Advancing in pain

The age old question is if God is good why is there so much pain. 

But maybe it's not what we usually think. Maybe God allows pain to remain to help us see our need for Him with the long term goal of our spiritual advancement. 

While pain is ultimately the fruit of our rebellious distrust of God, He uses it. If God could not bring good out of evil, evil would not exist. Christ's death would be the ultimate example of this profound paradox. 

Acts 2:23 "this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."

Therefore we must not allow it to discourage or shame us, or ¹cause us to fall into self pity e.g. "You're a loser! Why keep trying? Just quit!..." etc. 

But we must embrace pain and embrace God and His love for us in our pain and failures for our advancement to occur (God is for us, not against us. Nothing separates us from God's love...Rom 8:31-39). 

"...Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 

and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us..." - Romans 5:2-5 ESV 

As long as we look at failure as losing and not a stepping stone to winning, we will not embrace it, learn from it, and advance our maturity and walk with God. When we recognize failure is a key to advancing, we embrace it so we can learn more. 

Having our identity/value rooted in God as the bedrock of our existence and the very Source of love itself frees us from seeing failure as losing. The whole mindset of the Bible is that ²failure is a necessary stepping stone to progress and maturity. 

"When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realise that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence..." - Jas 1: 2-8. J B Phillips translation. 

This is foundational to understanding and embracing pain instead of a avoiding it. 

Another vital key to the value of failure is humility. To understand we will never reach the maximum potential we were created for without God (which failure helps us to see) causes us to look to Him in greater dependence. Greater dependence on God as the Source of life, love, and all things is the essence of humility. Only through humility can we reach the potential God intends for us and designed us for.

How do we discover God's love in our pain? click here

For a further discussion on the primary role of pain click here

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.

For a discussion on the value of paradox, click here.

For a discussion on the necessity of humility click here

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Footnotes:

¹nor let pain embittered us. At the root of anger is the belief we know better than God what is best for us and/or the world. Yet we are finite, not all knowing or all powerful. Only God is infinite in all things. 

And not only so but he is also all loving. He not only knows what's best and does what's best but wants it for us also.

But many object and say "how can God be all  loving and continue to allow all the pain in the world?" What's our proof He is all loving? He became a man just like one of us and fully embraced our pain so that we might ultimately be free of it forever.

²This is contingent on our seeing failure as a means by which God can advance us. If we do not it will embitter us.

3 realities most ignore

Three primary realities are absolutes. To ignore them without consequence is unavoidable and leads us away from our maximum flourishing i.e., from reaching our greatest potential ¹for the glory of God. If we remain on this path of denial, it ultimately leads us down a path of destruction. 

1. Everyone - atheists included - operates by faith. 

Because we all are finite and do not have infinite knowledge, no one can know with absolute certainty whether our views or conduct are or aren't on the right track. To know and live correctly, we must confide in the Source of infinite knowledge, life, love, and all things - i.e. the Creator and Designer of everything. 

For related discussions, go to:

The necessity of faith in an infinite God.

The essence of relationships

The necessity of dependence

2. The object of our faith is more critical than faith itself. 

Because we are finite in our knowledge and ability, we can pursue a course of action we believe is life-giving when it is actually harmful - at least long-term if not in the short run. This results in harm, destruction, and eventual death. 

To use an analogy, we may consume food we believe is life-giving when in reality it is ending - i.e. toxic. Our belief, no matter how strong, does not change the nature or harmful effects of what we are consuming.

The problem isn't our faith but what we place our faith in. 

3. Everything is designed to operate a certain way i.e., there is design.

Because of this, there are always destructive consequences if something or someone operates contrary to its design. 

This is why following God's law is vital. For example, in science, we refer to the laws of nature. Why? Because when tested and applied, these laws or principles always result in the same outcome. This is evidence of design. For us - and any other created thing - to go contrary to its design results in things breaking down and eventually self-destructing.

There are also laws in the metaphysical (non-material) world, since we are not only physical but also spiritual beings created in the image of God, who is Spirit.

