How Has God Loved Us

HOW HAS GODLOVED US?

TThese words come from the pen of a Jewish prophetnamed Malachi. As the

last spokesman of the OldTestament, he raised a troublingquestion. How can we takecomfort in the love of God if we don’t feel loved? What ifcircumstances seem to say thatGod is ignoring us, that He hasabandoned us to our own pain,and that He is deliberatelywithholding from us what Hecould so easily grant?

Malachi, a messenger toGod’s “chosen people,” assuresus that we are not the first toask such questions. He gives us a chance to see why the love of God is one of the mostmisunderstood truths of theBible.

Martin R. De Haan II

Managing Editor: David Sper Cover Photo: Paul S. Howell /Liason InternationalScripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by ThomasNelson, Inc. Used by permission.All rights reserved.© 1994, 2003 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

CONTENTS

What Do You Believe About The Love Of God? . . . . . . . . . 2

A Simple Way Of Looking AtA Complex Subject . . . . 5

How Has God Loved Us? . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Beyond Malachi . . . . . . . 23

Q0102 God's Love pp 10/18/04 9:38 AM Page 1

© RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.

WHAT DO YOUBELIEVE ABOUTTHE LOVE OFGOD?• “I think He loves us

unconditionally, whetherwe love Him or not.”

• “I believe God loves us.But that doesn’t mean I’mreligious. The way I see it,if God loves us, what dowe have to worry about?”

• “I want to believe Godloves us. But that mightbe reading too muchhuman emotion intoHim.”

• “I used to believe in a Godof love. But some thingshave happened to methat I really don’t want totalk about.”

• “I think God loves us, butit’s probably a differentkind of love than weshow for one another. Ithink He loves us in waysthat we might not evenrecognize as love.”

• “I believe God loves me.But I often have a hardtime reconciling that withthe way I’m feeling aboutmyself.”

THE QUESTIONHAS A HISTORYConflicting opinions aboutthe love of God are morethan a symptom of ourtimes. Confusion aboutwhether God cares about uscan be traced all the wayback to the closing days ofthe Old Testament. Eventhen, some of the mostreligious people in theworld were wondering howthey could believe in a Godwho said He loved themwhile acting as though Hedidn’t. In about 450 BC,Malachi, the last of the OldTestament prophets, said tothe people of Jerusalem, “‘Ihave loved you,’ says theLord. But you ask, ‘Howhave You loved us?’” (Mal.1:2 NIV).

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THERE WEREOTHER QUESTIONSAS WELL Malachi has come down to us as a two-wayconversation between Godand His “chosen nation.”Eighteen times Malachiasked questions in behalf of God. Ten times he asked questions in behalf of his Jewish countrymen.Through the pen ofMalachi, Israel answeredGod’s questions with moreof their own:

• How have You lovedus? (1:2).

• How have we showncontempt for You?(1:6).

• How can You say we’vedefiled You? (1:7).

• Why don’t You answerour prayers? (2:13-14).

• How have we weariedYou? (2:17).

• Where is Your sense offairness? (2:17).

• How do You expect usto return to You? (3:7).

• How have we robbedYou? (3:8).

• What have we saidagainst You? (3:13).

• What did we gain byserving You? (3:14).

PUT THESEQUESTIONS INANOTHERCONTEXTTo see how amazing thesequestions are, put them inthe mouth of a wife whoafter 50 years of marriagestill isn’t convinced that herhusband loves her. Imagineoverhearing one side of atelephone conversationwhere a 75-year-old womansays to her husband, “Howcan you say you have lovedme? Is this the way a manloves his wife, by sayingshe has had contempt forhim? How have I hurt you? You don’t even payattention to me anymore. I talk, but you don’t listen.Then you say I’m the onewho wore you down. Where

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is your sense of decency?How, after all that has goneon between us, could youexpect me to have theaffection I used to have foryou? You say you love me,

yet in the very same breathyou accuse me of ruiningyour name and reputation.You call this love? I don’tthink so. I don’t know whatI’ve gained by living forthese 50 years locked to thechains of your demands.”

Israel, at the end of herOld Testament history, wastalking like this woman. She had been married toYahweh for 1,000 years. Yetwhen told of God’s love, sheacted like she hadn’t seen it.

Modern Jewish humor

reflects the irony of achosen people who haveoften felt unloved by God: “An old Jew prayedfervently in the synagogue,‘Lord, 4,000 years ago, onthe slopes of Mount Sinai,You chose the Jews as apeople peculiar to You, aholy people, a nation ofpriests, to bear the yoke ofYour holy Law and to serveas witness to all the world.Lord, I am deeply sensibleof the honor, but Lord,enough is enough. Surely it is time You chosesomebody else” (IsaacAsimov’s Treasury OfHumor).

Gentiles have beenknown to pray a similarprayer: “Lord, if this is what it means to be lovedby You, then please lovesomeone else for a while.”

