An Impossible Love

This past year was a combination of really great things and really painful things for me.  I experienced the birth of my son, yet the death of 3 grandparents.  I graduated from a masters program, yet failed to find a job ins my field of training.  I purchased a house, yet miss family in WI.  As I mentioned in my last blog, these highs and lows create havoc in my life, because I fail to maintain a biblical perspective through it all.  Unlike a man named Job, I struggle to accept the good and the bad.  

Job is a man in the bible who showed great endurance during extreme hardship.  He was blessed with family, health and success in business, but lost his children, health and wealth in the course of a single day.  Could you imagine that type of pain?

It was in the midst of this depression that his wife encouraged him to curse God, but Job refused.  His reasoning?  "Should we accept the good from God, and not the trouble?"  Wow, what a great perspective, but unfortunately, I'm not like Job.  

During the good times, I fight against God to maintain a pleasant life.  During the bad times, I begin to believe that God is fighting against me!  Instead of having Job's perspective on life, I lose focus and become angry with God.  Fortunately, God uses other believers to help me regain my focus.

While I was at church last week, our pastor said, "It doesn't matter the struggles you are facing or the sinful habits you are struggling to overcome, God can't love you anymore than He already does."  As my pastor continued to speak, the word "impossible" captured my attention.  Not only does God love me regardless of my attitude, it's actually impossible for God to love me more than He already does.

See, God can be more or less pleased by my attitude and behaviors, but His love remains constant.  For God, love is choosing to do what is best for each person.  Sometimes this means He embraces and comforts us.  Other times He needs to discipline and rebuke.  Regardless of the action He takes in our lives though, it is always with the goal to bring us closer to Him.  We see in the book of Revelation, as Jesus rebukes an immoral church.

After Jesus rebukes a greedy and selfish church, He says something unexpected, "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me."

 

Do you see the love in that command?  In essence, God is saying, "You are corrupt and running after evil, yet I love you and will straighten you out if you let me."  Although they have rejected Him, God wants to be with them.

That's not the only place we see God's love laid out lavishly, in fact, the very reason that Jesus came to earth was to reveal the fullness of God's love by going to the cross.  John 3:16 says, "for God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."

What many people don't realize is that the Greek word for "so" means "like this."  This is why some translations of the bible say, "For God loved the world like this...He gave His son."  

Do you see how that translation validates my pastor's words?  God can't love us anymore than He already does, because He has already gave us His greatest gift.  By dying on the cross, Jesus demonstrated how much God loved us, and what His love looks like.  God reveals His love by making enormous sacrifices so that we can be with Him.  He wants to be with us so badly that He is willing to die for it.  He doesn't want our money, our volunteerism, our charity, etc: HE WANTS US.  

The difference between God and I, is that I want your stuff and what your stuff will do for me.  God on the other hand, wants you.