Introduction - The distressing demise of rules
Part 1 - The necessity of good universal rules
Part 2 - God's laws are an expression of love
Part 3 - We must know God's love to live out His laws
Part 4 - We must know God's love to interpret His laws
Part 5 - How can we trust God's love in a world with pain and suffering?
Conclusion - Be loved more
Hopefully this will allow people to tackle it in parts or pick and choose.
Introduction - The distressing demise of rules
I completely understand the trends that have led to this. As humans we have a natural instinct to take care of ourselves, so if we don't feel an authority figure has our best interests at heart we will naturally distrust their rules. So often throughout history those who claimed moral absolutes and assumed power, both secular and religious, have abused that power and caused great suffering. Many people’s objection to God’s authority is not so much due to any real understanding of Him, but due to the poor picture of his character painted by those who claimed to follow Him through the centuries.
As someone who has experienced a mere glimpse of the incredible love and blessing that come from submitting to the rule of God this trend hurts my heart and makes me fear for our society and world should such a trend continue. In this post I hope to communicate a truer picture of God’s character and life under his authority. By doing so I hope those who don’t know Him will see Him more clearly; and those who do know Him will gain heart to stand firmly against the tide once again for God’s values, no longer feeling ashamed to proclaim and live out the goodness of His authority in the midst of a society that ridicules such claims.
Part 1 - The necessity of good universal rules
I would like to start by appealing to your logic. We all know that just because something is used for evil doesn’t necessarily make the thing itself evil. For example, just because ships have been used for war doesn’t mean ships are inherently evil. In the same way, just because God’s laws have at times been used for evil doesn’t make them inherently evil. In both cases the issue is with the ‘users’ of the ‘thing’ in question.
To take this a step further, just because something has been used for evil doesn’t mean getting rid of it is the best answer. Imagine if we had just gotten rid of all ships because they had occasionally been used to commit atrocities? It may have taken many more centuries for us to discover much of the now known world. In the same way just because people who believe in God have used His laws and authority to commit atrocities doesn’t mean getting rid of God and His laws is the best answer. Any upstanding historian and sociologist will admit that for all the evil done in the name of the Christian God far more good has been accomplished by using the very same laws and submitting to the very same God.
Sociologist Robert Woodberry recently conducted a study into why some countries take to democracy so well while their next-door neighbours wallow in corruption and bad government. He concluded,
“Areas where Protestant missionaries had a significant presence in the past are on average more economically developed today, with comparatively better health, lower infant mortality, lower corruption, greater literacy, higher educational attainment (especially for women), and more robust membership in non-governmental associations.”
As Philip Yancey states in Vanishing Grace, “That does not fit the Hollywood stereotype of missionaries ruining cultures, I know, but so far no-one has been able to refute Woodberry’s findings.” Any reasoning person must therefore admit that the Christian laws, morals and ethics are not inherently bad and have in fact been the driving force behind much of the good in modern society. As always it comes down to the people using these laws. Mahatma Ghandi summed up well what so many people in the modern Western world feel,
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are not like your Christ.”
Surely the answer then is not less of Christ but more of Christ?! And in this I am speaking primarily to the church. It is only when the church really lives out Christlike values that we will become a credible voice on moral standards. Many of the world’s greatest secular thinkers through the ages have acknowledged the incredible profundity of Jesus’ teachings and revered his moral authority even if they haven’t believed in His resurrection and Lordship.
Good rules bring freedom
We must once again become conscious of the fact that true freedom only comes through good universal rules. For example, imagine a football match where everyone could make up their own rules, people could pick up the ball and run, you could score in your own goal and you could break people's legs, football would lose all meaning and would no longer be fun to play. Also, much in the same way that a machine can only function to its full capacity if it is has been programmed correctly, humans can only get the most out of life when given the right rules to follow. The Bible describes God as our creator and a perfectly loving father. Surely He would know better than anyone how we as individuals and a society will work best?
Quite often as children (and even adults) we don’t understand that rules are there to help us. They seem like fun-inhibiting road blocks to freedom, life and happiness. For example, I used to hate that my mum would make me eat broccoli and other such vegetables. I also saw her commands for me to tidy my room as unnecessary discipline, not realising all the valuable lessons about cleanliness and work ethic I was being taught. Having worked at a summer camp for two summers and lived with 8-10 year olds for a total of 14 weeks I now understand the importance of rule setting not just for the benefit of a particular child but also for the proper functioning of the bunk as a whole. I will move on to consider how the Christian should determine proper action in light of such fallibility.
The Atheists' moral dilemma
It must also be acknowledged that despite the widespread societal support for such an idea, the drive towards liberation from moral absolutes towards individual moral codes has been one of the major causes of what could be seen as the decline of society’s moral and civil standards in the last century. Philip Yancey says in Vanishing Grace,
“In my own lifetime the divorce rate in America has doubled, the rates of teen suicide and violent crime have both tripled, and births out of wedlock have sextupled…. The leading causes of death are self-inflicted, the side-effects of tobacco, obesity, alcohol, sexually transmitted diseases, drugs and violence.”
So often today people say ultimate freedom comes from being free from laws and giving everyone the ability to determine what is right ‘to them’. Any mention of universal truths that apply to all people is now obnoxious. This is the only logical step to take for the society that doesn't believe in God. As Darwin stated, "A man who has no assured and ever-present belief in the existence of a personal God or of a future existence with retribution or reward, can for his rule of life, as far as I can see, only to follow those impulses and instincts which are the strongest or which seem to him the best ones".
