The absence of God's presence

The absence of God's presence is the essence of hell. ¹Hell is anywhere God's presence is not.

People live in ³rebellion to God every day. How? They do not acknowledge God as the Source of love and life (breath); the Creator and Sustainer of everything! 

Instead, they live as if God is irrelevant; that the blessings of life are their right to have and do with as they please, as if someone owed it to them; i.e., they are entitled to these blessings. And if they don't get what they believe they deserve, they become disillusioned, angry, or bitter. This is the approach to life many ²choose to take and live by daily.

And if they never come to the place where they acknowledge His relevance, value, and significance, they will continue on that same trajectory and path throughout their lives.

As a result, God will honor that choice throughout eternity as well. God doesn't send people to hell. They are already on that path unless and until they choose to put their trust in Him.

If the absence of God's presence is hell, then what is the fullness of God's presence? Bliss, paradise, a continual feast, i.e., heaven.

For a further discussion on why many are disillusioned with God, click here

For a discussion on the key to answered prayer, click here

For a discussion on whether hell is literal, click here. 

For a further discussion on how hell is a continuation of our current path, click here

For a discussion of whether we are rebels to God, click here.

For a discussion on whether God's wrath is reasonable, click here

For a discussion on how death and hell are totally defeated, click here 

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Footnotes:

¹this is not necessarily a specific location - though it may be. But it is a disposition or attitude of rebellious distrust (all distrust of God is rebellion to Him. It is asserting that God is a liar and not who He claims to be as all-loving, wise, powerful, and everywhere present). 

Objectively, God is everywhere present. Nothing functions or even exists without Him. But if we willfully turn away from God, then for us, God does not exist and is not present. God is not dead, but to us He is.

In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, notice the rich man did not regret his rejection of God, nor did he resent God for his being in his present state or desire to turn to Him even in his torment. He only wanted water to relieve his thirst - he only wanted a gift from God - not God Himself.

Is this not also true of humanity in general when we go through great pain? God is not our end, but the means to another end...relief. This is often the reason we pray. We don't want God; we only want comfort through the gifts (blessings) of God.

"...You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." - Jas 4:2b-3 ESV

Luke 16:23-26, 28, 30-31 ESV

"...and in Hades, being in torment, he (the previously rich man) lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’

And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

²this choice is laid out in Rom 1:18-23 (emphasis added).

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness (i.e., which springs forth from rebellious distrust of God) suppress the truth. 

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God (He is irrelevant) or give thanks to him (their choice), but they became futile in their thinking (they thought they could make life work on their terms, not God's terms i.e. they thought they could be their own god, like Adam and Eve) and their foolish hearts were darkened. 

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images (their choice) resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." 

³The following passage lays out the nature of our rebellion. These are comments made to Job by Elihu in Job 35:6-16. The fourth and only "friend" of Job whom God did not rebuke, unlike the other 3, suggesting that his comments to Job were on point.

Elihu talking to Job:

"If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him (God)? And if your transgressions are multiplied (many), what do you do to him? If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand? (This is also quoted by Paul in Rom 11:35). Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself, and your righteousness a son of man - i.e., your bad or good deeds affect only men, not God.

Because of the multitude of oppressions, people cry out; they call for help because of the arm of the mighty (those stronger than us, who oppress us).

But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’ - i.e., there is no gratitude to God for all the gifts we receive or trust in God when we go through challenges. We don't want God. We only want relief from our pain by using all the gifts He gives and enjoy daily without giving Him thanks or acknowledging Him as the giver.

There they cry out, but he does not answer, because of the pride of evil men (who believe God is not there or is irrelevant, until we are suffering). Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it - Why? Because we don't really want God; we only want His blessings - the comfort and relief from pain His blessings bring us.

How much less when you say that you do not see him, that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him! - i.e. we demand He respond the way we think He should when we are in pain - but our complaining does not impress God or cause Him to respond. 

When we approach God this way, we will always be waiting for a response, because He will not respond to our arrogant demands. Only He is God, and best knows what we need, not us. Humility is more important then relief.