Such prayers reflect ourneed for a clearer sense ofwhat it means to be lovedby God.

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Even God’s chosen people

didn’t feel loved.



A SIMPLE WAYOF LOOKING AT A COMPLEXSUBJECT

TThe Bible says that Godis love and that thewhole of His law can

be reduced to the principleof doing for others as wewould want them to do forus (Mt. 22:37-39; Gal. 5:14).The Scriptures make it just

as apparent, however, thatthere is profound complexitybehind this simple principle.

Before taking a closerlook at the questions and answers of Malachi,

let’s use a visual image to illustrate the simplicity andcomplexity of our subject. Asa prism separates a simpleshaft of light into a spectrumof colors, so the Scripturesseparate the love of God intodifferent shades of meaning.

GOD LOVES INDIFFERENT WAYSWhile the Bible says thatGod is love, it also shows usthat He loves in different

ways, in different degrees,and with different results.Until we carefully workthrough the principles andspecific examples of Hislove, it can seem very

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RedOrangeYellowGreenBlueViolet

Light through a prism produces a spectrum of color:

ê



confusing. For example, theBible tells us that God lovesimpartially and withoutprejudice, but He also chosethe nation of Israel to be thespecial object of His love. Heloves in time, and He lovesin eternity. Sometimes His

love is tough, and sometimesit is tender. He loves some asthey choose their way toheaven and others as theychoose their way to hell.

To sort out suchseemingly conflictingevidence, it is important for us to see some of thedifferent ways God loves us.

God LovesUnconditionally. The

Bible makes it clear that inso many ways, God loves usbecause of who He is ratherthan because of who we are.He offers to be our God notbecause we are lovable butbecause He is loving. Heoffers to care for us not

because of our performance,our goodness, or evenbecause of our effort or good intentions. He loves us because that’s the kind of God He is.

This is the kind ofunconditional love Godshowed the nation of Israelwhen He made them His“chosen people.” He did notchoose Abraham’s family

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UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

To do good toTo care forTo provide for

CONDITIONAL LOVE

To likeTo be fond ofTo have affection for

Love has a spectrum of definitions:

ê



because they were deserving(Dt. 7:7; 9:4-6). He didn’tchoose them because of theirnumbers or because of theirgoodness. He chose thembecause it was within Hisright and power to useAbraham’s descendants totell the story of His love.

Many years later, a son ofIsrael taught His disciples toshow one another the kindof unconditional love thatGod had shown them. ThisTeacher said:

You have heard that it wassaid, “You shall love yourneighbor and hate yourenemy.” But I say to you,love your enemies, blessthose who curse you, dogood to those who hateyou, and pray for thosewho spitefully use you andpersecute you, that youmay be sons of yourFather in heaven; for Hemakes His sun rise on theevil and on the good, andsends rain on the just andon the unjust. For if you

love those who love you,what reward have you? Do not even the taxcollectors do the same?(Mt. 5:43-46).We’ll see more evidence

of God’s unilateralwillingness to love us inpages 23-32 of this booklet.There we will see how Godmakes it possible for us tosay that nothing canseparate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:35-39). But for now it’s important tounderstand that there is bothan unconditional side toGod’s love as well as aconditional side.

God LovesConditionally. Jesusreflected this side of God’slove when He said to Hisdisciples, “The FatherHimself loves you, becauseyou have loved Me, andhave believed that I cameforth from God” (Jn. 16:27).While caring for everyone,God has a special “familylove” for those who believe

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in His Son. This love is a special love that goesbeyond His affection for the whole world.

Years later, the apostlePaul wrote, “God loves acheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).Again, while God caresabout the well-being of self-centered people, we mustconclude that in someaffectional ways He loves (orvalues) a generous personmore than a tightfisted one.

If the different ways Godloves are not considered, wemight make the mistake ofthinking that because Hehas been kind to us, He hasunconditionally accepted us

as His children. Or we mightforget that His children canstill act in ways that deepenHis affections or arouse Hisanger.

God is a Person whoselove must be understood inthe richness and fullness ofHis whole personality. He islove. But He is not only love.He loves according to thecounsel of His wisdom, Hisgoodness, and His eternality.His love is not blind, orindulgent, or shortsighted.His love is tough, it’s tender,it’s on His terms rather thanours, and it’s for the sake ofHis glory rather than ourdesires.

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CompassionateMercifulLovingGoodEternalJealousAngry

God has a spectrum of characteristics:

ê



HOW HAS GODLOVED US?

KKeeping in mind thatGod loves us in aspectrum of ways,

let’s take a closer look atMalachi’s answer to thequestion, “How has Godloved us?”

God hasloved us inobviousways wetend tooverlook(Mal. 1:2-4).God remindedthe people ofJerusalem ofsomething asobvious astheir ownnationalexistence.After 70 yearsof exile inBabylon, theywere back intheir mother city. Even

though they were notsatisfied with the conditionsof their life, God had notforgotten them. He hadgiven them favor with thePersian conquerors ofBabylon. He had broughtthem back to the homelandthey loved.

