Meditations on the Love of God

In the last few days, I have had a very good chance to think about the love of God. The agape love of God is something that appears to have no equivalent in the human realm. Here are some things for you to ponder about:

1. The love of God towards the whole of humankind, those obedient AND those rebellious. He gives his sun and rain to both the godly and the ungodly alike.
2. The patience of God even when people are evidently doing wrong. Israel and Judah tested God for hundreds of years before he gave them up completely to the consequences of their wrongdoing.
3. Whenever God disciplines his children, it's never for the sake of inflicting pain. It's always for the sake of leading the person to repentance. So the pain feels very different from the one that's meant just to say "I caught you, you rascal". The pain that's just meant to punish usually results in messages of condemnation. The pain that's meant to lead to repentance ALWAYS says, "Come back to me, and I will forgive you, love you, cleanse you, clothe you, and heal your land". In fact, the Scripture says it most clearly when it says "the goodness of God leads people to repentance". In other words, God's usual mode of getting sinners to repent is goodness, and not shame, pain and fear.
4. Paul's description of God's love as flowing through the church is most apt. Love is patient, love is kind, love keeps no record of wrongs, love believes the best about others, love never ceases, and love never fails. All this, despite the imperfection of human life. And all this, despite the fact that mankind usually doesn't reciprocate God's love.

It's this last point that strikes me the most. When I compare myself to the ideal of God's love, I can see so many ways in which I fall short. Do we really love those who despise us? Bless those who curse us? Are we patient with those who offend us again and again? How do we continue believing the best about others, especially when they always have the potential to fail us? Above all, how do we forgive others, helping others to grow, despite the fact that the bad memory of being let down haunts us so persistently? It's always easy to do things the fleshly way--to pay back others what they have done to us, to strike down those who fail us, and to crush the broken reed that is in our path. It's easier to believe in a God that is vindictive than to believe in a God who supplies us the supernatural strength to endure injustice. Much much harder it is to live the Spirit's way: so hard to pray "Lord, forgive them--they know not what they do". Yet that's what the power of God points to: it is God's supernatural power, to enable us to live life the Spirit's way. That's how we know it's God's power. When it results in us being able to love in a way that's completely more than normal.

On Sunday, after such a winding toss and turn, I made up my mind. Despite my pain, and despite the disappointments I've had with others, I hope to love people all the same. I have to say I am not there yet. I am angry. I am frustrated and disappointed. But this is why I need the Lord--this shows me the extent of my human love, and shows me the lack that needs to be plugged in to the power of God. In fact, this is a wonderful situation to be in. Any situation that shows me and convinces me how limited I am in my flesh, and gives me more reason to believe that I need Jesus, is a fantastic situation. This is wonderful because when (and I say WHEN, not if) I am able to love the Jesus way, to extend to others a generosity beyond the human limit, to believe in others beyond the human limit, and to suffer and forgive beyond the human limit, I will know, I will know, I will KNOW--that it was never me who was able to love this way. It could only have been, and can only be, the Lord.

May God bless all of you in all you do.