And now, because his anger does not punish, and he does not take much note of transgression - i.e., because God has not dropped the hammer on Job for his complaining and demands - Job opens his mouth in empty talk; he multiplies words without knowledge.”

To Job's credit, at the end he responded correctly...

Job 42:1-6

Then Job answered the Lord and said: 

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.  ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes - (I change my view of you and my attitude towards you).”

Is "tribalism" ok or racist?

We are most comfortable with those who are most like us. 

Why?

Because we are more affirmed and feel safer (more comfortable) around those like us. It is common ("natural or normal") for everyone to feel this way. It is not unique to any one group - white, black, brown, yellow, etc. 

Why?

It takes a lot more self-denial and sacrifice to relate to those who do not have the same values and interests as we do. If we have any interaction with others we have nothing in common with, or who are at least like us, our focus and energy must be on them, not on our interests and needs. ¹This kind of interaction is more about giving than getting. It requires less effort and sacrifice to interact with those most like us.

For the above reasons, being with those most like us tends to energize us. Being with those least like us tends to drain us. If we are not full of love, loving others different from us is impossible to maintain ⁷long-term. 

For the same reasons, harmony is more pleasant and enjoyable than disharmony. We are naturally drawn to harmony. Harmonious relationships tend to energize us. They affirm and reinforce our interests. Those that drain us tend to be challenging with more conflict.

There is also a practical benefit of working with those who are most like us. When we are in a joint effort, uniformity can result in greater cooperation and efficiency. This is good, not bad.

Some accuse others of racism for having these sentiments and being naturally drawn to those most like themselves. Yet, if we are honest, this is common with all groups. 

Is this ⁵racist? If so, every last one of us - regardless of our ethnicity - is a racist. Hanging out with others for the above reasons is common to everyone. 

Some call this ²tribalism. But is tribalism racism? It is no different from when you and I prefer being with loving friends or family ("our tribe") rather than with a group of strangers.

Having ³these sentiments is common in all relationships and "groups." The very act of accusing someone else of being guilty of this - as if they aren't themselves "guilty" - is exercising this very attitude by the accusation.  

This is why a loving family is so valuable (if we are blessed enough to have one). A healthy, loving family is a place where we are best known for both our strengths and flaws, and still most accepted and embraced. It is usually where we feel most free to be our real selves, with the least concern about ridicule or rejection.

Racism, on the other hand, is very different. It is an attitude of superiority based on one's ethnicity (group/"tribe"). It is believing we - our "group" - are better, ⁶objectively, more important or valuable than others. This may be true subjectively - i.e. more valuable to us - but not objectively.

But isn't this also true of friendships? No one considers having friends racist. Good friends are good, important, and valuable to us personally. They encourage and strengthen us. That is a good thing, is it not?

While close relationships may be more important to us subjectively, they are not necessarily so objectively.

On the other hand, it is not wrong to love those who are ¹different from us. It is what we are called to do. In fact, as followers of Christ, we are called to love those opposed to us, i.e., our enemies. It just takes the most energy of all interactions and ⁴directly the least immediately rewarding, if not harmful - but potentially the most rewarding indirectly. 

To be able to love those least like us is not natural but ¹supernatural. For this reason, it is good to love others who are different from us. It requires greater dependence on God to love others sacrificially. 

In fact, it is impossible to love sacrificially until we experience the sacrificial love of God offered to us in and through Christ. 

God calls us to this because this is how He loves us...

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. " - Matt 5:43-48

But again, is it wrong to gravitate to others we are most like and have the most in common with? This is actually the basis for friendship. No one would suggest friendship is wrong. Yet some would have us believe it is and call it ⁵"tribalism" - which is the "first cousin" to racism according to those who throw these derogatory labels around.  

The irony is it is usually actual racists that push the narrative that being drawn to others most like us is wrong when, in fact, everyone participates in friendship and considers it not only perfectly normal but healthy.  

We are all far more alike than different.

One thing all of us have in common, that unites us at the strongest and most basic level, is we all desire to be loved, valued, affirmed, and important, i.e., we are designed for love because we are designed to be in relationship with God, who is love. We are all like God, who continuously gives and receives love among the Father, Son, and Spirit. We are in His image.  