The samecould not besaid for theircousins, theEdomites.While thedescendantsof Jacob hadbeen given aland withcities theyhadn’t built,homes theyhadn’t filled,wells theyhadn’t dug,and vineyardsand olivegroves theyhadn’t planted(Dt. 6:10-12),

the descendants of Jacob’s 9

“I have loved you,” says theLord.“Yet you say, ‘In whatway have You loved us?’Was not Esau Jacob’sbrother?” says the Lord.“Yet Jacob I have loved; butEsau I have hated, and laidwaste his mountains andhis heritage for the jackalsof the wilderness.” Eventhough Edom has said,“Wehave been impoverished,but we will return andbuild the desolate places.”Thus says the Lord ofhosts:“They may build, butI will throw down; theyshall be called the Territoryof Wickedness, and thepeople against whom theLord will have indignationforever” (Mal. 1:2-4).



twin brother Esau had theopposite experience. Godput the Edomites under anational curse. He calledattention to their pride andsaid that even if they builttheir homes in mountainfortresses, He would maketheir homes a wasteland(Mal. 1:4). Esau’sdescendants would try to get up, but God wouldknock them down.

To this day, the obviousphysical contrast betweenthe “mountain of Jacob”and the “mountain of Esau”is apparent. Even thoughthe descendants of Esaubuilt strongholds high in thecliffs of Sela (in Petra, whichis 50 miles south of theDead Sea), God made theircliff dwellings desolate—astriking evidence of Hisjudgment (see Obad. 8–18).

The Lord’s choice ofJacob over his twin brotherEsau was not an expressionof favoritism. God didn’tindulge Israel like a spoiled

child or give His peopleimmunity from theconsequences of their sins.With Israel’s increasedprivilege came increasedresponsibility. No othernation would end up beingknown as the “people of theHolocaust.”

God chose Israel notonly to show the world theenviable condition of thosewho trust Him but also toshow the desolation thatcomes to those who refuseHis offer of love.

God’s chosen people 10

Israel was chosennot only to be the recipient ofobvious love but to suffer in an

equally apparentway when she

rejected that love.



ended up asking, “Howhave You loved us?” Theirquestion is a reminder thatsometimes our need is notto have more knowledgebut to pray that we don’tmiss the obvious.

Isaac Asimov tells atongue-in-cheek account of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,author of the famousSherlock Holmes stories. Hesays that Doyle once haileda cab in Paris, threw hishandbag inside, and climbedin after it. But before hecould say a word, the driversaid, “Where to, Mr. ConanDoyle?” “You recognize me?”said the author in surprise.“Not really. I’ve never seen apicture of you.” “Then howdo you know I am ConanDoyle?” “Well,” said thedriver, “I had read in thenewspapers that you wereon vacation in the south ofFrance. I noticed you gettingoff a train that came fromMarseille. I see you have thekind of tan that bespeaks a

week or more in the sun.From the inkspot on yourright middle finger, I deducethat you are a writer. Youhave the keen look of amedical man, and the cut of clothes of an Englishman.Putting it all together, I feltyou must surely be ConanDoyle, the creator of thegreat detective, SherlockHolmes.” Conan Doyle burst out, “But you areyourself the equal ofSherlock Holmes since yourecognized me from all thesesmall observations.” “Thereis,” said the driver, “oneadditional fact. Your name islettered on your handbag.”

In the details of life, we can miss the obvioussignature of love. In time,Israel forgot how loving Godhad been in making themHis chosen people and theapple of His eye. So we toocan forget that our veryexistence reflects the manyobvious ways God hasloved us.

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God has loved usenough to expose our contempt for Him (Mal. 1:6-8).In the days ofMalachi, thequality of lifewas decliningin Jerusalem.Marriages werein trouble(2:14-16).Crime was aproblem (3:5).Parent-childrelationshipsweredeteriorating(4:6). Spiritualleaders lackedintegrity (2:7-9). Peopleneededencouragementand words ofcomfort.

Malachi didcomfort them.But he also showed themthat while the love of Godis wonderful, it is not

necessarily safe. God lovesus enough to make an issueof our sin. He loves usenough to show us that

many of our personaland socialproblems arethe result of our owncontempt forGod.

