I saw the title of this blog on a church sign as I was out and about recently. It was the subject of the Sunday’s sermon. It got me to thinking about God’s Love (the Love of the Trinity). Our God is unique in the love He has FOR us. He is a God of Love.
In history there are numerous “gods” of love. However, these are gods who do not love humans, but intervene (interfere) in the love relationships among humans. They are often gods of fertility, which is only indirectly related to love as seen by God. A prime example is the meddling of Aphrodite in the love relationship between Paris and Helen of Trojan War fame. Aphrodite had no love for Paris or Helen. In fact, she used them to promote herself, as is often the case with “love gods and goddesses.”
Throughout the Bible, especially in the New Testament, tremendous emphasis is placed on God’s love for His creation, man. There is no better example than John 3:16. (I hope you don’t have to look that one up!)
As Christians we accept this Love of God as a given. Yet billions of people have great difficulty with this, both non-believers and Christians alike.
So, let’s take a look at the “or not” portion of the title of this blog. Why would anyone NOT like or want to be loved by God?
Non-Believers
To accept God’s Love would mean an acknowledgment of God! To the atheist, this is, of course, totally unacceptable.
To those of other faiths this acknowledgment causes them to question the very foundations of their own beliefs. One can’t very well, at anything more than a surface level, accept the unconditional Love of God without unconditionally accepting God Himself.
Believers
This is a more challenging question. Why would a believer in Jesus not “like” knowing that His love for us extends to all people?
Well, many feel they are not worthy. In this case, they either do not understand or do not accept God’s grace. We are all sinners, so on the surface we may not be worthy of God’s Love. But this is the very essence of the sacrifice of Jesus, that we can be forgiven and loved despite our sinfulness. That is the essence of BEING a Christian!
Many who believe do not want to make the commitment of being a Christian. As we all know, living a Christian life is not always easy. Jesus said the world would hate us. History and current events show this to be true.
Many who believe don’t want to make the sacrifice of worldly things. This is the idolatry of our lives. Status, power, wealth and self-love take precedence. Giving these things up is just too difficult or simply undesirable.
Many who believe are just scared. They seek physical evidence where none exists. They believe in God (sort of), but want to hedge their bets.
Many become angry with God. This is shown by the question “If God LOVES, then why do bad things happen?”
Notice that I used the term “Believer” instead of Christian. There are many who believe in God yet do not follow Him nor accept Jesus as Lord. Satan himself is a believer!
To be a Christian is to accept the Love of God (the Trinity). To be a Christian is to become a disciple of Jesus. To be a Christian is to become a new creation in Christ.
In a way it is as simple as the children’s song: “Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so.”
Easy to understand, so difficult for many to accept.
Shalom, Art
Alive in The Word
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