In my first article, I pondered God's all knowing nature which twists mathematical probability from 50% to 100% simply because God already knows how things will turn out; thus, making probability meaningless.  In my second article, I pondered God's all present nature which twists the laws of motion into non-motion simply because God touches all points of the universe all at once, thus rendering motion impossible.  Now, in my third article, I am pondering God's love. 

We know what love does to humans.  It's a bit of joy and insanity too.  True love drives us to take unreasonable risks for the benefit of someone else.  Love drives us to hope when all hope seems lost.  Love drives us to be patient when others would give up in exasperation.  Well, if love can do that with mere mortals, what can it drive God to accomplish!

The very nature of love is based on the complete freedom of the beloved one.  If I love someone, it soon becomes clear that I can not force my beloved to love me back.  If I could, then my love wouldn't be real.  I would be a puppeteer instead.  I would then have a love relationship with a toy, or a robot or a puppet.  That's not love.  That is a game or a fantasy, but it's not love.

So then, if God is to have a genuine love relationship with anyone, that 'anyone' must be totally free to choose.  In my first article, I pondered the question, is choice really choice when God already knows the choice?  If He knows what I will choose, then can I choose another choice?  In other words, if God already knows that I will choose to love Him, then can I choose not to do so?  Not from God's all knowing point of view.  However, from my point of view, since I don't know my choice before I make it, then I am still free to choose.  If God made me love him, and, in His almighty power, He could do just that, He would be a cosmic puppeteer.  So, God must limit His limitless power.  This goes against the very nature of God!  His nature to love is in direct conflict with His nature to be all powerful.  If God dragged me into His presence, and forced His love on me, and, He could do just that, then He would be a cosmic rapist.  Again, that's not love.  That's imprisonment.  It's a bit like the dad who took his kids to an amusement park and, when one of them cried about something trivial, the dad angrily said, "You will be happy!  Else I'll give you something to cry about!"  Obviously, that's not love either. 

If human love is patient, then surely God's love must be!  Patience implies that something might take too long.  Then, again, this goes against an almighty God's nature.  An all powerful being need never be patient.  He could simply make things happen whenever he would like.  Again, He limits His all powerful nature in order to express patience.

Now, the most twisted thing about love is the conflict between justice and mercy.  True love demands justice against wrongdoing.  If someone wrongs my beloved, I fly into a rage and I demand justice!  On the other hand, if my beloved, say, a child of mine, does something wrong, I tend to fly into protecting my little one.  I try to excuse his or her misbehavior, or minimize it, or I want to forgive.  Who hasn't been tempted not to punish a small child when that child gives you that certain look with those big tear filled eyes!  God is in the same predicament.  His perfect love simply demands that all injustice be swiftly punished!  This is in direct conflict with His intense desire to be merciful.  If He punishes, then He can not protect and nurture.  However, if He nurtures and protects His beloved one, then He can not right the wrongs done by that beloved one!  Suppose that your sweet little girl had just poisoned her sister!  Now, you have some idea of the conflict in the heart of God's nature. 

How does God solve this intense conflict!  God's mercy crashes into God's justice!  Guess who gets caught right in the middle!  Jesus Christ!  His death satisfies the justice of God.  He is guilty by association, by being human.  We arrest each gang member in a bank robbery and we don't much care who robbed, and who pulled the gun, and who looked out for the cops, and who simply stood by.  We round them all up, simply because they're all part of the criminal gang.  Well, God is like that with us criminal human beings.  We're all guilty by gang association.  We're all part of the criminal enterprise that sought to overthrow God.  God's just nature doesn't much care whether we're fallen angels, fallen humans, depraved humans, or unintentional rebels or even human-divine.  We're all rounded up!  Jesus was willing to be swept up right alongside us. 

Now, this hardly seems fair.  After all, the guilty get off scott free!  Do they?  Let's say that I am guilty, and I am!  Jesus dying a bloody death hardly lets me off the hook.  I don't say, "Jolly nice of you to die for me!" and then skip off as if nothing had happened!  No!  Instead, I am horrified at the cost of my sin!  I ponder just how wicked I must have been for such a price to be paid!  Now isn't that fair?  Should I not ponder my sin?  Doesn't that right things?  If I say I am sorry, and if I truly am sorry with a deep sense of repentance, this is a just thing.  If my child does something truly awful and, if that child comes to me in tears and is willing to make amends, I am moved with compassion (particularly when my child realizes that I must pay the consequence for his or her misdeed).  My sense of justice is satisfied, and so is my sense of mercy.  God is that way, too.  When you and I realize just how bad we are, and we are truly horrified that Jesus had to pay such a high and bloody price, and we are honestly sorry, then His sense of justice and mercy are both satisfied.

Summary: God desperately loves me.  He does not force me to love Him.  Neither does He force His love upon me.  He let's me choose.  However, I have chosen to be part of a criminal enterprise.  I am part of a race of rebels.  I do not deserve to be loved.  Yet, I am loved anyway!  God's justice demands that I see my wrongdoing for what it is.  However, His mercy demands that I be given a chance at being forgiven.  God became human and took upon Himself the brutal punishment of a Roman cross!  Now, I must choose!  Will I choose to walk away from the one who loves me?  Or, will I choose to enter into a beautiful love relationship with the one who went to such desperate measures to reach me?  I freely choose to be sorry for my wrongdoing.  I freely choose to enter into a sweet love relationship with the one who was patient and kind, when He was never required to do so! 

What do you choose?  Choose now!  Not choosing is already choosing not to take His offer!  If you would like to enter into a love relationship with Jesus, who died for you to prove His love, who rose from death, to prove His divinity, and who patiently waits for you - you might consider praying a prayer something like this one from your heart: "Jesus, I admit it!  I am part of a criminal enterprise!  You died a horrible death for me!  I am truly sorry that you had to go to such trouble to rescue me!  Please forgive me for causing you all this trouble!  Your resurrection from death gives me hope again.  I want a love relationship with you.  Please accept my love, as inadequate as it is.  You deserve so much more than I could ever give you.  Even so, I will give you all I can with your help.  Amen!"

If you sincerely prayed that prayer, may I welcome you home!  You can visit http://www.fbcmodesto.com  for more information, if you like.  Feel free to pass this article along for others. 

Further help links

http://www.reasons.org for help defending your faith
http://www.equip.org for healthy well balanced Christian materials
http://www.truthsthattransform help in reaching others and influencing our culture for good.
http://www.billygraham.org help of all sorts or phone 1-866-Jesus Cares day or night.

Many more sites are available. 

Have a blessed day!

© by Chris Hansen

Author of Grandfather's Journal, Revelation Revisited and Secret of the Psalms

© by Chris Hansen

E-mail Address: chrishansen54 @ sbcglobal.net