WHY?

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brakelite

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I don't understand God's love for me. I don't understand why, and the older I get, the less I understand. A momentary time of insanity may envelop me, and I think I have it all sussed, then my eyes are opened, sanity prevails, and I realise my recognition and acceptance of my mortality and ignorance is in fact an expression of clarity.

Sure, I know He created me, and therefore He loves me. However, to be honest, I am a long way from the image of God I am intended to be. I thank God however that I have come a long way from where I was...a warped, selfish, perverted, hopeless, helpless, rebellious, evilly inclined moral virus. And yet God loved me even then! I don't understand that.

If I come to a point in my life wherein is perplexity and uncertainty, I tend to think about what God's will would be for me in that situation, and then pray that such and such should happen, please, and the sooner the better. After having suggested to God the best way He ought to be handling this particular difficulty, and pointing out to HIm that His best laid plans don't seem to be working out, I wonder how it was that the devil got the better of HIm. Yet despite such stupid reasoning on my part, He still loves me. I don't understand that.

Why does God love me? I have no idea. Calvary proves He does, but doesn't tell me why. It certainly isn't because I've earned it. The Bible informs me that my own heart can at times deceive me into believing that when I pray for something, I can expect to receive it because I deserve it. I because I have some inherent right to expect favours. But no, I have no rights. What I do have are promises. But not rights. And the most outrageous promise is the one God is most determined to keep. That promise is to recreate me in His own image! After 6000 years of hereditary failure, slandering of His reputation, desecrating all that He has called holy, abusing all the people He loans us to cherish and love, poisoning myself and others through my addictions, lusts, and pride, corrupting the very place He has given me for a home, and He still wants to recreate me in His image? Why not throw me away and start again? What manner of love is this? I don't understand it.

What am I that God is mindful of me? What is this man that God would ever give any consideration to? I do not have any more light on that than did David when He wrote it 3000 odd years ago. So why? Honestly, I don't think it matters. All He asks of us is that we believe it. Maybe it will always be a mystery, just to make eternity all the more interesting. So, where do I go from here?

I have discovered that God loves me regardless of circumstance, regardless of my behaviour, regardless of motives, habitat, purpose, past, present, or future. God's love is constant, infinite, complete, self-sacrificial, all-encompassing, immovable. In the words of Paul, love bears all things,believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. God does not decide or choose to love. Love is who He is. He can't help Himself. He IS love. Everything He does is motivated ny love. Even the destruction of the wicked is for their own good!

So when I read that all things work together for good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose, I believe it. When I read that He so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son to die for me, I believe it. When I read that along with Jesus, He will freely give me all things, I believe it.

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. The whys...I will leave that for later. Much later. It is enough that He does. Thank you Lord.
 

APAK

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I don't understand God's love for me. I don't understand why, and the older I get, the less I understand. A momentary time of insanity may envelop me, and I think I have it all sussed, then my eyes are opened, sanity prevails, and I realise my recognition and acceptance of my mortality and ignorance is in fact an expression of clarity.

Sure, I know He created me, and therefore He loves me. However, to be honest, I am a long way from the image of God I am intended to be. I thank God however that I have come a long way from where I was...a warped, selfish, perverted, hopeless, helpless, rebellious, evilly inclined moral virus. And yet God loved me even then! I don't understand that.

If I come to a point in my life wherein is perplexity and uncertainty, I tend to think about what God's will would be for me in that situation, and then pray that such and such should happen, please, and the sooner the better. After having suggested to God the best way He ought to be handling this particular difficulty, and pointing out to HIm that His best laid plans don't seem to be working out, I wonder how it was that the devil got the better of HIm. Yet despite such stupid reasoning on my part, He still loves me. I don't understand that.

Why does God love me? I have no idea. Calvary proves He does, but doesn't tell me why. It certainly isn't because I've earned it. The Bible informs me that my own heart can at times deceive me into believing that when I pray for something, I can expect to receive it because I deserve it. I because I have some inherent right to expect favours. But no, I have no rights. What I do have are promises. But not rights. And the most outrageous promise is the one God is most determined to keep. That promise is to recreate me in His own image! After 6000 years of hereditary failure, slandering of His reputation, desecrating all that He has called holy, abusing all the people He loans us to cherish and love, poisoning myself and others through my addictions, lusts, and pride, corrupting the very place He has given me for a home, and He still wants to recreate me in His image? Why not throw me away and start again? What manner of love is this? I don't understand it.

