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- "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). God didn't just love the world (lost people everywhere); He SO LOVED the world! Do you sense the divine passion in that phrase? God is madly in love with everyone--saints or sinners. I believe the Bible illustrates that God loves people the same--regardless of their spiritual condition. Saved people, of course, delight His heart, but I don't think that the lost state of unbelievers lessens His love toward mankind. God's very nature is to love people. His passion is to see everyone (the world) come into a relationship of the saving kind with Him. His love is all-encompassing.
- "But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). The Greek word for "commends" parallels our word, "directs." In other words, "For God so directed His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." 1 John 4:17 tells us that "God is love." The beloved disciple of Jesus makes no distinction between saints and sinners. God loves us--period!
Surely, unsaved people must sadden the heart of our loving God. But that doesn't mean He loves them any less than He does we who have accepted His Son's sacrifice on the cross. Let me give you this example:
A couple may have children who delight their hearts and who walk in total obedience to their parenting. That same couple may also have children who openly defy them and walk in harsh rebellion. That couple may grieve over their prodigal children, but their love for them remains intact and equal. Keep in mind that love is not an emotion; it's something we set our hearts to do. Those parents may experience anger, frustration and every emotion in between the two, but that does not mean they love their difficult children any less. God's love is not established on emotion, but on His character. He can't do anything BUT love.
Yes, continued spurned love will one day bring His judgment and wrath, but until then, I believe this wonderful "hound of heaven" relentlessly stays on the trail of both the saved and unsaved. It is love that drives our heavenly Father, and it "is the kindness (goodness) of God that leads men to repentance" (Romans 2:4). That verse is tucked away in the middle of a discourse on God's righteous judgments.
Do you remember the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15)? That father loved both of his sons, even when one chose to squander his inheritance. How it must have hurt his heart to see his son waste his life "on riotous living." Yet, he loved them both and it was his fierce determination that held out for the boy's comeback. Love certainly does cover a multitude of sin, doesn't it!
Perhaps you have a question that you'd like for me to address? Send it to me by Facebook or email it to: loomisrl@windstream.net.