Malachi was direct. Heseemed willingto make casesof bad self-esteem worse.Rather thanchoosing thewords thatwould helptroubledpeople feelbetter aboutthemselves, heseemed intenton creating

feelings of guilt and regret.Shouldn’t an

understanding of Israel’s 12

“A son honors his father,and a servant his master.If then I am the Father,where is My honor? And ifI am a Master, where is Myreverence? says the Lordof hosts to you priestswho despise My name.Yetyou say, ‘In what way havewe despised Your name?’You offer defiled food onMy altar, but say, ‘In whatway have we defiled You?’By saying, ‘The table of theLord is contemptible.’ Andwhen you offer the blindas a sacrifice, is it not evil?And when you offer thelame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to yourgovernor! Would he bepleased with you? Wouldhe accept you favorably?”says the Lord of hosts(Mal. 1:6-8).



troubled times haveprompted a man of God to offer words ofencouragement and hope?The people of Israel musthave longed for a soothingvoice from heaven to calmtheir fearful hearts and toinspire courage in the faceof profound spiritualdisappointment.

But Malachi’s love was atough love. He cared enoughto warn those who werearousing the patient anger ofGod. He exposed the heartsof those who thought theycould fulfill their obligationsto God by offering thatwhich cost them nothing. He confronted the priests

who were willing to acceptofferings of the crippled andblind animals of Israel’sflocks (Mal. 1:8).

That such sacrifices were not acceptable to Godappears to have been asurprise to Malachi’scountrymen. Sacrificingdefective animals seemed to meet the needs of bothreligion and business. Itcleansed the flocks of badstock while still providingsomething to burn on thealtar. They could givesomething to God withoutdepriving their families orbusinesses in the process.

The prophet pointed out, however, that theseworthless sacrifices werenot about meat. They wereabout hearts. A blind ramoffered as a sin sacrificereflected the spiritualblindness of the offerer. Acrippled animal indicatedan owner’s twisted walk.These imperfect sacrificeswere about people who,

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Malachi showedthat to withhold

honor from God isto unwittingly showcontempt for Him.



because they didn’t fearGod, were also more likelyto divorce their partners,ignore their children,embezzle money, or neglecta neighbor’s need.

Israel didn’t see it thatway. When confronted withtheir contempt for God, theyacted perplexed. “In whatway have we despised Yourname? . . . In what way havewe defiled You?” (1:6-7).

What Israel hadforgotten is that we cannottreat God as One who willtake just anything we giveHim. He is a jealous Godwho asks for first place inour hearts. Such loyalty hasparallels. A wife who walksinto a restaurant and findsher husband showingaffection for another womanisn’t apt to be satisfied to bejust one of his partners.Neither is God satisfied tobe just one of our loves.

When any tworelationships compete witheach other, one must lose.

Jesus said, “No one canserve two masters; for eitherhe will hate the one and lovethe other, or else he will beloyal to the one and despisethe other” (Mt. 6:24).

Instinctively, we want it to be different. We want tobelieve that we can servemore than one at a time. Wewant to believe that we canjuggle our way through lifekeeping all the balls in theair and all the platesspinning. But God loves us enough to show that wecannot have it all. There is atrade-off for every choice. It’simpossible to add withoutsubtracting. Everything weadd to our lives occupies itsown place in space and time.

God loves us enough to 14

God isn’t satisfiedto be just one of the persons

we love.



confront our lack of respect for Him. He is notthreatened by our anger orveiled contempt. He wouldrather have us confront thetruth about ourselves thanto go on thinking that weare doing better than wereally are.

God has loved usenough to give us ourfreedom(Mal.3:16–4:2).Malachi’scountrymenresponded in avariety of ways.Some fearedGod. Othersdidn’t. In theprocess, Godloved themenough to letthem choosetheir own way.He cared forthem enoughto give themfreedom to

decide their own destiny.Some chose the path ofspiritual safety. Some shookoff the prophet’s messageand brought great loss tothemselves, their families,and the reputation of theirGod.

It’s often assumed that ifGod loves us, He is the oneperson in life we don’t haveto worry about. In every

generation,otherwiseintelligentpeople losetheir sense of reasonwhen it comesto thinkingabout the loveof God. Theyreason that ifGod lovesus, He will be the GoodShepherd wholoves us inspite of ouractions towardHim. Bad

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Then those who feared theLord spoke to one another,and the Lord listened andheard them; so a book ofremembrance was writtenbefore Him for those whofear the Lord and whomeditate on His name.“They shall be Mine,” saysthe Lord of hosts,“on theday that I make them Myjewels. And I will spare themas a man spares his ownson who serves him.” Thenyou shall again discernbetween the righteous andthe wicked, between onewho serves God and onewho does not serve Him(Mal. 3:16-18).



things may happen for otherreasons, they admit. Butthey cannot imagine that aloving God would ever letanything terrible happen asa result of what we believeor don’t believe about Him.

But the last prophet ofthe Old Testament is likethe last prophet of the NewTestament. Both shake theirreaders out of romanticnotions about the love ofGod. Both Malachi in theOld Testament and John inthe New Testament book ofRevelation reveal a Godwho loves us enough toallow for a freedom that is

as dangerous as it iswonderful. Both speak ofGod’s love for those whofear Him and the inevitablefiery judgment of those whodon’t.