And what is God like? The most valuable person of all. Without Him, nothing else exists. We are valuable by virtue of being like God - i.e., in His image.

In summary, it is not wrong or racist to feel more comfortable around those who are more like us. Nevertheless, we are called to a higher standard and to reach out and love those who are least like us, even our enemies. Not loving those different from us is not racist. Unloving, yes. Racist, no. 

For a discussion on identity politics Click here

For a discussion on the joys and challenges of giving, click here. 

To see if God has anything to say about immigrants or immigration, click here.

For a discussion on values, culture, and racism, click here.

For a discussion on racism and the necessity of forgiveness, click here

For a discussion on what divides us, click here.

For a discussion of the harmful nature of identity politics, click here.

What is the nature of racial privilege? Click here for a discussion.

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Footnotes:

¹People who are culturally different from us can have one main thing in common with us. A relationship with God through Christ. This connection is stronger than any natural ties we may have with those most like us culturally, intellectually, in appearance, etc. This is the most significant and deepest common denominator we can have. Especially those least like us naturally. What lovers of Christ have in common is even more significant than the connection among a loving family - though very much like it in important ways. 

If we are among others who have this deep spiritual connection with God, we are dealing with others who are focused on giving and not getting. This is the strongest possible bond we can have with anyone, even immediate family who do not have a love relationship with Christ. True believers are people who seek to love their neighbors as they love themselves. This is the greatest and most unifying value of all. This is also why Christ called loving God and others the greatest commandments.

When this is the central focus of a group of people, it is the strongest point of unity and overrides all other differences. In fact, it allows us to enjoy the differences of others as their uniqueness is a reflection of the creativity of God. This is unity within diversity.

This is why a strong church can be filled with a diversity of cultures and ethnicities yet still be united under this most central point of unity. A relationship of receiving love from our Creator and loving Him in return and our neighbor as we love ourselves. This is greater than any differences and can override them all when we are governed by love.

The two greatest commandments are the greatest not simply because we are told they are but because they summarize the purpose of our existence and the very nature of God and His creatures, i.e., to love as we are loved.

Anything we place a higher value on over our relationship with the Creator is a form of idolatry. Nothing is more valuable than God. Not our culture, race, vocation, or even our family.

This is why churches segregated by race or culture - e.g., white, black, Hispanic, Jewish, etc. - are likely not as honoring to God. To be segregated in this way is to value our culture and personal preferences over loving and valuing God and our neighbor. 

If we are separated by a language barrier, that is a separate issue that can be addressed on a church-to-church basis. But outside of this...

 "...in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise." - Gal 3:26-29

²Some subcultures are so strong they have their very own "lingo."  Some examples would be the hip-hop world, the technology world, the academic world, the world of sports, the medical or health world, etc.  These are subcultures within a culture. 

³Having common values is so important that if we do not, it can even lead to husbands and wives separating. We call it "incompatibility" when, in fact, it is actually a matter of love, or the lack of it. 

⁴By directly, I mean we rarely gain any direct benefit from those we seek to love who are different from us. The benefit we may gain, however, is from seeing others blessed by our efforts to love them. It is an indirect gain. This is not something that comes from them, but comes as a result of loving others as Christ loves, i.e., seeing them flourish because of our efforts. This is what God is like. We are acting like God when we love in this way.  

⁵There can be a problem with tribalism, but it isn't racism as some assert. The problem is it is basically about me, my needs, my wants. So in that sense it is wrong and contrary to our initial design, not because it's racist. 

This focus on self is the result of our rebellion against God and our failed attempt to be our own God. Based on the current condition of the world, it is clear we have failed miserably at being our own gods.

Everything is a mess because of our rebellion. We are now missing the love we once had in a relationship with God, caused by our choosing to disconnect from God, the very Source of love. Now we go about trying to fill that void caused by His absence through created things and our own efforts to obtain them.

The fact is we weren't designed to be our own god and to make life work without the only true God. We were designed to be in union with Him. The source of love, life, and all things, and experiencing a constant flow of love from Him. This enables us to pass love (from Him) on to others. 