In a worldview where humans are just a random cosmic accident with no intrinsic value or worth, 'good' and 'evil' don't exist. The atheist society has no definitive grounds on which to say something is 'right' or 'wrong' as every individual's view is as groundless and therefore valid as the next person's. The deciding factor in which one person's view reigns triumphant is most commonly summed up in the evolutionary theory of 'survival of the fittest'. The logical conclusion of such thinking is always extreme and shocking. Without God there is no solid basis on which to denounce rape, pillaging or murder, for, if others think them right what ground does anyone else have to say they are wrong and should stop? This culminated in the early 20th century with the spread of eugenics by Nazi Germany where the weak and infirm were to be killed off in order to better the gene pool and not waste resources.
Such examples show that although freedom from universal moral bounds may allow some people greater freedom from their own conscience, it also tends to lead to greater moral deprivation in society as a whole where each person suffers the consequences of everyone else's 'moral convictions' as to what is right 'to them'. Despite such a shift towards moral relativism we, as humans, can't help but feel there is absolute good and evil, right and wrong. This presents the Atheists' moral dilemma. As W.H. Auden put it,
"If, as I am convinced, the Nazis are wrong and we are right, what is it that validates our values and invalidates theirs?"
It is this inner voice of definitive, universal good and evil which the Christian worldview can speak to. One which says there is definitive 'right' and 'wrong' as defined by God and that human beings not only have value, but ultimate value and worth as God showed by paying for us with His most precious commodity, His son. Such thinking naturally promotes the support of all life even if costly and infirm. This is why Christians throughout the centuries have often led the way in promoting and establishing education and health care for all, human rights, equality, anti-slavery, homes for the destitute and many other activities which only make sense in light of all humans having value.
Part 2 - God's laws are an expression of love
As you can probably tell, I firmly believe that submitting to the authority of God and following his laws is something beautiful and good. So how do we reconcile the fact that they are used so inconsistently? What is the defining factor that determines whether God’s laws are used for good or for evil? I write this with all humility knowing I won’t have all the answers, but I believe there is one major principle we can apply which will serve as a good guide rope to keep those who follow God on the path that is good and will bless humanity. Love.
The way Christians apply God’s laws is determined by their relationship with, and understanding of, God. The whole of the Biblical message is about how God is love and how He passionately loves all human beings. The common theme throughout the Bible is God trying to bless humans and show them the best way to live while humans keep trying to run away from Him and do things their own way (which always causes pain and suffering). However, despite those choices God has infinite mercy and keeps chasing them and blessing them.
The laws were an expression of God’s love for us. A guide from the loving creator to his creatures on how to live the most fulfilling lives possible, they were never about sheer obedience. Consider this. What we now consider to be God’s laws would be there whether they had been written down or not. Whether or not we had been told murder was bad does not affect the fact murder is bad. Whether or not we had been told coveting hurts us and others would not change the fact coveting hurts us and others. We should be so grateful God gave us a blueprint of how to make the most of this life and chase it with our whole heart and mind. Paul explains this in Romans 7:7-13.
How does God love us?
So what is the model for Christians? Jesus said, “A new command I give to you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). To live this out properly we must understand how Jesus loved us. A lack of true understanding of the type of love Jesus dispensed is I believe one of the two main contributing factors to Christians doing bad and unloving things both now and throughout history (the second factor is described in the next section). The Bible is clear on the type of love Jesus loved with. Like His Father, Jesus was:
- Completely selfless and 'others focused'. Having people’s eternal salvation front of mind with physical, spiritual, and emotional health closely behind. This was expressed throughout His life, but never more scandalously than through His death on the cross for our sins and unloving acts.
- Completely merciful and delayed in judgement not dealing with us as we deserve. Like forgiving the woman who had committed adultery when the religious leaders wanted Him to pronounce death like the law demanded (John 8:1-11).
- Always looking for the treasure in people by always looking beyond who they are now to the glory of what they could be, then calling that out of them. Like Zacchaeus the Tax collector (Luke 19:1-10).
- Personal. Jesus didn't just throw love around aimlessly. He showed that God is a personal God knowing our most intimate details and caring for every one. One of the best examples of this was when Jesus helped the woman at the well come to see that the love and acceptance she had looked for in her 5 ex-husbands and current lover could only be truly satisfied by Him (John 4).
- Looking to protect and help the poor, sick, disadvantaged and spiritually lost. The Bible says this far better than I ever could in Matthew 9:10-13:
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners [people considered by society as scumbags and the morally bankrupt; If Jesus were around today he'd hang out with the drug addicts, prostitutes and widows. Not the religious leaders.] came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
These five points are merely a glimpse of the type of love with which Jesus loved us even to the point of going through a sham trial, torture, and a horrific death all for us. It may seem like an impossibly high bar to love others as Jesus loved, and it is, He died on our behalf because He knew we would fall short and need grace and forgiveness not deserved. If you have experienced Christians acting in ways contrary to this then I am sorry. We are not perfect, we are ‘the sick’ (including morally) that Jesus said He came to save. However, this is the model we should strive for and exhort each other to.
How can we love like this?
As a Christian myself I am constantly aware of my shortcomings in my attempts to love like Jesus. However, having tasted of the 'spring of living water' (John 7:37-39) Jesus provides I have committed my life to discovering what that looks like and how I can draw closer to it. As part of this quest, something my eyes were only fully opened to recently is that all sin (unloving acts) stems from a lack of love. This, I believe is the second major factor in Christians failing to act lovingly. Now some people might say that’s obvious, if we don’t love others we will likely perform unloving acts towards them. However, that’s not what I mean. I mean all sin stems from a lack of ‘knowing we are loved’.