While we might find itimpossible to understandhow God could allowanyone to choose the helldescribed by Jesus in HisSermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:22,29-30; 7:13-14),consider the alternative.The alternative to choice is no choice. To have nochoice is to be less thanhuman and to cease to existin the likeness of God.

Choice is a part of the high calling given to us by God in His love.Accountability for our owndecisions is part of what itmeans to be made in theimage and likeness of God.With that capacity comesfreedom unlike anythingknown either by the animalworld below or the angelicworld above. It is a freedom

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Otherwiseintelligent people

seem to lose their sense ofreason when

thinking about the love of God.



for enormous gain or loss.Malachi reveals that

God loves us enough togive us freedom of choice,but also enough to take our decisions seriously. Hecares when we make aworthless sacrifice to fulfillritual obligations (Mal. 1:6-14). He sees us when webreak our promises to oneanother (Mal. 2:11-16). Heknows when we try toprotect our financialinterests by withholdingfrom Him the faith He’sasked for (Mal. 3:8-11). He cares when we fearHim, and He cares whenwe don’t (Mal. 3:16–4:3).

God hasshownspecial loveto some forthe sake ofall (Mal.1:11; Rom.11:11-14).God’s purposewas never to

make Israel the sole focusof His love. He had in viewthose Egyptians who wouldattach themselves toHebrew friends when Israelwas delivered from thePharaoh. He had in mindRuth the Moabite, whowould say to a Jewishmother-in-law, “Your peopleshall be my people, andyour God, my God” (Ruth1:16). He had in mind thequeen of Sheba, who wouldlater travel a long way tosee the extent of Solomon’sriches and to learn thesecret of his wisdom (1 Ki. 1:10-13).

These Gentiles were apartial fulfillment of the

Lord’s originalintent to blessall the nationsof the earththrough thedescendantsof Abraham(Gen. 12:3).By choosing to make an

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“For from the rising of the sun, even to its goingdown, My name shall begreat among the Gentiles;in every place incense shallbe offered to My name,and a pure offering; for Myname shall be great amongthe nations,” says the Lordof hosts (Mal. 1:11).



example of Israel, the Lordgave everyone else reasonto want what Israel had andto ask questions about herGod.

At the end of OldTestament history the Lordused this same tactic onIsrael. When Malachi wroteto Jerusalem in 450 BC, hecalled attention to the factthat God could be morepleased with the Gentilesthan with Israel (1:11).

It’s not too difficult tosee how God could appealto our envy. Many of us cansee ourselves in the littlechild who discards his toysand treats them roughlyuntil he sees another childpick them up and play withthem. Many of us who arehusbands know what it is totake our wife for granteduntil we see another manflirt with her.

God knows the feelingsof envy that can be stirredup when we see someoneelse pick up the treasure of

opportunity we have thrownaway. Yet, the Lord isn’t justplaying mind games withus. He is serious when Hewarns us that if we don’trespond to His love, He willfind someone else who willwholeheartedly embraceHim.

Look what the apostlePaul said in Romans 11:11-14 about this issue:

I say then, have [theJews] stumbled that theyshould fall? Certainly not!But through their fall, toprovoke them to jealousy,salvation has come to theGentiles. Now if their fallis riches for the world,and their failure riches forthe Gentiles, how muchmore their fullness! For I speak to you Gentiles;inasmuch as I am anapostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I mayprovoke to jealousy thosewho are my flesh andsave some of them.

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By electing some to bethe special objects of Hisgrace, God is givingeveryone reason to beenvious of His love.Sometimes He uses Jews to make Gentiles envious.Sometimes he uses Gentilesto make Jews jealous. Heloves us enough to appealto our own nature to turnour hearts toward Him.

God hasloved usenough tocare abouthow wetreat oneanother(Mal. 2:14-17; 4:5-6).People whoreject the loveof God arelikely to rejectone another.Those who fail to find their innersecurity and

significance in the Lord areapt to be driven by the kindof fears that cause them tobe dangerous to others.Spiritually empty peopletend to develop short-sighted strategies of self-protection. In a blind rush toprotect their own interests,husbands reject their wives,parents ignore their children,and children despise their

parents. These are

the socialconditionsreflected inthe prophecyof Malachi. As the lastprophet ofthe OldTestament, he remindedIsrael thatGod hated thewillful waysmen weredivorcing theirwives. And inthe last verse

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“For the Lord God of Israelsays that He hates divorce,for it covers one’s garmentwith violence,” says theLord of hosts.“Thereforetake heed to your spirit,that you do not dealtreacherously” (Mal. 2:16).“Behold, I will send youElijah the prophet beforethe coming of the great anddreadful day of the Lord.And he will turn the heartsof the fathers to thechildren, and the hearts of the children to theirfathers, lest I come andstrike the earth with acurse” (Mal. 4:5-6).



of that last prophecy,Malachi referred to brokenparent-child relationshipsthat had also resulted fromIsrael’s spiritual failure.