We are not an endless spring of love. Only God is. We, on the other hand, are vessels or conduits that can hold and pass on the flow of love from God to and through us to others.

The main point about tribalism is it's not unique to a certain race but common among all humanity, for we have all rebelled from God. But this is not racism as is asserted by some. It is the broken condition of all humanity -  including you and I - not a particular group or race.

⁶ VS subjectively, where someone or some group can be more valuable to us personally.

⁷ Unless or until we find out that all humanity has far more in common at the most fundamental level of who we are as bearers of God's image, i.e., we are all designed by God to love and be loved by Him and to pass on that love to others. This is God's greatest desire i.e. will, directive, commandment etc.

The law/obedience... required or not

Is obedience to God and His law a requirement?

In one sense, it is not and in another sense it is.

1. Obedience is not required:

For justification, i.e. We are not, cannot, nor ever will be justified (in right standing with God) by our obedience to God's ³law. 

To approach God's law in this way is saying we can make ourselves "right" with God through our efforts, i.e. we can be good enough to make (or cause) God to accept and love us. 

If so, Christ wouldn't have needed to die to obtain our right standing with God i.e. Christ's death was ⁴unnecessary and a waste. We could simply be our own savior and the cause of our salvation. 

But we have a major problem. In order to be right with God requires a love, faithfulness, worship of and loyalty to God, that is equal to His beauty, majesty, and glory. God, being all glorious, rightfully demands and deserves a matching response. Not because God needs us to respond this way for His sake but because it aligns with who God is and who we are i.e. it is operating according to the reality of what is.

We are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, because of who He is and the way He loves. Anything less would be inappropriate and inadequate for an infinitely majestic, all-glorious being.

However, this ³does not occur for several reasons.

• To not love and honor God with all we have and are minimizes the beauty, majesty, holiness, glory, and infinite worth of God. The greatness of God justly compels and requires our perfect love and absolute faithfulness, loyalty, and worship of him for who He is - the infinitely beautiful, majestic, and all-glorious God. Because of who God is, nothing less than perfect faithfulness, absolute and total loyalty, is suitable or sufficient for the Creator, Giver, and Sustainer of all things. He deserves all our devotion and rightfully desires no less.

But who among us loves God this way... with all we are and have? Yet everything we are and have is from Him, is it not? At a minimum, this alone demands our perfect loyalty, devotion, and respect, if not our affection. This is also at the heart of greatest commandment. 

• Only God is perfectly loyal in faithfulness; we are not. This is a problem since faithfulness and unfaithfulness in a relationship can not mix. This would be like a married couple with one partner being infinitely good and perfectly loving, loyal, and faithful, while the other partner is off pursuing other "lovers." No normal and healthy relationship works this way.

• Our attempts to earn a right standing with God nullifies the work Christ did to fully restore our broken relationship with God. Attempting this is an insult to Christ and His efforts. By seeking to be acceptable and worthy of God's love by our efforts we are saying Christ's faithfulness to God - which was even unto death - was unnecessary; that I can do better and be good enough and love God well enough to make myself right and acceptable to God without Christ having to do this for me. In effect, this is saying to God and others that Christ died in vain. His death was unnecessary and useless. 

• We simply do not and cannot love/value God perfectly as He deserves, i.e. with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, without God empowering us. 

How does He empower us? By love. We are designed to respond to love and be the recipients and conduits of love. We are not the initiators of it. God alone is the source and cause of love. We love Him because He first loved us. 

• And He will not empower us until the fallout (i.e. the harm and consequences) from our rejection of His beauty, majesty, and glory is addressed and accounted for. The veil of blindness that obstructs us from seeing him as He truly is, must be removed. This occurs only when we are restored to a right relationship with God through Christ's efforts, not ours, i.e., we are justified by faith in Him and His efforts on our behalf, not by our efforts on His behalf. 

2. Obedience is a "¹requirement" to experience all God offers us:

If we are to partake of the fullness of God, His life, and bring Him maximum honor and experience our greatest flourishing. 