Think about this for a moment. Surely all sin can be pegged back at its core to self-centredness. Selfishness, greed and pride. Putting one’s own needs before those of others. Where does this come from? I would argue insecurity, a lack of faith in God's goodness. We can see it prominently displayed even in the 'original sin', Adam and Eve didn’t fully trust God had their best interests at heart. They thought some of the laws He put in place were there to inhibit them rather than bless them so they lived by their own rules (Genesis 3:1-7).
Think about theft as another example. In most cases that is clearly driven from a self-focused mind-set of feeling the need to take one’s own welfare into one’s hands even at the expense of others. It stems from the mentality that, “If I don’t look after my own needs no-one else will”.
However, simply knowing we are loved is of course not enough to stop this mentality. Many people might say, "I know I am loved"; my partner loves me, my parents love me, my friends love me yet I still covet, get angry and am not generous to the needy. That is because it’s not just any love that will satisfy the self-focused nature. We need to:
All four components of this statement are necessary if we hope to live this life as the perfectly loving beings God intended. As Timothy Keller eloquently explains in his book ‘The Art of Self-Forgetfulness’ true humility is "not thinking less of oneself, or more of oneself, but thinking of oneself less". I would argue this produces more than merely humility. I believe it is the basis of the perfect life.
If we actually knew and 100% believed that we are fully loved, by a perfectly loving being, who loves us 100% of the time, who is all wise in knowing what’s best for us in all circumstances and who is all powerful to be able to bring about those circumstances, then I would argue we would never be self-centred again. We would be completely confident in all circumstances that we would be provided for, that our best interests would be taken care of and that we have ultimate value. We wouldn’t care what anyone but that all loving being thinks of us or how they think we should live because we would trust His views more than everyone else’s ‘including our own’.
Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)
If we truly believed all four parts of that primary statement as they apply personally to us then worry, anxiety, anger, stress, hopelessness and sorrow to the point of despair would all be eliminated. Then believing that this statement applies to all human beings gives us the basis from which to recognise each human being has ultimate worth to God. This is because someone's worth is dictated by the person valuing them. Therefore, if we trust God's views more than anyone else's, including our own (as shown above, we must), then we must see every human being as infinitely valuable and worthy of perfect love.
It may seem petty but I believe that distinction is necessary. It relates to two concepts I will call 'positive sin' and 'negative sin'.
To break this down further. Knowing we 'personally' are fully loved in the way described above allows us to be content and secure with our lives and therefore frees us to stop thinking of our own welfare and consider the welfare of others. However, I don't believe it provides the motivation to carry out such actions. This, I believe, comes from knowing God loves all other human beings just as perfectly and ascribes ultimate value to them (in spite of their current lifestyle). It is then that we can be perfect advocates for all human kind, like Jesus, through displaying love, generosity, forgiveness and mercy.
The Bible isn't quite so mechanical in describing how Christians can attain such a selfless love. Rather it states simply that we can love God and others because He loved us first, to the unimaginable extent of letting His son sacrifice himself for us, even while we were still enemies to Him (1 John 4:19; John 3:16; Romans 5:10). God showed in this act that all humans have infinite worth to Him and that He will do all He can to win back their hearts. Any person that truly grasps and believes that fact can't help but love God in return and dispense that same love and grace even to their enemies. It is a value system which does not place someone's worthiness of love on what they have done in the past or their genetic health but rather on their inherent worth to God.
With this mindset we can be like Paul and Silas who, having been 'severely flogged' and then thrown in prison, began to sing praises to God in their cell (showing complete contentment in God's love for them) and even show compassion to the prison guard when God intervened (showing an understanding of his worth)! (Acts 16:22-28). Or like Stephen who even whilst being stoned to death looked towards heaven (showing his complete trust in God's eternal faithfulness) and prayed that God would forgive the very people throwing stones at his head (showing his understanding of their worth)! Who but people with the above beliefs could have a crazy love like this that they would pray for those trying to kill them?! Who could face adversity with such amazing grace and deep joy? Paul says in Romans 8:28, "God is working all things together for good for those who love Him." It is in this we can have rest as 'if it is not good, then it is not the end'.
How to become more loving
Such an understanding can lift a huge weight off many Christians shoulders. It means that if we feel we are falling short of Jesus' love, the way to grow closer is not to 'try harder' to follow rules as we are so often instructed. Neither is it to give up trying and simply appeal to God's grace. Rather it is to simply know the Father's love more. It is to meditate on His goodness and love for us and to find way's to grow in faith (trust) and assurance of the four parts of the above statement. How easy and wonderful is that? To improve we need to rest with God more and allow ourselves to be loved.
The journey will look different for everyone, for some more prayer will be the answer, for others it will be practical action and stepping out in faith, for others still it may be drawing close to and accepting the love of other Christians in your life. 'How' is not important, but one way or another we must come to truly know that He loves us, that He is perfectly loving, that He is all wise and that He is all powerful. It is growing in a deep knowledge of this that I believe will ultimately allow us to love as perfectly, and live as freely, as Jesus did.
What are the results of this way of thinking?
There are a few natural results of this way of thinking God has put on my heart recently. The main one is that if we love and trust Him completely as an all loving, all wise, and all powerful Father then we will understand His laws to be loving instructions which provide us with life, happiness and fulfillment. We will no longer submit to the thinking of our age which says ultimate sources of rule and authority are bad. We will no longer see submission to a higher and wiser power as something negative. That way of thinking comes from years of ingrained fear caused by bad authority figures abusing their power, alongside our own twisted understanding of where true satisfaction lies. In contrast, submission is beautiful and something to rejoice in when the one we are submitting to is all loving towards us, all powerful to enact his will, and all wise to know what’s best for us even more than we do.