Family conflict has been around for a longtime. Most of it occurswhen one or more membersof a family lose a healthysense of the fear and love ofGod. The husband andfather who leaves his familyto pursue another woman isoften indulging a weak fearthat he is not man enoughto deal with the wife whoknows his faults. Childrenwho go silent or who lash

out angrily also feel caughtbetween contrary forces.Because they have not yetlearned to find their securityin God, they struggle withfears of being rejected byparents or friends.

Outwardly, we point our finger at one another.Instinctively, we raise issuesof fairness and justice. We even turn against GodHimself in our anger (Mal.2:17). But behind the toughexterior are frightenedpeople trying to scramble to protect their owninterests. Behind the angeris usually wounded prideand a fearful heart.

Recognizing the fearbehind the anger helps usto see what happens whenindividuals of any age orcircumstance refuse toaccept the security of theGod who loves them.

Rejecting or resisting thelove of God puts all of us ina position to reject others,to protect ourselves from

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Rejecting the security of the love of God

results in rejectingone another to

protect ourselves.



further pain. We maybecome emotionallydetached, irritable, angry,demanding, or morallyunprincipled. There aremany self-destructivestrategies for trying toprotect ourselves from thepainful rejection of others.But the underlying principleis always the same.Damaged people who arenot rescued and controlledby the love of God try toavoid further pain andrejection by taking theirsafety into their own hands.The results are never good.Our efforts to protectourselves from further

rejection turn into morethoughts and feelings thattake on a tormented life oftheir own.

These are the problemsaddressed by both secularand spiritual counselors.They plague religious aswell as secular victims.When analyzed bythemselves, they seem to be understandableresults of understandablehuman dynamics.

As M. Scott Peck points out in The Road LessTraveled, hurt people tendto be marked by:

• avoidance of pain(indulgence),

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InsecurityGuiltBoredomLonelinessAnxietyAngerHatredDespair

Rejected love projected through the prism of self-protection results in a spectrum of problems:ê



• avoidance ofresponsibility(projection of blame),

• avoidance ofreality/truth (flight from reality),

• avoidance of change(failure to balance).

Peck goes on to show how secular insighthelps hurt people learn to(1) defer gratification, (2) accept responsibility for their own choices, (3) commit themselves to reality (rather thanrunning from it), and (4) learn to balance their expectations of everchangingcircumstances.

Secular insight, however, leaves someimportant questionsunanswered. As helpful as it is, it offers no realanswers to the questions:Who am I? What is my real problem? How should I live? Who says

I’ve got the ability to bewhat I should be?

It is in answering thesequestions that the Bibleoffers so much help in

coming to terms with theproblems of rejection andlost love. It is in answeringthese questions that theBible goes on to show ushow to rediscover thesecurity and grace that wehave rejected but now sodesperately need.

The love of God thatMalachi talked about didn’tend with the last of the OldTestament prophets. Withthe coming of night, a newdawn would follow.

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Secular insight,by itself, lacks

adequatediagnostics.



BEYONDMALACHI

TToday we see what theJews of Malachi’s daycould not see. With

the benefit of looking back2,400 years, we can see howGod was getting ready tomake His name great amongthe Gentiles (Mal. 1:11).From a New Testamentperspective, we can see how God would use Israel’srejection of His love as anoccasion to offer Himself tothe whole world. ThroughIsrael’s failure to appreciateHis love, God would show itto people of all nations.

A NEWUNDERSTANDING The New Testament hasgiven us a new way to hear God when He says, “I have loved you.” Whenwe are inclined to answerback, “How have You loved us?” we have differentinformation to deal with.

What the Old TestamentJews could not see was howfar God would go to showHis love for us. What theycould not see is howemotionally, spiritually, and physically involvedGod would become to dealwith the heartbreakingproblem of our sin.

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a new understanding a new opportunitya new identitya new examplea new enablementa new sense of balancea new vision

The love of God projected through the prism of the gospelresults in a spectrum of New Testament teaching:ê



Today we can readseveral different NewTestament accounts of thesufferings of One known asthe Son of God. We canreflect on a Messiah whoallowed Himself to bemisunderstood, shamed,whipped, and scorned in apublic execution outside thewalls of Jerusalem. Todaywe can read about the angerof His Jewish countrymen,the flight of His friends, and the inhumanity of HisRoman executioners.

The cross helps us realize that our most seriousproblems are not disease orbad environment. According

to the New Testament,Christ died for our sins. Itwas on the cross that Godshowed He loved us enoughto pay the price for the worstof our problems. It was therethat He willingly suffered forour pride, our greed, ourimpulsiveness, our hatred,our sexual immorality, andour irreverence. On thecross, God offered apayment for our sins. In thewords of the One who criedout, “My God, My God, whyhave You forsaken Me?”(Mk. 15:34), we hear theecho of our own eternaldespair, as the eternal Godtasted and swallowed deathin our place.