This has nothing to do with our justification before God as our judge and everything to do with our communing with God and being in a harmonious and fulfilling relationship with Him as our loving Father. Having a "right standing" with God is only possible through Christ's efforts, not ours. Christ alone was perfectly faithful to God - even unto death - not us.

However, being close to God and in a warm relationship with Him is up to us.

• Experiencing God in all his greatness and the full potential He created us for requires our maximum participation in who He is as our all-wise and loving Father and faithfully pursuing all he calls us to do and be. The essence of this is loving him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength as he rightfully deserves and loving our neighbors as ourselves (who, like us, are also in God's image). 

• Our obedience does not cause God to love us but aligns us with Him and "plugs us in" to who He is - His heart-will - as the most lovely of all. Obedience is evidence of our love for him. It is a reflection of our love for God and should match his love for us. 

Obedience to God could be summed up in one simple verse..."John 14:15 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

It also ushers us into his presence more fully. When we draw near to him, ²he draws near to us. 

• God is loving, good, kind, and wise. In Christ, we are his children. When we are aligned with Him, His love flows to us and empowers us so we also become loving, good, kind, and wise. This also reveals and reflects Him to others through us, i.e. It honors him. It brings him glory and also brings us the greatest joy.

In summary, obedience is a requirement as far as our maximum flourishing, experiencing God, and honoring Him, but not as far as our justification. 

The Westminster Catechism asks...

What is the chief end of man?

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. God's glory and our joy go hand in hand i.e. our greatest joy is in glorifying God.

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."  Rom 11:36  

For a discussion on how we seek to earn God's love, click here.

For a discussion on the difference between "Cultural Christians" and grace-driven followers of Christ, click here.

For a discussion on how God empowers us, click here and here.

For a discussion on the essence of God's Kingdom, click here.

For a discussion on how God's love is both conditional and unconditional, click here.

For a discussion on whether our focus should be on morality or Jesus, click here.

 

For a discussion on what righteousness is click here

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Footnotes:

¹I put "requirement" in quotes to distinguish it from justification. It is a requirement in the sense that drinking water or eating nutritious food is a requirement if we wish to stay alive and experience optimal health. 

God is Life. All we are and have is from Him. Partaking of, experiencing, and fully engaging Him is up to us.

Loving God with all we have and are and our neighbor as ourselves is to operate according to our design (and His will). Things work best when they function as designed. This is especially true of us as creatures who alone are in God's image.

Even as God's child - through Christ - if we stop eating and drinking, we will still die. Nevertheless, we are no less loved by God because we violated God's design to physically sustain us through eating and drinking.

²Not in his disposition and posture of love toward us (Christ already fully took care of this and secured it for us) but in our disposition towards Him. 

God's willingness, desire, and commitment to manifest Himself to us and our being able to experience Him in all his love are perfectly secured for us by Christ. 

But our full participation in all Christ has secured depends on us i.e. on our trust in God and faithful pursuit of Him as spelled out in the greatest command to love Him with all we are and have and our neighbors as ourselves. 

³Not because we shouldn't obey the law or because the law is not good, but because we cannot without His love empowering us.

The entire Bible illustrates this. Every time God sought to advance His purpose through us, we failed. Beginning with Adam, then Abraham, Moses, Jacob, and David.  Each was called to be God's special representative to multiply and advance His loving and righteous rule on earth, and each failed (though God did not, and used them anyway and succeeded).  

Why did God show this throughout the Bible? To demonstrate that he alone, through Christ, could live righteously and satisfy the requirements to faithfully and perfectly honor Him as he deserves i.e. according to God's true honor, glory, and righteousness. 

⁴What a massive insult to Christ and all he went through for us.

Seeing God's love in our pain

"that I may know him (Christ) and the fellowship of his suffering's…" - Phil 3:10

What is the "fellowship" of Christ's sufferings that Paul desires to take part in - and we, by his example, are also invited to partake in? 

Whatever it is, we must participate in (experience) the "fellowship of his sufferings" if we are to have a deeper understanding of Christ, i.e., who he is, what he did, and why he did it. This is directly connected to knowing him better, as indicated by the above opening comment "...that I may know him..."

What about our suffering? How does it help us to see and know Christ better? 

