The Love of God
VISION :: The Love of God
It's easy to misunderstand the Trinity. And one of the largest misunderstandings in many christian circles today is thinking that the Father and Son and the Spirit are somehow on different pages when it comes to love. Sometimes we imagine the Father as angry and wrathful and the Son as loving and easy going. Or we talk about the differences between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. But the persons of the Godhead are always in agreement with each other, and the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament.
Kelly Kapic explains how we sometimes misunderstand God's love for us. He says: "Too often in some offerings of the gospel . . . we are presented with a wrathful Father and a loving Christ. In this way, the Father appears as an easily offended, furious perfectionist, who is only persuaded to forgive us by a more compassionate Son. The Father is now willing to put up with us, but only because Jesus loves us" (Kelly Kapic, You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God's Design and Why That's Good News, 23-24).
I want to offer two reasons (there are many more) why this is untrue. First, John explains in the most famous verse in the Bible:
John 3:16-17
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
The word "God" in verse 16 is referring to the entire Godhead, but it is especially referring to the Father. And it says "God the Father so loved us that he sent Jesus." And verse 17 goes on to explain that Jesus came with the expressed purpose of saving us. He didn't come to condemn, but to save. That is amazing!
Secondly, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is the exact imprint of the Father. Jesus put on humanity and lived among us in order to show us exactly what God is like.
Hebrews 1:3a
"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power."
Why does all of this matter? There are lots of reasons, but the one I want to impress upon on right now is this: God loves you. He truly loves you. Even in all your mistakes and sin, He loves you. He doesn't merely tolerate you. He's crazy about you. He gave his life for you.
All other loves may fade, but God's love for us is eternal. So pursue this God who loves you. He loves you more than you love yourself. He will never abandon you. And because of all this, it's worth giving your whole life to Him.
- Ben