In this case we won’t see the command ‘you shall not commit adultery’ and think, “How close can I get to that without breaking the rule?” We will instead think, “How far away from that can I get?” because we will understand that God had our best interests at heart when he said it. We would live out Jesus’ command to not even lust after a woman who is not our own as much for our benefit as for theirs. Again, we won’t see God’s command to be generous and think “How little can I give whilst still being considered generous?” We will instead think, “How much of my time and resources can I physically give?” Because my heavenly Father loves them as much as me and says I will be blessed by blessing.
When we understand God knows what's best for us more than we do we will essentially approach the laws like Jesus. Consider how he took the Ten Commandments and then blew them out of the water in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5-7), looking for the extreme case of each one. Not in compromise and trying to just meet the ‘letter of the law’ like the Pharisees for the sake of external righteousness. Why? Because He knew how perfect the Father’s love is and therefore understood the heart behind the laws. He knew that following them brings us more life not less.
Do you now see? When we trust God is perfectly loving towards us and is all wise and all powerful we will love His commands and laws rather than look on them as harsh stumbling blocks. We will seek to go above and beyond in finding out why God set them and how we can live them out better. We will become like David who said,
This does take considerable faith in all four parts of the primary statement above. One of the primary reasons for this is because the things God says will bring us fullness of life, both now and in eternity, are completely backwards to our culture and natural inclinations. This world says you will be 'happy', 'fulfilled' and 'significant' by becoming more wealthy, owning more 'things', becoming more famous and satisfying your natural urges as much as possible. However, these things never truly satisfy. They scream promises of significance and fullfilment but fail to deliver. For example, a study by Edward Deci, professor of Psychology at Rochester University concluded, "The attainment of extrinsic, or 'American Dream,' goals does not contribute to happiness at all in this group of people, but it actually does contribute to some ill being."
In this culture of excess and instant gratification people soon find themselves enslaved to the things they were looking to for fulfillment. It is a life where good things are made into ultimate things (gods). One where people are dwarfed and dehumanised by their possessions and hedonistic desires as if ownership had gone into reverse (George Monbiot). One where people love 'things' and use 'people' rather than loving 'people' and using 'things' (Fulton Sheen).
There are many examples of this process of turning good things to ultimate things and then becoming enslaved to them. We might consider how the West have taken food, a natural 'good' and made it an 'ultimate thing' displayed through the sharp rise in obesity rates over the last few decades. We could also look at 'sexual desires' which also are naturally good, but our culture has elevated it to an 'ultimate thing' which has led to significant increases in sexual deviancy, adultery, porn addiction and sex trafficking world wide.
Jesus, however, spoke of a different truth. One where the humble, merciful and peacemakers are happiest (Matthew 5:5,7,9). One where happiness comes through 'giving' rather than 'receiving' (Acts 20:35), where greatness comes through 'serving' rather than 'seeking power' (Mark 10:43). These things run contrary to what we naturally believe will make us happy. This is one reason God's laws often seem more like 'chores' than 'blessings'. Therefore, in order to see God's laws as the guide to true satisfaction we must first have faith that He knows what will satisfy us more than we or our culture do.
Come on people. This is where we need to get to. This is the whole message of the Bible. For those who believe, now that Jesus has come and paid the penalty of our sin we can forget the judgement the law requires and start to love and cherish it, meditate on it, live it out as closely as we can so that we can attain all the fullness of life it comes with. As Paul said, “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.” (Romans 7:6)
So what is that law which we are meant to obey? Jesus summarised it in principle as this, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength and love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). God says this law has been written on our very hearts (our consciences) (Romans 2:15). However, because our minds have a twisted version of the truth He gave us the Bible to settle matters of the law and right living,
It is due to this we need to come to God’s word and laws regularly to find sustenance and fullness of life. We need to trust (have faith) that He is an all loving, all powerful, all wise God and that he knows what’s best for us even more than we do and then live our lives from that place.
What about pain and suffering?
This is another of the most common questions raised against the idea of an all loving God and therefore I wanted to mention it here briefly to hopefully help remove some roadblocks for people seeking God's love. However, given the complexity of such a subject alongside the fact that this post is too long already a full commentary will have to be left for another time. Though if you’re truly interested I would recommend Philip Yancey’s book ‘Where is God When it Hurts?’
The Bible is clear we live in a broken world where people do lots of very unloving things. The Bible’s primary explanation for the existence of suffering is human free will. God gave human’s free will so they could choose to love Him (or not), for love is not truly love without choice. Unfortunately humans chose not to love God and his ways and decided to live according to their own rules (sin). This led to pain, suffering and death. Many people at this point ask, "Why would an all loving God allow such things to happen, or at least go unpunished?"
In summary the Bible's answer is that an essential part of God's perfectly loving nature is that He is perfectly 'just'. This means that every unloving act ever committed (including yours and mine) will receive just punishment. He could have intervened immediately and judged humans for their unloving acts, but then all humans would have been separated from God for all eternity. So He hatched a plan in the form of His son Jesus. Through Jesus, God entered the suffering humans created and took all its penalty on himself so that there might now be hope for redemption! Due to His great love for us He is delaying judgement so that more might be saved through faith in Jesus and enter the new earth to live in eternal communion with Him (2 Peter 3:3-9).
