Jonah 2.8 observes, those who worship worthless idols forfeit the mercy that could be theirs.

It appears offensive to some for others to claim that there is only one God in the universe. It makes sense that only one God exists. If there were two gods wouldn’t they battle it out to see who really was GOD? The definition of the word assumes supremacy over all.

Religion is the access point to God. False religions lead to false gods. Offense occurs when a person’s religion is deemed false.

It must be this way since the One True God would certainly dictate the means and ways for reaching Him. As God it would make the most sense that He would decide how He is to be obeyed and who can access His presence. If all religions were the same they would all point to the same god and require the same things to get to god. They don’t.

The world’s religions are very different. All the religions except one were created by men for men. This would explain why one religion’s portrayal of heaven is the accumulation of seven virgins. Another religion portrays heaven as man having many wives through whom he populates his very own world so all the offspring will worship him.

The One True God portrays heaven as people from all tribes and tongues gathered together as brothers and sisters to live forever with one another and God whom they all call Father. No weirdness, no inequality, just wholesome family community.

In the meantime seeking to access the one true God through unauthorized means leads to frustration and discouragement. God is near but He is also holy, a characteristic that makes Him require the honor due Him as God. Access to the One True God is easy; He became one of us so that He could connect personally to us. The One True God is Jesus.

When we seek Jesus we find mercy, grace, love and eternal security. Trying to get to God by any other means than Jesus is to ignore His requirements and thus forfeit the mercy and all other benefits that could be ours.