predicated on their performance," he said.
Smith further emphasized that God defies this logic and human understanding.
"If God is logical and He's a mathematical equation, then who's God? Well, He's not and I am, because I figured God out. God becomes a vending machine, I push a button and I get from God what I want. But that's not how it works. Part of what makes God, God is the mystery and that he defies our logic and is beyond our understanding."
Life Is _______ can be ordered here.