(If you want a more comprehensive biblical explanation of how Jesus' death could cover the sins of all those who believe in him then read the section 'Why is the old covenant not relevant to Christians?' of my post 'Understanding God's laws 101')
So for now we have to live with the societal downfall that has inevitably come from our (humanity's) daily decisions to act in unloving ways. In short, the pain and suffering on this earth is the fault of thousands of years of humans trying to play God and live under their own rules. Therefore, those of us who now want to revert back to the model of love and life described above cannot do it in absolute assurance of physical, emotional or financial security (though through Jesus we can have 'spiritual security'). This is shown throughout the New Testament. For example, 11 of Jesus' 12 disciples (including Paul rather than Judas) were murdered. Even the two stories I used above including Paul, Silas and Stephen showed intense suffering.
Paul went as far as to say in 2 Timothy 3:12, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” So what are we to make of this? How can we live completely loving and selfless lives with all the inherent vulnerabilities that leaves us open to? The answer is once again faith. Faith in all four parts of the above statement. That even if our circumstances may seem detrimental now God has our best interests at heart both now and for eternity. This is where Christians differ to many other ideologies. We can have hope in a glorious eternal future as well as a meaningful and fulfilled life today. We can, as Jesus said, “Lose our lives so that we may find them”. We are free to understand that this life is not best lived worrying about physical comfort but rather blessing people with our unconditional love. As Paul said in Hebrews 6:17-20,
“Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf”
God has given us many promises for fullness of life both in this life and the next and it is by this we may be completely loving in the midst of an oft unloving world. It is by this we can have peace and contentment amidst all hardship. Paul showed this best when he said,
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11a-13)
Just a few of the promises God has made for us are as follows:
The list could go on. It is with these promises in mind that God has asked us as his children to love the world as he loved us (1 John 4:19) with a perfect sacrificial love looking always to the welfare of others above our own, even when they are our enemies! This is a love the world today does not know. He knows this may drain our physical, financial and emotional resources but He has said this is where true lasting happiness lies and He will sustain us through them. Ultimately we are aiming for the place where we see God himself as the ultimate gift and the most precious prize as this can't be taken from us. Then, like Paul, we can say,
In short, God's answer to pain and suffering was to enter it through His son Jesus who died to provide a way for us to escape judgement and for the world to one day be completely restored to it's former glory without pain and suffering.
Until this time God also provided a model of redemption to reverse the corruption currently plaguing this earth. A model which says to repay hate with love, greed with generosity, blame with forgiveness, cruelty with mercy and sickness with health. His way of dispensing this model of redemption to the world is through those who believe in Jesus and have relationship with Him available once again (the Church). Unfortunately as stated earlier we have (and still do) often severely misrepresented God's love and caused much of the pain and suffering in this world rather than alleviating it. However, hopefully as the church truly starts to understand God's love for them and all of humanity we will once again look like Jesus and be a blessing to a broken world in need of love, grace and good news.
If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour then you are dearly loved, by a perfectly loving Father, who is all wise and all powerful and wants what’s best for you beyond anything you could ever imagine for yourself. Meditate on that. Soak it in. Orient your life and actions around it. Rewire your brain in light of it. I'm serious! I truly believe this is the most important thing most Christians today could do. Before we try to act out God's love we first need to know it. John said, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19), it must be in that order. I see the failure to heed this as one of the main reasons the church has failed to love properly in the past.
It is all about love, it always has been and it always will be because the God of this universe is love. When all is said and done love will prevail over hatred; light will prevail over darkness; selflessness will prevail over greed. You can be a part of that redeeming mission now. You can have a taste of the blessings that come with that life now. Rest in God's love. Go chase and encourage others in it. Share the life and freedom you have found in it.
Much love,
Rowan
Optional Extras
Which of God's laws are Christians supposed to keep?
In this post I have looked mostly at how to relate to God's laws rather than which laws of the Bible we are to keep. I also wrote another post alongside this to deal with that matter which you can find linked below if you are interested in that topic. It is not quite as polished as this post and is not an in depth study by any means but at least gives a brief overview and may help shed some light on a few areas for those who haven't approached this topic before. There is also some overlap with this topic towards then end as ultimately they do work together.
Understanding God's Laws 101
Music
As has become my signature trademark for many of my blog posts here are a couple of songs that speak into at least some of this topic. I think music is a great way to meditate on something and let it sink into your soul. Enjoy :)
Jason Gray - More Like Falling in Love - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXHxpLvv2y8
Fellowship Creative - Always Been About You - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IdpS_2tJ-I
These five points are merely a glimpse of the type of love with which Jesus loved us even to the point of going through a sham trial, torture, and a horrific death all for us. It may seem like an impossibly high bar to love others as Jesus loved, and it is, He died on our behalf because He knew we would fall short and need grace and forgiveness not deserved. If you have experienced Christians acting in ways contrary to this then I am sorry. We are not perfect, we are ‘the sick’ (including morally) that Jesus said He came to save. However, this is the model we should strive for and exhort each other to.
Part 3 - Knowing God's love is essential to living out His laws
As a Christian myself I am constantly aware of my shortcomings in my attempts to love like Jesus. However, having tasted of the 'spring of living water' (John 7:37-39) Jesus provides I have committed my life to discovering what that looks like and how I can draw closer to it. As part of this quest, something my eyes were only fully opened to recently is that all sin (unloving acts) stems from a lack of love. This, I believe is the second major factor in Christians failing to act lovingly. Now some people might say that’s obvious, if we don’t love others we will likely perform unloving acts towards them. However, that’s not what I mean. I mean all sin stems from a lack of ‘knowing we are loved’.