What am I that God is mindful of me? What is this man that God would ever give any consideration to? I do not have any more light on that than did David when He wrote it 3000 odd years ago. So why? Honestly, I don't think it matters. All He asks of us is that we believe it. Maybe it will always be a mystery, just to make eternity all the more interesting. So, where do I go from here?

I have discovered that God loves me regardless of circumstance, regardless of my behaviour, regardless of motives, habitat, purpose, past, present, or future. God's love is constant, infinite, complete, self-sacrificial, all-encompassing, immovable. In the words of Paul, love bears all things,believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. God does not decide or choose to love. Love is who He is. He can't help Himself. He IS love. Everything He does is motivated ny love. Even the destruction of the wicked is for their own good!

So when I read that all things work together for good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose, I believe it. When I read that He so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son to die for me, I believe it. When I read that along with Jesus, He will freely give me all things, I believe it.

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. The whys...I will leave that for later. Much later. It is enough that He does. Thank you Lord.

Brakelite:

You have brought up many ideas here, most of them I’m very familiar with. I can tell your words are very genuine and I thank you for that.

Let me briefly take on the subject of ‘doing the will’ or ‘being obedience’ to God. I used to think as a new believer that I had to keep searching all scripture and list all the commands and things I could find, that I thought applied to staying obedient to God. I found out it does not work that way.

I do notice there are some groups that single out certain commands such as the Sabbath, 10 commandments etc., as their litmus test for doing the will of God and even being identified as a genuine believer. And if you did not comply you are not doing God’s will. I believe they also have it all wrong.

Then after much prayer over the years, I was told that allowing the spirit of God within to do its stuff I was doing God’s will. That simple to understand although I also learned that it is impossible to do the will of God 100 per cent of the time 24/7. Well discounting our sleep time, right? And the reason of course is we have a competing corrupt human nature and ‘will’ that wars with our heart. This new heart that is constantly being transformed by the spirit of God. Every time our outer human mind takes credit and does its own will, we are not doing God’s will.

Now in an everyday situation, the spirit is always in the background nudging/speaking to us, to do or not do things. I have learned to know this in my life and it takes time.


Bless you,


APAK ( grew up SE of you, on the North Island)
 
B

brakelite

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Brakelite:

You have brought up many ideas here, most of them I’m very familiar with. I can tell your words are very genuine and I thank you for that.

Let me briefly take on the subject of ‘doing the will’ or ‘being obedience’ to God. I used to think as a new believer that I had to keep searching all scripture and list all the commands and things I could find, that I thought applied to staying obedient to God. I found out it does not work that way.

I do notice there are some groups that single out certain commands such as the Sabbath, 10 commandments etc., as their litmus test for doing the will of God and even being identified as a genuine believer. And if you did not comply you are not doing God’s will. I believe they also have it all wrong.

Then after much prayer over the years, I was told that allowing the spirit of God within to do its stuff I was doing God’s will. That simple to understand although I also learned that it is impossible to do the will of God 100 per cent of the time 24/7. Well discounting our sleep time, right? And the reason of course is we have a competing corrupt human nature and ‘will’ that wars with our heart. This new heart that is constantly being transformed by the spirit of God. Every time our outer human mind takes credit and does its own will, we are not doing God’s will.

Now in an everyday situation, the spirit is always in the background nudging/speaking to us, to do or not do things. I have learned to know this in my life and it takes time.