Laws are the tracks or guard rails by which something (or someone) is designed to operate. If we ignore our design and these laws, things do not work properly and to their maximum potential. As a result, we suffer loss, breakdown, and eventually self-destruction. 

Just like a train needs tracks to run on for maximum performance, so it is with all of creation; from humans, who are the most complex, to the smallest elements of the quantum world. Everything has a design and purpose, which is to operate according to God's design and intent.

Only the Designer knows perfectly what that is. We can experiment, test, and discover how things are designed to function only because design exists and is observable. 

But to know our design and purpose, we must confide in the Designer, observe what he's done, and heed what He says, as well as observe how things function. 

How? 

God actually took on human form and lived among us, living out God's design and giving us direction through His words and example. These things have also been put in writing and left for us to study and understand.

¹For a discussion on how we are created for joy in God and His glory, click here.

For a discussion on how God's greatest glory and our greatest good are tied together and not at odds, click here.

Free will or free choice?

While our choices are ¹free and 100% ours (i.e. we freely choose to do whatever we want) our ³wills are not. Our wills are tied to our desires. 

To say it another way, our "chooser" is not broken but our "wanter" is.

²And our wants (desires) dictate what we ¹choose to pursue. 

If we desire (want) the wrong things we we choose to pursue the wrong things. 

And our desires are tied to what we value. The more we value something, the more we desire it and the harder we pursue it. 

And we value only what we ⁴see as valuable. 

If ⁴we are blind to seeing God's true value, worth, beauty, wisdom, glory, majesty, and power as our infinite loving Creator - the Source of life, love, and all things - we will never pursue Him as the infinitely valuable and significant being that He is. We will desire and pursue created things and beings instead. 

Why? ⁵We are like God and created to enjoy Him who is most valuable, beautiful, intelligent, glorious, majestic, and loving. Absent a relationship with Him - the Source of life, love, and all things - we go after the next best thing... His creation to fill the void of His absence. Particularly other image bearers (you and I) who by design are most like God and have the greatest capacity to love and reflect him most when in union with Him through Christ.

What about our feeling significant, important, or valuable? Does it matter? If so, why?

Because God is significant, important, and valuable, we are must be like Him in order to be able to appreciate and enjoy these qualities in Him. 

We are told in Jas 4: 

[5] "...Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”"?  

What kind of spirit has God put within us? A spirit that longs (is passionate) for infinite love i.e. God Himself. Love that can only be satisfied fully by the Source of love - our Creator; not by creation.  

He will not share in (is jealous over) our pursuit or loyalty to any other "lover" because He knows there is no other true lover who can fill this need and desire for love that He designed to be filled only by Him. This is "the spirit He has made to dwell in us."

Not because He needs our love but because we need His. This wasn't happenstance. He designed us this way. He is the Creator, we are created...but unlike the rest of creation we are created in His image. Therefore He loves us and desires we experience Him to the maximum of our capacity as bearers of His image. 

Everything we seek for life outside of God is temporary and comes up short of filling our sense of value-worth (glory). GOD alone is the Source of infinite love. To experience His love to the maximum of our capacity, we must give Him all our loyalty and faithfulness. Otherwise we will never experience His love as we were designed to, but instead we will pursue love outside of Him.  

Where does this need/desire for significance (glory) come from? Click here. 

For a discussion on the necessity of choice click here.

For a further discussion on how our "wanter" is broken and not our "chooser" click here. 

For a discussion on ability vs responsibility click here

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¹And our chooses are ours alone. No one else's, including God. Therefore we are fully accountable for what we value and chose to pursue. 

²Note the progression of the "ands" above. Each deals with a significant shift, but also a vital connection to the previous and following "and" statement. To get to the 2nd "and" you must acknowledge the 1st. And to get to the 3rd we must see the 2nd. 

³Is God free to do whatever he wants? 100%!  But since God is holy He only wants (desires-wills) and freely choses righteousness i.e. His character or nature dictates His will/desires.

 For a fuller discussion click here.

⁴To see truly, the Spirit of God must reside in us. And that only occurs after we've been "born again" i.e. after we are spiritually regenerated. 

"Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (1st) he cannot see the kingdom of God.” " John 3:30

Before we are born again we are blind to spiritual things - i.e. things pertaining to God's kingdom. The Bible says we are dead to God. Last I checked dead people don't see very well 😉! 

⁵Why does our feeling and desire for significance, importance, and value matter? 

We are like God who is significant, important, or valuable. We must be like Him so we can appreciate and enjoy these qualities in Him. 

God's  significance, importance, and value (glory) are the foundation for ours. Our recognizing this about God is essential to experiencing our own value. The more we see his glory the more we experience our glory in Him. 

Trials, tests, temptations

What is the difference between trials (or tests) and temptation? 

All our internal turmoil, anger, anxieties, fears, etc., come from the threat of losing something we believe we must have to experience a sense of significance, importance, meaning, value, and love, etc. 

The more we see and experience God as the source of our worth - i.e., our glory - the less internal turmoil we have. Instead, we have peace that is beyond understanding - i.e., peace that makes no sense in light of our circumstances or struggles. 

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” - Jesus - John 16:33 

Every test/trial becomes a temptation. Any change in your circumstances - whether good or bad - is a test/trial. If you fall into poverty or receive great riches, adversity or prosperity, success or failure, it tests your faith. i.e., whether you will be drawn away from God by the successes or struggles, or to God in greater trust and dependence.

Anything we pursue - be it praise, money, fame, recreation, physical intimacy, entertainment, etc. - which becomes the basis for our worth, significance, importance, value, approval, acceptance, etc., more than God - is our god, i.e., an idol. 

Tests will push you to become a better or worse person based on how you handle them, i.e., with humility or pride; in gratitude and greater dependence on God, or as an opportunity to become more independent from God.

Either way, you will not stay the same. Trials are opportunities for growth or distraction, making you better or worse, grateful or bitter.

Jas 1:2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed (i.e. humbly dependent on God), not deficient in any way. - The Message translation

The only legitimate reason for any pursuit is to honor and glorify God, not advance our personal agenda. It is also in pursuit of God's glory that we find our true and greatest worth and joy. 

Is there Order and design?

Even though things are broken, there is still order in the world. The universe is not random chaos. Most things remain predictable; clear patterns and design persist. If that weren’t true, the scientific method itself would be impossible—it would be a meaningless, useless myth that we should abandon. Yet we use it consistently, knowing it works.

Moreover, to call something “broken,” we must have a standard of what “whole” looks like. The very idea of brokenness depends on comparing it to an original order or design. Something can only be broken if it was first ordered (or designed) to function a certain way. 

If we see a watch lying on the ground with its glass cracked and hands frozen, we instantly recognize it as “broken” only because we already know what a properly working watch is supposed to look like and do: keep time accurately, with all gears turning together in precise harmony. 

If there were no such thing as an intended, designed order for a watch—if watches were just random lumps of metal that sometimes ticked and sometimes didn’t—no one would ever say “this watch is broken.” They’d just say, “This is a watch.” 

The concept of “broken” only makes sense against the backdrop of an original “right” or “ordered” state. 

The same applies to the world: we can call parts of it broken only because, under the cracks, we still see an underlying pattern and design that things are meant to follow.

For a discussion on violating design, click here

For a discussion on our world being full of design and beauty, click here

For a discussion about how Christ is our Designer, click here

For a discussion on celebrating our design and our Designer, click here

For a discussion on how everything is broken, click here.

For a discussion on how we are created for glory, click here.

good and bad "obedience"

Doing what God tells us to do (obedience) out of love for and trust in God is legit - as well as commanded by Christ himself. John 14:21-23

Doing what He tells us to do for any other reason is not. It is performance-based, operating in the flesh, etc.

The key is knowing why we act and not just how we act or what we do. For example, praying in itself isn't necessarily a righteous act. We can pray to impress others or solely for our personal benefit and not out of a desire to honor God and advance His purposes.

So why do we act... when are our actions legit? Always and only when done out of love for and trust in God so we would honor Him i.e. give him glory.

