Skip to main content

God Is Love 6


And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (I John 4:16)

“God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places” (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 173)

 

          Is there anywhere truly devoid of love. Is there a building in which love does not exist? Surely, if such a place exists, it would have to be in concentration camps and gulags under fascist, communist, or extremist control. And yet, even in those places we find stories of people, like Eric Liddell. After gaining great fame as an Olympic runner (that story is told in Chariot of Fire) he returned to China as a missionary, was captured and put in a Japanese prison camp, developed brain cancer and refused freedom so that a Chinese woman could go free. I think also of Darlene Deibler Rose, also a missionary, also put in a Japanese prison camp and made the leader of the inmates. Her persistent, consistent, yet respectful advocating on behalf of the prisoners resulted in the commander (known for his brutality) coming to protect his prisoners. I believe he became a Christian and preacher before he died. 
          We don’t find love only among these “saints,” either. Caring for animals has become a form of therapy in some prisons. Many kinds of animals mate for life, and many care for their young. It might not be the fullest, most mature form of love we can imagine, but that doesn’t mean it’s not love. As we have studied animals, we have often discovered that their lives are richer, fuller, and more complex than we had thought, and within that, we at least sometimes find love. As we continue to explore, should we not expect to find more?
         Some scientists will claim that it is nothing more than an anthropomorphized “selfish gene” determined to survive. I think their understanding is biased and too limited. I suspect that if we paid attention, we would find love everywhere – even in the strangest of places, like between geese and fish, or predators and the young of the prey they’ve just killed. I suspect one might even find it somewhere in the hearts and minds of serial killers, as hard to imagine as that might be.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Way, The Truth, and The Life

              Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me . (John 14:6)           If “I am the gate of the sheep…I am the good shepherd” from chapter 10 is a double whammy, this verse is a triple whammy. And its first victim is the notion that any other so-called god was acceptable or the same as Jesus. He, and He alone is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to get to the Father. There is no other Savior, or Redeemer, according to Jesus. Now, to be fair, other religions will claim that their religion or god(s) are the only way. That is the nature of gods and of religions. If this and that are equally good and agree on what’s necessary, then this and that are the same thing, so there’s no need to from the other to one. If that’s the case, then why speak against the other or promote the one? There’s a song I’ve been listening to i...
Post a Comment
Read more