Think about this for a moment. Surely all sin can be pegged back at its core to self-centredness. Selfishness, greed and pride. Putting one’s own needs before those of others. Where does this come from? I would argue insecurity, a lack of faith in God's goodness. We can see it prominently displayed even in the 'original sin', Adam and Eve didn’t fully trust God had their best interests at heart. They thought some of the laws He put in place were there to inhibit them rather than bless them so they lived by their own rules (Genesis 3:1-7).
Think about theft as another example. In most cases that is clearly driven from a self-focused mind-set of feeling the need to take one’s own welfare into one’s hands even at the expense of others. It stems from the mentality that, “If I don’t look after my own needs no-one else will”.
However, simply knowing we are loved is of course not enough to stop this mentality. Many people might say, "I know I am loved"; my partner loves me, my parents love me, my friends love me yet I still covet, get angry and am not generous to the needy. That is because it’s not just any love that will satisfy the self-focused nature. We need to:
“Know we are fully loved | by a perfectly loving being | who is all wise | and all powerful.”
All four components of this statement are necessary if we hope to live this life as the perfectly loving beings God intended. As Timothy Keller eloquently explains in his book ‘The Art of Self-Forgetfulness’ true humility is "not thinking less of oneself, or more of oneself, but thinking of oneself less". I would argue this produces more than merely humility. I believe it is the basis of the perfect life.
If we actually knew and 100% believed that we are fully loved, by a perfectly loving being, who loves us 100% of the time, who is all wise in knowing what’s best for us in all circumstances and who is all powerful to be able to bring about those circumstances, then I would argue we would never be self-centred again. We would be completely confident in all circumstances that we would be provided for, that our best interests would be taken care of and that we have ultimate value. We wouldn’t care what anyone but that all loving being thinks of us or how they think we should live because we would trust His views more than everyone else’s ‘including our own’.
Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)
If we truly believed all four parts of that primary statement as they apply personally to us then worry, anxiety, anger, stress, hopelessness and sorrow to the point of despair would all be eliminated. Then believing that this statement applies to all human beings gives us the basis from which to recognise each human being has ultimate worth to God. This is because someone's worth is dictated by the person valuing them. Therefore, if we trust God's views more than anyone else's, including our own (as shown above, we must), then we must see every human being as infinitely valuable and worthy of perfect love.
It may seem petty but I believe that distinction is necessary. It relates to two concepts I will call 'positive sin' and 'negative sin'.
- Negative sin relates to actively being not loving. This is the common form of sin which comes through doing things which ultimately harm others.
- Positive sin relates to not being actively loving. Most people don't think of these acts as sinful. These relate to not actively blessing someone. Jesus gave the examples of feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, clothing the cold and visiting the sick and the prisoners (Matthew 25:35-36). It is positive sin which ultimately separates the Pharisee from the true follower of Jesus. Simply loving the law or having a high sense of self respect and worth can motivate people to not harm their fellow man (negative sin). However, to take responsibility on yourself to actively bless other human beings requires genuine love for them.
To break this down further. Knowing we 'personally' are fully loved in the way described above allows us to be content and secure with our lives and therefore frees us to stop thinking of our own welfare and consider the welfare of others. However, I don't believe it provides the motivation to carry out such actions. This, I believe, comes from knowing God loves all other human beings just as perfectly and ascribes ultimate value to them (in spite of their current lifestyle). It is then that we can be perfect advocates for all human kind, like Jesus, through displaying love, generosity, forgiveness and mercy.
The Bible isn't quite so mechanical in describing how Christians can attain such a selfless love. Rather it states simply that we can love God and others because He loved us first, to the unimaginable extent of letting His son sacrifice himself for us, even while we were still enemies to Him (1 John 4:19; John 3:16; Romans 5:10). God showed in this act that all humans have infinite worth to Him and that He will do all He can to win back their hearts. Any person that truly grasps and believes that fact can't help but love God in return and dispense that same love and grace even to their enemies. It is a value system which does not place someone's worthiness of love on what they have done in the past or their genetic health but rather on their inherent worth to God.
With this mindset we can be like Paul and Silas who, having been 'severely flogged' and then thrown in prison, began to sing praises to God in their cell (showing complete contentment in God's love for them) and even show compassion to the prison guard when God intervened (showing an understanding of his worth)! (Acts 16:22-28). Or like Stephen who even whilst being stoned to death looked towards heaven (showing his complete trust in God's eternal faithfulness) and prayed that God would forgive the very people throwing stones at his head (showing his understanding of their worth)! Who but people with the above beliefs could have a crazy love like this that they would pray for those trying to kill them?! Who could face adversity with such amazing grace and deep joy? Paul says in Romans 8:28, "God is working all things together for good for those who love Him." It is in this we can have rest as 'if it is not good, then it is not the end'.
How to become more loving
Such an understanding can lift a huge weight off many Christians shoulders. It means that if we feel we are falling short of Jesus' love, the way to grow closer is not to 'try harder' to follow rules as we are so often instructed. Neither is it to give up trying and simply appeal to God's grace. Rather it is to simply know the Father's love more. It is to meditate on His goodness and love for us and to find way's to grow in faith (trust) and assurance of the four parts of the above statement. How easy and wonderful is that? To improve we need to rest with God more and allow ourselves to be loved.