How much does Godlove us? So much that theNew Testament can say,“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in thatwhile we were still sinners,Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8). Through His suffering,we see the terribleness ofour own rebellion. Through

24

Now when we askGod,“How haveYou loved us?”

we have differentinformation to

work with.



His pain, we see the extentof God’s love for us.

But if we now have anew way to understand how God has loved us, we are also ready for a newunderstanding of how toaccept His love.

A NEWOPPORTUNITYWhile Old Testament Jewshad many reasons to believein the love of God, the crossof Christ went far beyondanything they had ever seen.When interpreted by theNew Testament, thesubstitutionary death ofChrist makes it clear that noone has to earn God’s love.No one has to jump throughmoral hoops to earn Hisacceptance. No one has tosolve difficult riddles to winHis favor. No one has to liveup to the legal requirementsof the law of God. No onehas to crawl on his knees tocompensate for past sins.No one has to do such

things, because God alreadyloves us. He has alreadyloved us enough to sacrificeHis own Son on our behalf.

All that remains is for usto trust what He has doneon our behalf. All we mustdo is believe that He hasdone for us what we couldnot do for ourselves (Rom.4:5). The answer is foundnot by trying harder toplease God but by trustingwhat Christ has done for us.God’s love is offered to usin the form of a gift, not areward (Eph. 2:8-10).

25

If Jesus was whoHe claimed to be, then the

cross shows that it will take eternity

to understand how much

God loves us.



This is the salvationwhich while comingthrough a Jewish Messiah,and while being describedby the mouths and pens ofHebrew prophets, is nowoffered freely to the wholeworld. It is the salvationdescribed by a former rabbiwho declared to Jew andGentile alike, “If youconfess with your mouth,‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believein your heart that Godraised Him from the dead,you will be saved. For it iswith your heart that youbelieve and are justified,and it is with your mouththat you confess and aresaved. As the Scripturesays, ‘Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’ For there is nodifference between Jew andGentile—-the same Lord is Lord of all and richlyblesses all who call on Him,for, ‘Everyone who calls onthe name of the Lord will besaved’” (Rom. 10:9-13 NIV).

This is how much Godloves us.

A NEW IDENTITY The New Testament tells usthat those who accept God’slove in Christ become newpeople in the eyes of God.All who admit their sin andbelieve in Christ as their“sin bearer” are given awhole new way of thinkingabout themselves. Theybecome children of God.

Having met the conditionof accepting Christ as Savior,these people are in aposition to enter fully intothe love and acceptance ofGod. This doesn’t mean Godwill never be displeased,angry, or unaccepting of self-destructive and disobedientbehavior. It does mean thatthese behaviors will behandled on the basis ofperfect family love ratherthan the legal judgment andcondemning rejection thatawaits those outside ofChrist.

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There is much more inthis good news that is oftenseen or felt by those whohave been raised inChristian homes or inWestern culture. Full,undeserved acceptance inthe love of Christ is the mostprofound and reassuringtruth ever written.

A NEW EXAMPLE As Christ surrendered tothe pain of His cross inorder to do the will of God,so we now are to surrenderto the pain of whatever it takes to show ourappreciation to God for all He has done for us.

The apostle Peter wrote:

For to this you werecalled, because Christalso suffered for us,leaving us an example,that you should followHis steps: “Whocommitted no sin, norwas deceit found in Hismouth”; who, when Hewas reviled, did not revile

in return; when Hesuffered, He did notthreaten, but committedHimself to Him whojudges righteously; whoHimself bore our sins inHis own body on the tree,that we, having died tosins, might live forrighteousness—by whose

27

In ChristChild of GodFriend of GodMember of the churchHeir of eternal lifeCitizen of heavenTemple of the Spirit

The love of God projected through the prism of the new birth results in a spectrum of new identity:ê



stripes you were healed.For you were like sheepgoing astray, but havenow returned to theShepherd and Overseer of your souls (1 Pet. 2:21-25).By being obedient to

death, and thereby fulfillingthe love of God for others,Christ showed us how towalk in the love that is now ours. He gave us Hisexample at Gethsemane,which shows us that whenit comes to living in andexpressing the love of God,we need to be ready to say:

• “Not my will but Your will.”

• “Not my thoughts but Your thoughts.”

• “Not my ways but Your ways.”

• “Not my feelings but Your feelings.”

• “Not my power but Your power.”

This doesn’t mean thatwe discount or deny ourown thoughts or emotions

in the process of pursuingGod. It just means that wecan’t trust our own thoughtsor emotions to give us anaccurate view of reality. Our

own thoughts and emotionsonly give us a picture ofwhat is happening in us.They help us to see why wemust continually measureourselves, not by ourselvesbut by the Word of Godand the Spirit of His grace.We can trust our own heartonly as it helps us to seeour need of Christ, our needof His undeserved help,and our need of Hisundeserved love.