1. Sometimes we obey God out of loving affections for God

2. Sometimes out of faith alone.  

As long as we do so for his honor and glory and not to secure our own honor, we are to pursue him in faithful and loving obedience. 

We can never wait for feelings/affections or use lack of them as an excuse to not pursue him in faithful obedience. 

If we are to grow and experience more and more of the beauty, majesty, love and glory of God, obedience is not optional. It is the means by which our faith is exercised and we draw near to God.

NOTE, I did not say obedience is the means by which God draws near to us. We are exhorted to draw near to God, not the other way around. God being near to us is already set because of Christ's work on our behalf. God is 100% with us and committed to us if we are in Christ. Nothing we can do or not do will change this one iota. "It is finished" to use Christ's words. His loving us is never determined by our work...ever!

The beauty however, is God, in his grace and kindness, will often stir affections toward Him once we step out in faith for the right reason.

We obey so we can better honor and glorify God and be the most effective for Him in doing so.

Obedience, submission, and trust aren't about winning God's love for us, they're evidence of our love for Him.

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What about "waiting on the Lord?"

We only wait when it is not clear what Gods will is in a given circumstance. But when it is clear (e.g. his commandments), we act and don't look back.

From Adam to Christ

Before our rebellion, it appears we were spiritually ²neutral. As image bearers we had the capacity, unlike any other creature, to fellowship with God and did i.e. we could willingly receive and return His love. But we weren't ²inclined toward or away from God. You could say we were a blank slate.

However, we were also finite. And because of our limits we had no way of verifying on our own, with ⁶absolute certainty who was truthful and trustworthy, God or the serpent. 

Ultimately, it came down to trust. Our ¹trust in God hadn't yet been tested or confirmed. We had no reason to question God prior to that conversation with the serpent. The serpent's suggestions put into Adam and Eves mind doubt about God and His love for them for the first time. 

This is also why there were 2 special trees in Eden. (And not just anywhere in the garden but at its center). 

⁴We were given two contradictory claims or "promises" from two distinct sources and had to choose which one we believed. In God's original instructions, "do not eat..." it is clear God wanted them to have a choice. 

When humanity's trust was tested, we chose (and continue to choose) to trust ourselves and not God. We believed we could - and can - decide what was (and is) best for us without God, and know ²good and evil without looking to or depending on God for input. We set ourselves up as the final arbitrator of what is good or evil. And act of rebellion towards God as the Creator of all things and also a lie which was contrary to our design. This is the present modus operandi for all humanity to this day. 

Ever since our rebellion, we are naturally inclined towards distrust of others, God first, as well as each other. 

We went from being neutral to being bent away from God, and we remain that way to this day. We (and humanity as a whole) are now broken, fragmented, and continue to come "unglued" as we seek to find life and make it work without God. 

Without God's help, all our actions are rooted in self-trust and distrust of God. Every time we make choices without looking to God for input, we are saying God is not necessary to live life at the highest level. 

The solution?

The second Adam compared to the first. 

The Spirit led Christ into the wilderness after His baptism (where the Father said He was well pleased with His Son), and thus Christ's formal ministry began. 

Christ's trust in the Father was tested 3 times in the wilderness; as was Adam's. Unlike Adam, Christ passed each time. 

Christ's trust was also tested throughout his incarnation, and culminated in Gethsemane right before his betrayal and crucifixion, when he said "...let this cup pass from me...but not my will, but yours be done..." and also on the cross "...My God, why have you forsaken me?" 

Being placed into Christ vs remaining in Adam. 

Christ's passing of these tests of trust was for us, not him. His passing them can now be assigned to us as if we passed them when we didn't and haven't. Where Adam failed, Christ succeeded!

But we are asked to trust God - like Adam - one more time to receive this offer. It is not forced on us. Yes, we can refuse to trust, but we are left to bear the consequences of our rebellious distrust (as Adam was) and the harm it causes ³God, others, and ourselves. 

For a further discussion on the initial rebellion of man - i.e. "the fall" - click here. 

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Footnotes:

¹As finite beings, we cannot operate without trust. To do so would require us to be all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present. Only God is infinite and has these attributes; we do not. 