Bless you,


APAK ( grew up SE of you, on the North Island)
Hi. Thanks for your response. I've been a Christian since 1976. I'm still learning. I have had an interesting journey, not always led by God. I've made mistakes, but God has worked through those and brought me back into His will and purpose for my life. Even our mistakes can be used for good. It just means we make the angels work harder to redirect our steps. I'm sure they don't mind though...a little challenge here and there never harms anyone right?
I agree with allowing the holy Spirit to accomplish His purposes for us. We can't do anything without Jesus working in us. 'Without Him we can do nothing'. However, we must be careful of course that what takes place in our lives...the doctrines and beliefs we are led to accept or reject...are in harmony with scripture. I have been challenged with that over the years. Coming our of Catholicism into a Pentecostal environment has had me scratching my head over the years over many issues. Prayer, debate, Bible study, soul-searching and a lot of questioning the status quo has led me to a place where I now have much personal peace and contentment, but where I also receive the most flak for my beliefs. I'm not even in complete harmony with the church I am now a member of, but it's the church I know that is closest to Bible truth that I currently know. For 20 years now no-one has managed to convince me from scripture that my church is in error over doctrine. Over practice, absolutely. We all struggle with that, individuals, churches, but the fundamental aspects, the foundations upon which we build our lives, upon which we erect our faith and practice, must be sound. As to character building, that is God's work, and His alone. Only He can change hearts.

I'm a Kiwi living in Melbourne. Brought up in Napier. The picture above was my favourite hangout many years ago, south of New Plymouth.
 

APAK

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I don't understand God's love for me. I don't understand why, and the older I get, the less I understand. A momentary time of insanity may envelop me, and I think I have it all sussed, then my eyes are opened, sanity prevails, and I realise my recognition and acceptance of my mortality and ignorance is in fact an expression of clarity.

Sure, I know He created me, and therefore He loves me. However, to be honest, I am a long way from the image of God I am intended to be. I thank God however that I have come a long way from where I was...a warped, selfish, perverted, hopeless, helpless, rebellious, evilly inclined moral virus. And yet God loved me even then! I don't understand that.

If I come to a point in my life wherein is perplexity and uncertainty, I tend to think about what God's will would be for me in that situation, and then pray that such and such should happen, please, and the sooner the better. After having suggested to God the best way He ought to be handling this particular difficulty, and pointing out to HIm that His best laid plans don't seem to be working out, I wonder how it was that the devil got the better of HIm. Yet despite such stupid reasoning on my part, He still loves me. I don't understand that.

Why does God love me? I have no idea. Calvary proves He does, but doesn't tell me why. It certainly isn't because I've earned it. The Bible informs me that my own heart can at times deceive me into believing that when I pray for something, I can expect to receive it because I deserve it. I because I have some inherent right to expect favours. But no, I have no rights. What I do have are promises. But not rights. And the most outrageous promise is the one God is most determined to keep. That promise is to recreate me in His own image! After 6000 years of hereditary failure, slandering of His reputation, desecrating all that He has called holy, abusing all the people He loans us to cherish and love, poisoning myself and others through my addictions, lusts, and pride, corrupting the very place He has given me for a home, and He still wants to recreate me in His image? Why not throw me away and start again? What manner of love is this? I don't understand it.

What am I that God is mindful of me? What is this man that God would ever give any consideration to? I do not have any more light on that than did David when He wrote it 3000 odd years ago. So why? Honestly, I don't think it matters. All He asks of us is that we believe it. Maybe it will always be a mystery, just to make eternity all the more interesting. So, where do I go from here?

I have discovered that God loves me regardless of circumstance, regardless of my behaviour, regardless of motives, habitat, purpose, past, present, or future. God's love is constant, infinite, complete, self-sacrificial, all-encompassing, immovable. In the words of Paul, love bears all things,believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. God does not decide or choose to love. Love is who He is. He can't help Himself. He IS love. Everything He does is motivated ny love. Even the destruction of the wicked is for their own good!

So when I read that all things work together for good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose, I believe it. When I read that He so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son to die for me, I believe it. When I read that along with Jesus, He will freely give me all things, I believe it.

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. The whys...I will leave that for later. Much later. It is enough that He does. Thank you Lord.

Brakelite: I've been to Napier many years ago. My family swapped homes for a summer with us living in Levin, where I grew up. I enjoy doing some pier fishing at Hawkes Bay. Many of my High school mates left New Zealand for Australia, especially when Britain joined the ECC/M. A Canadian school friend of mine left for Australia. His Dad seemed to drift from town to town for work.

I came out of Catholicism and as a guest of the Baptisms, Church of God, Methodists, Fundamentals, and a few more. I do not do church these days. I have grown spiritually without it. I guess because I had a big boost of experience in my previous years from these other places.
I gave my life to Christ in '74....small world.