The journey will look different for everyone, for some more prayer will be the answer, for others it will be practical action and stepping out in faith, for others still it may be drawing close to and accepting the love of other Christians in your life. 'How' is not important, but one way or another we must come to truly know that He loves us, that He is perfectly loving, that He is all wise and that He is all powerful. It is growing in a deep knowledge of this that I believe will ultimately allow us to love as perfectly, and live as freely, as Jesus did.
Part 4 - Knowing God's love is essential to interpreting His laws
There are a few natural results of this way of thinking God has put on my heart recently. The main one is that if we love and trust Him completely as an all loving, all wise, and all powerful Father then we will understand His laws to be loving instructions which provide us with life, happiness and fulfillment. We will no longer submit to the thinking of our age which says ultimate sources of rule and authority are bad. We will no longer see submission to a higher and wiser power as something negative. That way of thinking comes from years of ingrained fear caused by bad authority figures abusing their power, alongside our own twisted understanding of where true satisfaction lies. In contrast, submission is beautiful and something to rejoice in when the one we are submitting to is all loving towards us, all powerful to enact his will, and all wise to know what’s best for us even more than we do.
In this case we won’t see the command ‘you shall not commit adultery’ and think, “How close can I get to that without breaking the rule?” We will instead think, “How far away from that can I get?” because we will understand that God had our best interests at heart when he said it. We would live out Jesus’ command to not even lust after a woman who is not our own as much for our benefit as for theirs. Again, we won’t see God’s command to be generous and think “How little can I give whilst still being considered generous?” We will instead think, “How much of my time and resources can I physically give?” Because my heavenly Father loves them as much as me and says I will be blessed by blessing.
When we understand God knows what's best for us more than we do we will essentially approach the laws like Jesus. Consider how he took the Ten Commandments and then blew them out of the water in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5-7), looking for the extreme case of each one. Not in compromise and trying to just meet the ‘letter of the law’ like the Pharisees for the sake of external righteousness. Why? Because He knew how perfect the Father’s love is and therefore understood the heart behind the laws. He knew that following them brings us more life not less.
Do you now see? When we trust God is perfectly loving towards us and is all wise and all powerful we will love His commands and laws rather than look on them as harsh stumbling blocks. We will seek to go above and beyond in finding out why God set them and how we can live them out better. We will become like David who said,
"Blessed (happy) are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed (happy) are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart—
I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways." (Psalm 119:1-2, 14-15 NIV)
This does take considerable faith in all four parts of the primary statement above. One of the primary reasons for this is because the things God says will bring us fullness of life, both now and in eternity, are completely backwards to our culture and natural inclinations. This world says you will be 'happy', 'fulfilled' and 'significant' by becoming more wealthy, owning more 'things', becoming more famous and satisfying your natural urges as much as possible. However, these things never truly satisfy. They scream promises of significance and fullfilment but fail to deliver. For example, a study by Edward Deci, professor of Psychology at Rochester University concluded, "The attainment of extrinsic, or 'American Dream,' goals does not contribute to happiness at all in this group of people, but it actually does contribute to some ill being."
In this culture of excess and instant gratification people soon find themselves enslaved to the things they were looking to for fulfillment. It is a life where good things are made into ultimate things (gods). One where people are dwarfed and dehumanised by their possessions and hedonistic desires as if ownership had gone into reverse (George Monbiot). One where people love 'things' and use 'people' rather than loving 'people' and using 'things' (Fulton Sheen).
There are many examples of this process of turning good things to ultimate things and then becoming enslaved to them. We might consider how the West have taken food, a natural 'good' and made it an 'ultimate thing' displayed through the sharp rise in obesity rates over the last few decades. We could also look at 'sexual desires' which also are naturally good, but our culture has elevated it to an 'ultimate thing' which has led to significant increases in sexual deviancy, adultery, porn addiction and sex trafficking world wide.
Jesus, however, spoke of a different truth. One where the humble, merciful and peacemakers are happiest (Matthew 5:5,7,9). One where happiness comes through 'giving' rather than 'receiving' (Acts 20:35), where greatness comes through 'serving' rather than 'seeking power' (Mark 10:43). These things run contrary to what we naturally believe will make us happy. This is one reason God's laws often seem more like 'chores' than 'blessings'. Therefore, in order to see God's laws as the guide to true satisfaction we must first have faith that He knows what will satisfy us more than we or our culture do.
Come on people. This is where we need to get to. This is the whole message of the Bible. For those who believe, now that Jesus has come and paid the penalty of our sin we can forget the judgement the law requires and start to love and cherish it, meditate on it, live it out as closely as we can so that we can attain all the fullness of life it comes with. As Paul said, “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.” (Romans 7:6)
So what is that law which we are meant to obey? Jesus summarised it in principle as this, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength and love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). God says this law has been written on our very hearts (our consciences) (Romans 2:15). However, because our minds have a twisted version of the truth He gave us the Bible to settle matters of the law and right living,
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16)
It is due to this we need to come to God’s word and laws regularly to find sustenance and fullness of life. We need to trust (have faith) that He is an all loving, all powerful, all wise God and that he knows what’s best for us even more than we do and then live our lives from that place.
Part 5 - How can we trust God's love in a world with pain and suffering?
This is another of the most common questions raised against the idea of an all loving God and therefore I wanted to mention it here briefly to hopefully help remove some roadblocks for people seeking God's love. However, given the complexity of such a subject alongside the fact that this post is too long already a full commentary will have to be left for another time. Though if you’re truly interested I would recommend Philip Yancey’s book ‘Where is God When it Hurts?’