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We can’t trust our own thoughts

or emotions to giveus an accurateview of reality.



A NEWENABLEMENTThe New Testament tells us that once we have beenaccepted into the love ofGod by putting ourselvestotally at the mercy ofChrist, we have a new lifeand source of strength.God’s Spirit now lives withinus to make it possible for usto walk in the love of God.

While we cannot feel the Spirit, we can see theevidence of His presence inus as we begin to yield toHis control. As we surrenderto the teachings of Christ, webegin to discover what theapostle Paul meant when hewrote, “He who raised Christfrom the dead will also givelife to your mortal bodiesthrough His Spirit whodwells in you” (Rom. 8:11).

When we’re controlledby Christ rather thanourselves, the result is agrowing evidence of love,joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). This Spirit-filled (Spirit-controlled) life is thealternative to the anger andavoidance that marks thosewho have not found theirsecurity in the love of God.

A NEW SENSE OF BALANCEThose in Christ have a newbalance between “who theyare in Christ” and “howthey are doing as Hischild.” On a scale of 1 to10, every child of God is aperfect 10 when it comes tohis legal position in Christ.

29

We cannot feel the Spirit, but

we can see theevidence of His

presence in us aswe begin to yield to His control.



Because the Bible saysthat the believer in Christstands accepted by God inChrist, there is nothing that

will ever separate this childfrom the love of God. Themost important eternalissues are settled once andfor all (Rom. 8:28-39).

Practically speaking, the story may be somewhatdifferent. We may be only a meager “1” or “3” whenit comes to our love, or joy,or peace. Yet we can stillplease God in all of ourincompleteness andimmaturity if we aregrowing in the attitudesJesus described as “blessed”in Matthew 5:1-10. Havingfound legal and familyacceptance through faith in Christ, we grow in thatfamily relationship byletting Christ form a heart in us that is:

• poor in spirit, not arrogant

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Every child of God is a perfect

10 when it comes to his legal position in Christ.

LEGAL PERFECTION

Forgiven in ChristAccepted in ChristComplete in Christ

PRACTICAL IMPERFECTION

Countless failuresChanging attitudesFamily accountabilityNeed for growth

The love of God projected through Christ provides aspectrum of ways of balancing our position and our practice:ê



• sorry for sin, not proud

• meek before God, not stubborn

• hungering forrighteousness, not for evil

• merciful, not critical anddemanding

• pure in heart, not double-minded

• peacemakers, not dividers

A NEW VISION Once we begin to see howmuch God has alreadydone for us in Christ, wecan begin to get a sense ofwhat is yet ahead. Once webegin to see how much Godhas sacrificed and sufferedfor us, we have reason tosay with the apostle Paul,“He who did not spare Hisown Son, but delivered Himup for us all, how shall Henot with Him also freelygive us all things?” (Rom.8:32). If God’s Son died for

us, He will also live for us.Even now, Jesus assures usthat while being presentwith us through His Spirit,He is in heaven preparing aplace for us, interceding forus, and acting as ourAdvocate.

If God has used timeto bring us to the end ofourselves, to bring us toHimself, to test our faith,and to show that His abilityto forgive is greater than ourability to sin, then He willuse eternity to surprise uscontinually with theimmeasurable andinexpressible extent of His love for us!

For now, we mustconclude that it is His lovethat causes Him to tell us to

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God’s Son not onlydied for us, He also lives for us.



believe in His Son and toprepare expectantly for Hisany-moment return. It isbecause He loves us thatHe reminds us to love oneanother, to encourage oneanother, and to help oneanother walk a path thatleaves no regrets.

It is God’s love thatencourages us to give uptrying to trust Him in ourown strength, and insteadto believe that when weconsciously surrender ourbodies and minds to Him,He can live His life through

us (Gal. 2:20; 3:2-5).It is God’s love that

teaches us to believe thatHe calls us righteous, notwhen we successfully learnand obey all of His laws butrather when we believe inHis Son (Rom. 4:5; Eph.2:8-10; Ti. 3:5). He is ourMediator (1 Tim. 2:5),Advocate (1 Jn. 2:1), andSavior (1 Jn. 4:14).

It is God’s love thatteaches us to feel our ownweakness and helplessness.It is God’s love that leadsus to despair of helpingourselves. It is God’s lovethat teaches us to have noconfidence in our own fleshbefore discovering theliberating difference thatChrist can be in us (2 Cor.3:5; 4:7).

It is God’s love that callsus to a higher way of livingwhile also assuring us thatHe Himself can provide thespiritual enablement for usto grow into this new way oflife (1 Th. 5:24).

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“He who did notspare His own Son,but delivered Himup for us all, howshall He not with

Him also freely giveus all things?”

Romans 8:32



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How Has God Loved Us