The question of why God loves you or me is beyond my understanding. I just know his plan is to benefit his creation and to share his love with us. He knew and did choose and select his saints as he saw into their hearts before they were born. God saw into the future, and saw the good and evil in giving free-will to people.
Your heart was chosen because you would turn to God. Others would never turn.

Bless you,

APAK
 
B

brakelite

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Brakelite: I've been to Napier many years ago. My family swapped homes for a summer with us living in Levin, where I grew up. I enjoy doing some pier fishing at Hawkes Bay. Many of my High school mates left New Zealand for Australia, especially when Britain joined the ECC/M. A Canadian school friend of mine left for Australia. His Dad seemed to drift from town to town for work.

I came out of Catholicism and as a guest of the Baptisms, Church of God, Methodists, Fundamentals, and a few more. I do not do church these days. I have grown spiritually without it. I guess because I had a big boost of experience in my previous years from these other places.
I gave my life to Christ in '74....small world.
Delighted to make your acquaintance. :) It is a small world. My older sister lived in Brisbane for over 20 years returning to NZ 15 years ago. I came to Melbourne about 14 months ago. Swore all my life that I would never, ever, set as much as a small toe on Australian soil. My problem was that all my grandchildren and their parents had no such qualms, and have been here for years. When I retired 2 years ago one of my daughters insisted I join them. I didn't argue.
So the first day I attended their church was a shock. I walked in and it was full of islanders. Two white Australian families, a smattering of Africans, one Indian, the rest, 150 odd people, were islanders brought up in NZ. Samoans, Cook Islanders mainly. But all kiwis. I felt right at home. So funny.
As to Levin. Passed through many times. One my ancestors about 4 generations back married a Levin local. The son of Te Rauparaha's brother.
 

APAK

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Delighted to make your acquaintance. :) It is a small world. My older sister lived in Brisbane for over 20 years returning to NZ 15 years ago. I came to Melbourne about 14 months ago. Swore all my life that I would never, ever, set as much as a small toe on Australian soil. My problem was that all my grandchildren and their parents had no such qualms, and have been here for years. When I retired 2 years ago one of my daughters insisted I join them. I didn't argue.
So the first day I attended their church was a shock. I walked in and it was full of islanders. Two white Australian families, a smattering of Africans, one Indian, the rest, 150 odd people, were islanders brought up in NZ. Samoans, Cook Islanders mainly. But all kiwis. I felt right at home. So funny.
As to Levin. Passed through many times. One my ancestors about 4 generations back married a Levin local. The son of Te Rauparaha's brother.

Same here, happy to meet a fellow Kiwi. Have a few relative near Adelaide and that's it. Took my wife down-under several years back. Found that one of my Primary school mates was the Major of the Horowhenua district. WE went to the same Catholic school. He made a ton of dough when the movie King Kong was being shot over here. He was the only local suppliers of heavy-duty military/police rubber materials that he used to made inflatable boats and other shapes and products. I remember he was at one time the fastest runner at school as he was used as a wing in rugby. I was not that bad myself..

Anyway, not to skite...I'm here in the US and have 2 grown boys, both married to Hawaiian girls. Love my family and wife....same girl since I was 18 years old. Quit work 4 years ago....Reading and learning about the Lord, more and more.

God Bless you and your family and I hope Oz agrees with you...it sounds like it does

APAK
 

prashanthd

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Why does God love me? I have no idea.
The whys...I will leave that for later. Much later. It is enough that He does. Thank you Lord.

Hello dear Brakelite! Interesting Username:p:D I suggest, you should not leave this question for later. There are many members in this forum, involved in complex discussions, so I think you should get the answer here... soon. I think you have to understand this answer as soon as you can and then go on with your life.

Proverbs 27
11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

This is my answer. Let's say, you are driving your car;). Suddenly something goes wrong!:eek: Your car cannot move ahead because something is obstructing. You come out of your car and you understand that it collided with something and the front part is damaged. :oops: You like your car, so you will become sad. Then you will discover that this "something" which is obstructing your car is Satan, and you will go mad. You immediately blow horn or do something similar, but it doesn't go away. Then you will do whatever you can to get rid of this Satan and continue your journey and finally get your car fixed - because you like your car and so you love it!:rolleyes:

Genesis 1
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God made us in His own image and He liked us. Since He liked us after we were made, He loved us. God made us with eternal life (Gen 1:27). Something went wrong. Who can get us "fixed". Only God who loves us.