During Christ's incarnation, he was not all-knowing. This was part of his emptying himself (the kenosis). He said many times there were things he did not know in his present human form. This is also why Christ, as a man, operated by faith, like we do and must.

²knowing good and evil was basically knowing right from wrong. Apparently, in their original state and before their rebellion, they needed to confide in God when presented with a choice between right and wrong. The serpent suggested they (we) could be "free" from this seeming shackle if we ate from the forbidden tree. However, we made our choice by ignoring God's instructions to not eat of the forbidden tree and have reaped the consequences ever since, i.e., pain, suffering, and death. 

³we can not harm God personally. God needs no one or nothing outside of Himself and nothing from us. But we can bring dishonor to Him by our thoughts, words, and deeds, resulting on our hindering others from seeing Him as He truly is, ultimately leading to their harm. 

For us to speak and act as if God is not worthy of honor is leading others to do the same i.e. away from God. But He alone is worthy of all honor and glory because He is the Source of life, love, and all things. To Him all glory is deserved and should be given.

Our rejection of our dependence on God was contrary to who we are - creatures dependent on our Creator - and who is as the giver of life, love, and all things. Going contrary to this reality brings real harm and destruction to ourselves, others as well as dishonors God for who He truly is. Diminishing God in the eyes of others by our words and actions draws them away from God which leads them to harm and destruction. 

Christ honored His Father in all he said and did but was treated exactly the opposite of this. And now the Father offers to credit Christ's ⁵faithfulness to you as if this is how you now live. If we are in Christ, the Father only sees the Son's perfect faithfulness as if it was our own and He is well pleased with us, as He is with the Son.

⁴Adam and Eve represented us, not in the sense of acting on our behalf but in the sense that given the same set of circumstances we would have made the exact same choice they did. 

We prove that daily by making similar kinds of choices now i.e., we prefer being our own god and being independent of God instead of dependent on God. We are not accountable for Adam and Eves choice but our own with one exception. We have a chance to choose God again and totally reverse the legal consequences of our distrust of God - and also the practical consequences in eternity as well - because God provided a way to be restored if we accept His offer.

⁵Keep in mind that Christ's faithfulness was not a walk in the park. He was faithful in the face of all the adversity Christ endured and all the riches He set aside to become a man so he could suffer and die, that we would not have to. 

⁶though the evidence was clearly in God's favor since Adam experienced 1st hand the creation of Eve while he saw no such demonstration of power by the serpent. 

The foundation of true happiness

Our greatest joy is the happiness we experience from bringing happiness to someone we deeply love i.e. the delight we experience in bringing another joy by treating them with value.

To love someone is to so identify with their ¹well being that we cannot be happy unless they are also happy i.e. their spiritual ¹flourishing first is what makes us happy. 

This is the same kind of love a spiritually and emotionally mature and healthy parent has for their child. It is sacrificial love. It is love in spite of any qualities we do not like in them.

This is the same kind of love God has for us. He is most happy (delighted) when we are most happy. And we are happiest when our happiness is in Him. God has tied His joy to ours and ours in turn is tied to His. 

However due to our rebellious distrust of God we seek and latch on to created things for happiness instead of Him. 

But this only works short term. It is contrary to our design as bearers of His image and therefore does not bring true long term happiness. 

So how does God draw us to himself so we find in Him the greatest happiness? By helping us see that true and lasting happiness is not in created things. 

Our problem is we are so fixated on created things - whether that be the abilities we internally possess by birth or resources we have aquired or have access to. To find true and lasting happiness we must be weaned from creation as our ²primary source of happiness. But this ³usually involves denial or loss of these gifts which is painful. 

The irony is pain - which makes us least happy - is often a primary means to our greatest happiness, which is ultimately God Himself. 

But this is only due to our distrust of God i.e. pain is caused by our attaching to things that do not make us truly happy long term. God does not cause pain. It is the absence of God that causes pain. 

