God Likes You Best

It's a little game I play. Someone will tell me of something wonderful that God has done for them recently and I'll say, "See? It's like I always say. God likes you best." It is, of couse, in jest. What's really important is not "like," but "love." And, of course, since God is love (1 John 4:8), it's not possible to say "He loves you best" beause we know in what way He loves -- He sent His Son to die for us (John 3:16; Rom 5:8). One thing we're all clear on, then, is that God loves us. Not some better than others; none of us have earned more love than another. We're all loved equally.

I think, however clear we think we are on God's love for us, we're not quite clear on God's love for us. We talk in terms of quantity and quality. His love is everlasting, unending, eternal. His love is unconditional, unchanging, perfect. These are true, but given our modern concepts of love, sometimes misleading. We mustn't understand God's love in terms of warm affection for rebellion. It is false to suggest "He loves you as you are" if we mean "He'll leave you as you are." (Rom 8:28-29). In fact, if "He loves you as you are" means "He wouldn't change a thing," it isn't love, given our deceived (Jer 17:9), sin-sick condition. Love would seek to give the loved one the best, not leave them in misery. God's love, then, is much, much bigger than we imagine in both quantity and quality. Which, I suppose, is why Paul prayed "that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Eph 3:17-19). In terms of quantity and quality, God's love exceeds our understanding.

One other aspect about God's love that we need to keep ever before us. God's love is sure (Rom 8:35-39). God defines love. Since that's true, we ought to be viewing our thoughts and circumstances through that love rather than evaluating His love through our own thoughts and circumstances. Of course, we typically get that backward, but a life lived from the perspective of the absolute truth of God's love will change you.