Romans 6
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All glory to God.
 

truthquest

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I didn't understand why till I had children. Why do we love our children? And Matthew 7:9-11 says, 9And who is the man among you whose son will ask him for bread and will hand him a stone? 10And if he will ask him for a fish, will he hand him a snake? 11If therefore you who are evil know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask him?
Jesus said that God is his Father and our Father. John 20:17 And we believe and we know the love that God has for us, for God is love, and everyone who dwells in love dwells in God. 1John 4:16
 
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brakelite

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I didn't understand why till I had children. Why do we love our children? And Matthew 7:9-11 says, 9And who is the man among you whose son will ask him for bread and will hand him a stone? 10And if he will ask him for a fish, will he hand him a snake? 11If therefore you who are evil know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask him?
Jesus said that God is his Father and our Father. John 20:17 And we believe and we know the love that God has for us, for God is love, and everyone who dwells in love dwells in God. 1John 4:16
Yep, I agree that creation holds the key. The flood, and the fact that destruction was the only alternative, must have broken God's heart. When He, again out of necessity, consigns sinners to destruction because of their obstinate and stubborn refusal to accept His forgiveness and righteousness, it will be done in love. Difficult to comprehend that He must destroy sinners because He loves them, but it will be to save them from further self-harm. They will be so trapped, so bound in their own self, they are beyond redemption. Destruction, even though it will come with pain, sorrow, and grief, will in the end be a merciful release....not just from the pain and sorrow, but from the mindset of sinfulness and rebellion that they will at that time have to acknowledge is that which cause their demise. And we all deserve that.

The concept of eternal torment has no love in it. To accomplish such a thing God will have to stop being what the Bible describes Him as having intrinsic to His nature, love. There is no love in eternal torment...no redeeming purpose, just non-stop retributive punishing, forever. Such a concept is completely foreign to the character of God. It is an insult to attribute to Him such an idea.

Maybe that is where our questions will find their answers. God is love. That is why He loves me. That is why He loves all of us. Even the worst of sinners. Because that is who He is. He can't help Himself.
The way He deals with sin, and with sinners, has always been with love and mercy. This will never change, even though in the end it will break His heart doing what He has to do. He is love. That can never change.
 

Helen

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I didn't understand why till I had children. Why do we love our children? And Matthew 7:9-11 says, 9And who is the man among you whose son will ask him for bread and will hand him a stone? 10And if he will ask him for a fish, will he hand him a snake? 11If therefore you who are evil know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask him?
Jesus said that God is his Father and our Father. John 20:17 And we believe and we know the love that God has for us, for God is love, and everyone who dwells in love dwells in God. 1John 4:16

Good one. :)
 
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aspen

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I do not have difficulty seeing why God loves his creation. I really don’t. If I can love seemingly unlovable aspects of creation, why is it such a reach to imagine an omnipotent God loving us?

Fact is, its a bit narcissistic, in a Medieval Monk sort of way, to wallow, revel and publicly delight in the depths of our fallen depravity..........to our own disappointment, we just aren’t that special or terminally unique.

Seems to me, the best thing to do is get over ourselves, accept Jesus’s justification and get to work practicing our sanctification by loving our neighbors theough service
 
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brakelite

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Fact is, its a bit narcissistic, in a Medieval Monk sort of way, to wallow, revel and publicly delight in the depths of our fallen depravity..........to our own disappointment, we just aren’t that special or terminally unique.
Not wanting to be critical or picky, but this is somewhat out of harmony with what your guardian angel thinks.
 
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brakelite

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ha, i dunno, forever is a long time, every knee will bow, every tongue confess
might have something to say here imo
They may declare this as an acknowledgement of truth...wrung out of them as of sheer fearful apprehension of God's glory...but not out of love or willing submission to the authority they reluctantly confess is rightfully His.
 