The Bible is clear we live in a broken world where people do lots of very unloving things. The Bible’s primary explanation for the existence of suffering is human free will. God gave human’s free will so they could choose to love Him (or not), for love is not truly love without choice. Unfortunately humans chose not to love God and his ways and decided to live according to their own rules (sin). This led to pain, suffering and death. Many people at this point ask, "Why would an all loving God allow such things to happen, or at least go unpunished?"
In summary the Bible's answer is that an essential part of God's perfectly loving nature is that He is perfectly 'just'. This means that every unloving act ever committed (including yours and mine) will receive just punishment. He could have intervened immediately and judged humans for their unloving acts, but then all humans would have been separated from God for all eternity. So He hatched a plan in the form of His son Jesus. Through Jesus, God entered the suffering humans created and took all its penalty on himself so that there might now be hope for redemption! Due to His great love for us He is delaying judgement so that more might be saved through faith in Jesus and enter the new earth to live in eternal communion with Him (2 Peter 3:3-9).
(If you want a more comprehensive biblical explanation of how Jesus' death could cover the sins of all those who believe in him then read the section 'Why is the old covenant not relevant to Christians?' of my post 'Understanding God's laws 101')
So for now we have to live with the societal downfall that has inevitably come from our (humanity's) daily decisions to act in unloving ways. In short, the pain and suffering on this earth is the fault of thousands of years of humans trying to play God and live under their own rules. Therefore, those of us who now want to revert back to the model of love and life described above cannot do it in absolute assurance of physical, emotional or financial security (though through Jesus we can have 'spiritual security'). This is shown throughout the New Testament. For example, 11 of Jesus' 12 disciples (including Paul rather than Judas) were murdered. Even the two stories I used above including Paul, Silas and Stephen showed intense suffering.
Paul went as far as to say in 2 Timothy 3:12, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” So what are we to make of this? How can we live completely loving and selfless lives with all the inherent vulnerabilities that leaves us open to? The answer is once again faith. Faith in all four parts of the above statement. That even if our circumstances may seem detrimental now God has our best interests at heart both now and for eternity. This is where Christians differ to many other ideologies. We can have hope in a glorious eternal future as well as a meaningful and fulfilled life today. We can, as Jesus said, “Lose our lives so that we may find them”. We are free to understand that this life is not best lived worrying about physical comfort but rather blessing people with our unconditional love. As Paul said in Hebrews 6:17-20,
“Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf”
God has given us many promises for fullness of life both in this life and the next and it is by this we may be completely loving in the midst of an oft unloving world. It is by this we can have peace and contentment amidst all hardship. Paul showed this best when he said,
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11a-13)
Just a few of the promises God has made for us are as follows:
- Eternal communion with and love from the God. (1 John 3:1)
- Assured eternal life in a renewed earth where only love, fun and laughter exists. No more crying, pain or death. (Romans 10:9; Revelation 21:4)
- True peace and contentment in all circumstances. (John 14:27; Philippians 4:11)
- Rest for our souls, the lifting of the burdens of this world. (Matthew 11:28:29)
- Joy and hope. (1 Peter 1:8-9; Romans 15:13)
- Provision for all your needs. (Philippians 4:19)
The list could go on. It is with these promises in mind that God has asked us as his children to love the world as he loved us (1 John 4:19) with a perfect sacrificial love looking always to the welfare of others above our own, even when they are our enemies! This is a love the world today does not know. He knows this may drain our physical, financial and emotional resources but He has said this is where true lasting happiness lies and He will sustain us through them. Ultimately we are aiming for the place where we see God himself as the ultimate gift and the most precious prize as this can't be taken from us. Then, like Paul, we can say,
"Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose." (Philippians 1:21 MSG)
In short, God's answer to pain and suffering was to enter it through His son Jesus who died to provide a way for us to escape judgement and for the world to one day be completely restored to it's former glory without pain and suffering.
Until this time God also provided a model of redemption to reverse the corruption currently plaguing this earth. A model which says to repay hate with love, greed with generosity, blame with forgiveness, cruelty with mercy and sickness with health. His way of dispensing this model of redemption to the world is through those who believe in Jesus and have relationship with Him available once again (the Church). Unfortunately as stated earlier we have (and still do) often severely misrepresented God's love and caused much of the pain and suffering in this world rather than alleviating it. However, hopefully as the church truly starts to understand God's love for them and all of humanity we will once again look like Jesus and be a blessing to a broken world in need of love, grace and good news.
Conclusion - Be loved more
It is all about love, it always has been and it always will be because the God of this universe is love. When all is said and done love will prevail over hatred; light will prevail over darkness; selflessness will prevail over greed. You can be a part of that redeeming mission now. You can have a taste of the blessings that come with that life now. Rest in God's love. Go chase and encourage others in it. Share the life and freedom you have found in it.
Much love,
Rowan
Optional Extras
Which of God's laws are Christians supposed to keep?
In this post I have looked mostly at how to relate to God's laws rather than which laws of the Bible we are to keep. I also wrote another post alongside this to deal with that matter which you can find linked below if you are interested in that topic. It is not quite as polished as this post and is not an in depth study by any means but at least gives a brief overview and may help shed some light on a few areas for those who haven't approached this topic before. There is also some overlap with this topic towards then end as ultimately they do work together.
Understanding God's Laws 101
Music
As has become my signature trademark for many of my blog posts here are a couple of songs that speak into at least some of this topic. I think music is a great way to meditate on something and let it sink into your soul. Enjoy :)
Jason Gray - More Like Falling in Love - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXHxpLvv2y8
Fellowship Creative - Always Been About You - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IdpS_2tJ-I