Stated simply, if we are to know and appreciate Christ more fully and the depth of His love, we must see and enter into Christ's suffering through our own, i.e. we share in (fellowship with) His pain through ours. The more we suffer the greater opportunity we have to understand and appreciate the suffering Christ went through for us.

But how are our pain and experiencing Christ's love connected?

Our pain helps us to more fully understand, appreciate, and sympathize with Christ's pain. The greater our pain, the greater our potential understanding of Christ's, i.e. we can relate to Christ's pain better because of our own. 

Whenever we are in pain, we should reflect on Christ's ³struggles and all the spiritual, emotional, and physical pain he went through for us. Our pain should remind us of His (this is also why we are called to remember Him in communion. It is a reminder of the pain Christ went through for us). The more pain we experience the more deeply we can "enter into" and partake of His - if we choose to and let it.

The more we see and enter into His pain through our own, the more we can also see the depth of his love that moved Christ to suffer on our behalf. 

Seeing the depths of his love in turn causes us to love him more.  

If you wish to love him more, be grateful for your pain (instead of complaining about it), if only because of how it can reveal to you Christ and the immense depth of His love for you more fully. How? By His embracing the pain you and I deserved - that He did not deserve - so we might see and experience His immense love even more.

To expand this further, the more we see His pain, (ultimately caused by us choosing to be our own "god" - when we are not) the more fully and deeply we see the ¹greatness of His love that moved Him to embrace our pain (and the consequences of the pain we cause others) so He might free us from condemnation rightfully due us for the harm/pain we cause others. 

Grasping the depth of Christ's pain rarely happens without us first going through our own pain. The greater ²our pain, the more fully - and the greater the opportunity for us to appreciate ²His i.e. we are better able to understand and "fellowship" with Him in His sufferings through our own suffering, and thereby also more fully enter His love. 

Pain is a two-way street for both Christ and us

We are also reminded that because of his pain, he understands and appreciates ours better as well. He can better fellowship with us in our pain because of His own i.e., we are united with Christ in and through our mutual suffering. 

Amazingly, Christ chose to identify with us in this way! We will have this in common with Him throughout eternity and will be reminded of this - of His immense love for us - every time we look upon Him and behold the scars He carries and experienced for us.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Heb 4:15-16

Pain can help produce two overriding positive outcomes if we let it. 

1. It can humble us by revealing the depths of our need and inability to cope with the pain alone, i.e., without God.

2. It can cause us to more fully appreciate the sufferings of Christ and the greatness of his love that moved him to suffer on our behalf.

These are two vital reasons we should never shrink back from pain and suffering, but instead be thankful for it. In doing so, this enables us to more fully see and take part in his great love.

If you want to know your level of trust in Christ and the strength of your love for Him, ask yourself how much pain are you willing to go through for His sake? 

This is a question Christ asked of himself while suffering for us, and he answered with a resounding "whatever it takes." His willingly going to the cross for you and me was the result of His saying yes to pain. 

How much pain am I willing to go through for His sake?... is a question we may wish to ask ourselves. One I ask myself often.     

Christ asked that question and answered by giving up his life, and allowing this to disrupt His eternal union with the Father. 

"“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.."

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."

For a further discussion of how God uses evil for our good click here...and here. 

The greater the evil, the greater the opportunity for healing/ grace click here.

For a discussion on the key lesson from the book of Job click here.

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¹When people question the goodness and love of God because of all the pain in the world (including their own) they miss the bigger picture and cannot see that Christ took on the pain of the world and let it kill him so he might ultimately free the world and us from it. Pain is not the final word regarding evil. Life in the resurrected Christ is!

 

The big question isn't why there is suffering and why God allows good people to suffer, but why God allowed Christ - the best and only perfect person - to suffer. 

And maybe a more important question... what is the Father saying to us and about us by allowing it? Hint...He loves us that much.

Until we answer these questions, we can never fully understand, accept, and willingly (gratefully) embrace our own pain and the world's pain. 

We are so jaded towards God that we forget that God so loved the world that he gave. The greatness of love is measured by the greatness of the gift and the sacrifice one is willing to make to give it, i.e. the more the gift costs, the greater the evidence of the giver's love.