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bbyrd009

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They may declare this as an acknowledgement of truth...wrung out of them as of sheer fearful apprehension of God's glory...but not out of love or willing submission to the authority they reluctantly confess is rightfully His.
that is an assumption, one i'm no longer so sure of, maybe though, yes
 

Nancy

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I don't understand God's love for me. I don't understand why, and the older I get, the less I understand. A momentary time of insanity may envelop me, and I think I have it all sussed, then my eyes are opened, sanity prevails, and I realise my recognition and acceptance of my mortality and ignorance is in fact an expression of clarity....
Brakelight,
What a wonderful post! Honest and heartfelt. Yes, the WHY?? I often wonder about why He loves or even likes me/us too...His ways are so much higher than ours and His plans are always good...I always had the self loathing thing going on about my self...that has, thank GOD pretty much dissipated the more I believed what God's WORD says about me.
I shared in all of the same debauchery as you, most of my adult life...well, maybe not a pervert, lol...yours could be my own testimony! It's so hard to wrap my mind around God Himself BEING Love...yet, am so very grateful that He is.
Bless you Brother!
-nancy
 
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Acolyte

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I don't understand God's love for me. I don't understand why, and the older I get, the less I understand. A momentary time of insanity may envelop me, and I think I have it all sussed, then my eyes are opened, sanity prevails, and I realise my recognition and acceptance of my mortality and ignorance is in fact an expression of clarity.

Sure, I know He created me, and therefore He loves me. However, to be honest, I am a long way from the image of God I am intended to be. I thank God however that I have come a long way from where I was...a warped, selfish, perverted, hopeless, helpless, rebellious, evilly inclined moral virus. And yet God loved me even then! I don't understand that.

If I come to a point in my life wherein is perplexity and uncertainty, I tend to think about what God's will would be for me in that situation, and then pray that such and such should happen, please, and the sooner the better. After having suggested to God the best way He ought to be handling this particular difficulty, and pointing out to HIm that His best laid plans don't seem to be working out, I wonder how it was that the devil got the better of HIm. Yet despite such stupid reasoning on my part, He still loves me. I don't understand that.

Why does God love me? I have no idea. Calvary proves He does, but doesn't tell me why. It certainly isn't because I've earned it. The Bible informs me that my own heart can at times deceive me into believing that when I pray for something, I can expect to receive it because I deserve it. I because I have some inherent right to expect favours. But no, I have no rights. What I do have are promises. But not rights. And the most outrageous promise is the one God is most determined to keep. That promise is to recreate me in His own image! After 6000 years of hereditary failure, slandering of His reputation, desecrating all that He has called holy, abusing all the people He loans us to cherish and love, poisoning myself and others through my addictions, lusts, and pride, corrupting the very place He has given me for a home, and He still wants to recreate me in His image? Why not throw me away and start again? What manner of love is this? I don't understand it.

What am I that God is mindful of me? What is this man that God would ever give any consideration to? I do not have any more light on that than did David when He wrote it 3000 odd years ago. So why? Honestly, I don't think it matters. All He asks of us is that we believe it. Maybe it will always be a mystery, just to make eternity all the more interesting. So, where do I go from here?

I have discovered that God loves me regardless of circumstance, regardless of my behaviour, regardless of motives, habitat, purpose, past, present, or future. God's love is constant, infinite, complete, self-sacrificial, all-encompassing, immovable. In the words of Paul, love bears all things,believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. God does not decide or choose to love. Love is who He is. He can't help Himself. He IS love. Everything He does is motivated ny love. Even the destruction of the wicked is for their own good!

So when I read that all things work together for good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose, I believe it. When I read that He so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son to die for me, I believe it. When I read that along with Jesus, He will freely give me all things, I believe it.

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. The whys...I will leave that for later. Much later. It is enough that He does. Thank you Lord.
Amen.. when those thoughts come upon me I know I'm wrestling with satan, then I refuse to let him have me as a jewel in his lowly crown. He is a mighty wrestler and so persistant. Faith shall prevail, shaken not stirred. :)
 

bbyrd009

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They may declare this as an acknowledgement of truth...wrung out of them as of sheer fearful apprehension of God's glory...but not out of love or willing submission to the authority they reluctantly confess is rightfully His.
that is an assumption, one i'm no longer so sure of, maybe though, yes
i say this bc it seems to apply to believers pretty good too!
 
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