And what did God give? His very own Son (think of Abraham being asked and willing to sacrifice his son Isaac). The Son of his infinite and eternal affections. 

Christ's death was not barbaric; it was an expression of extreme love and a willingness to take on our suffering so we might be forever free from it... But only if we will accept His offer.

If we do not, there is no other solution!

The whole notion that the infinite and all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of everything would take on human form and even consider going through undeserved pain for our benefit is mind-boggling when we stop and reflect deeply on this. 

After reading this, I encourage you to do just that. Think deeply about these things often. Ask God to give you a fuller vision and understanding of His love for you through His and your pain. Let them seep deeply into your very being and transform you and your love for God. 

The Father and Son fully understand pain because they fully embraced and experienced it themselves. The Father embraced the pain of giving up the Son of His eternal affections, and the Son embraced His greatest pain by allowing it to separate him from the eternal affection of His Father for a time. This "severing" of their relationship was a far greater pain than any physical suffering.

The only reason that people continue in pain after this life is that they refuse to see and receive God's remedy, which is Christ and all He suffered (willingly) at the hands of ungrateful and wicked men for our sake.

"For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt." - Hebrews 6:4-6 ESV

²Particularly for condemnation, persecution, and rejection.

³Has someone closest to you ever betrayed you? Have you ever had anyone twist your words, misrepresent you, speak ill of you, or not come through on their commitments or promises to you? Have you ever been unappreciated for sacrificial service to others? Have you ever had anybody forsake you in your greatest hour of need? Christ experienced these and far more, with one big difference. He never complained and did nothing to deserve it. And He did all this for us so we wouldn't have to. And to also honor His Father. 

Give as you have received

From the very beginning, the Bible speaks of being blessed by God and blessing others.

Gen 1:22 Then God blessed them (animals) and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

28 And God blessed them (Adam and Eve). And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 

And God said, “Behold, I have given (a gift, a blessing) you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food (i.e. as nourishment so you can be more fruitful and also for your pleasure as a reminder of God's love and care).” And it was so. - Gen 1:28‭-‬30 

These instructions to be fruitful and multiply at the very outset tell us God wants life to expand and flourish - especially for us, the bearers of His image. He wants to expand (multiply) the blessings He gives. Hinted at in these blessings is our blessing others. This becomes even clearer as we continue further.

Each new day of creation was a new blessing from God being increasingly expanded. After each day, God pronounced all He did and made was good, i.e. a blessing.

Even after He cleansed the earth of rebellious humanity through the flood, God again pronounces His desire to bless us.

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. - Gen 9:1 ESV

He wanted to be sure that after this worldwide "house" cleaning, there was no confusion that his primary desire had not changed and it was still to bless us, not destroy us - even in our state of rebellion. 

God also confirmed and illustrated His desire to bless us when He called Abram and promised to bless him.

1 Then the LORD said to Abram, ²“Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land ³I will show you.

2 ³I will make you into a great nation, and ³I will bless you;

³I will make your name great so that you will be a blessing.

3 ³I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you;

and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

God's ultimate goal with Abram from the beginning of his call was to bless all nations through ¹him; not simply to bless Abram (or only His immediate progeny) so that only he or they could bask in the blessings and forget about everyone else.

The more we dig into scripture, the more we see that whenever God gives us anything - any blessing, i.e. ¹resource, etc - he always asks us to turn around and use it to bless others.

Why?

Because we are in His image - designed and called to be like God. 

Who is God? What is He like? 

God is an ⁴endless and perpetual overflowing fountain of love who calls us to be like Him, to be His children...a "chip off the old block," if you will. 

We are called to love as He loves us - and to give as we have received from Him. This, in large part, is what it means to be in his image.

This is also the very essence of the 1st and 2nd commandments on which all other commands are based.

This commandment involves us receiving from God life, love, and all things, and then sharing with our neighbor (others) what we receive.

How? It is only through our connection with God, being loved by Him (and recognizing how much he loves us in and through Christ but also through the many blessings of creation he has given us), and responding to His love by loving Him with all that we are and have, so that we can love our neighbors in the same way we desire to be loved (and are being loved through all the beauty and abundance given to us now in and through creation).

Contrary to the common approach to living, life isn't about getting to keep and only indulging ourselves in the blessings of life, but about getting to give. It isn't getting all you can and then sitting on and protecting our individual "can" but "getting" (receiving) all we can so we might give all we can. This is who God is and who He's designed and called us to be as bearers of His image. The more we receive, the more we are to give. To use Christ's words, "to whom much is given, much is required." And the servant who is faithful in little, will be given more.

In short, life is about being like God; living as He does, is, and designed us to be - to receive and give love as the Father and Son do between each other from all eternity past (Jn 17:25b). All this happens in, by, and through the Spirit - the Spirit of infinite and passionate love for another - God first and others that bear His image.

What is the nature and greatness of God's giving, and how did he demonstrate it? He gave until it hurt i.e. Sacrificially. He gave the very Son of His infinite and eternal affection so we might enter into that very same community of affection between the Father and Son and partake of God, who is love and life Himself (Jn 17:3); the Creator and giver of all we have and are. 

We are to be holy for He is holy i.e., like God. Holiness isn't about being perfect in conduct, but perfect in our focus and passion for God, in the same way He is for Himself. 

He is most worthy of all our affections, worship, honor, and glory. God ²is glorious and designed and calls us to partake in His glory and be glorious like Him. In so doing we bring Him the greatest honor and experience our greatest joy.

We will never experience true life as God intends until we live as he lives i.e., by receiving His overflowing blessings and sharing them with others.

And we will never be able to live this way until we partake of His life as He experiences it in the giving and receiving of glory between the Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit.

For a discussion on sowing and reaping click here. 

For a discussion on legitimate vs illegitimate business click here 

For a discussion on giving what you have click here.

Use it or lose it, click here. 

Is making a lot of money ever legit, click here. 

For a discussion on excellence, click here. 

For a discussion on being diligent, click here

For a discussion on diligence vs being undisciplined click here

For a discussion on the fallacy of the health and wealth gospel, click here.

For a discussion on how faith is hard work, click here.

For a discussion on socialism versus capitalism, click here 

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Footnotes:

¹What comprises our resources? Any and all blessings we receive or possess, be it time, good health, money, things, talents, abilities, skills, experiences unique to us, etc.

²“Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you..."

All the things we normally look to and depend on for our sense of identity and meaning - e.g. our national origin and heritage, wealth (our own land) our extended family (kindred), and even our immediate family, Abraham was called upon by God to walk *away from and look to Him alone as the source of all he is and has...i.e. go to the land I will show you..."

*He also called him to walk towards all he previously sought and had by promising to make him a great family and nation of his own... again, so he might know that God alone is the source of all blessings and in turn us them to bless others.

GOD was calling Abraham to shift his dependence away from those things that we all naturally seek and instead place his dependence solely on God for those things.  This tells us that these things are good and right to desire 

This tells us that these things are good and right to desire but not outside of God but in and through him. God is not opposed to us having these things but He's opposed to our trying to obtain them on our own without looking to and acknowledging Him as the Giver.

³Which also involves recognizing everything we are and already have comes from him.

⁴God was rebuilding Abrams ⁶identity from the ground up. He was telling him every good thing you desire - your own land, your very own nation through your children, a great reputation - I will provide for you and that so you might honor me by being a blessing to others.

Our receiving what we need and value most is not by pursuing these directly but by being like God and blessing others, i.e. seeking first the kingdom of God. God loves to give us all these things (Rom 8:31-32; Matt 7:9-11) as long as we don't forget it is He who gives them. And He does so that we might bless others, becoming the means by which others find, see, and experience God through us.

⁵A God of overflowing abundance, beauty, love, majesty, glory, blessing, and joy.

⁶Abram eventually became Abraham (Gen 17:5). He went from being not just a father of Issac (and ultimately Israel) - as Abram - but a father of many nations - as Abraham.  

God is a God of overflowing abundance and desires we partake of that abundance and in turn, share it with others. This is a primary part of what it means to be like God - in His image.