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Footnotes:

¹What does spiritual flourishing entail? Experiencing our greatest glory, God himself, which can lead to flourishing in all other ways i.e. emotionally, relationally, and sometimes physically/ materially. I say "can" lead as long as God remains our first (primary) love. To find created things our focus leads us away from our ultimate good which is God.

²Creation is not bad, it is good. But when our hearts look to created things as the source of our greatest happiness we are operating contrary to God's intent and our design as bearers of His image. 

This is out of line with reality of who He is and we are. This is bad because it's contrary to who we are designed to be i.e. God is the greatest source of our happiness. Without Him there would be no creation or true happiness. 

³Being denied or losing the blessings of this life is only necessary when our love for them is greater than our love for God. As painful as this is, it occurs so we might experience the ultimate and greater good, God Himself. This is God's intent behind all pain and suffering. Now it is up to us to see, believe, and receive God's love hidden in our pain. 

Freedom and the Spirit

"...Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." - 2 Cor 3:17

Why is their freedom in the Spirit's presence? Because God ¹is not only Spirit but He is also love.  Therefore, where the Spirit is present, love is also. 

How are these connected? 

As bearers of God's image we are created for love - because God is love. In order to experience His love, God knew we must be like Him to fully experience Him as love and to freely function as God designed us to. 

When we are in God's presence His love fills us up and frees us from always trying to gain or win love from God and others through our actions i.e. our good behavior.

Not only does God not demand from us certain actions in order to win His love, but He also knew we could never do enough to win it. So He made a way to remove the barrier between us - created by our ³rebellious distrust of Him - so He could freely pour out His love on us again as He did before our original rebellion. This was made possible through the efforts of Christ - efforts driven by Christ's perfect ³trust in the Father of love. 

Whenever we are in the presence of God, we are also in the presence of infinite ²love. This love energizes us to do (obey) and be who we are designed to be. His love results in our wanting to live for Him vs our feeling pressured to in order to avoid rejection. There is no risk of rejection when love is completely secured for us by the perfect actions of another - i.e. Christ's.

Obedience that springs forth from love is not action we have to take, as a legal requirement, but action we want to take. Obedience occurs supernaturally, freely and organically. Our "wanter" (will) is awakened toward our Creator in response to His love for us. A love fully secured for us by Christ's efforts alone, not ours. 

His love stirs us up to our true potential—to become again what we were originally created to be - bearers of God's image - through God's Spirit of infinite love. 

This happens when we are in the presence of God in all His love. To be all we were created to be is not only what we desire, but His love also gives us the power to do it - i.e., where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Nothing good or lasting happens in us or through us apart from the Spirit (love) of God. 

And we have God's Spirit only because we are in Christ. But also because we are in Christ we have His Spirit i.e. this is true for every one of His children with no exceptions. It is for us to believe and receive this love. 

For a further discussion on glory, and how it ties into this article, I offer the following:

Created for glory II

Crowned with glory and honor

Giving and receiving glory

Why God calls us to glorify him

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¹In fact, some argue (and I agree) that the Spirit issues forth from the perfect love between the Father and Son. For more on this click here and here. 

²We are energized in the presence of any love but most fully in the presence of the infinite love of God, who is the very Source of love.

³the opposite of our rebellious distrust that alienates us from the Father.

Messed up image bearers

It is hard for us to acknowledge how messed up we are. And also how messed up the world is collectively because we are individually.

We hope and want to believe we can ¹fix things on our own i.e. be our own deliverer,  provider... our own god. But to do so requires us to be infinite in ability (power), wisdom, love, and life. 

Why? 

Because we were designed for the Infinite God with the capacity to experience infinite love, joy, delight and bliss in Him. Nothing less than the infinite (i.e. God) matches and meets our infinite longing and capacity for love. 

But we are not our own god. We are finite (limited) and therefore dependent. Our biggest problem is not being finite but our refusal to recognize our limits i.e. that we are finite with an infinite need. We will not experience our greatest potential and joy until we acknowledge our limits and need for infinite love, wisdom, and strength. 

All we are and have comes from our Creator. Without God, nothing else would be; not our minds, our bodies with their 5 sense (all gifts from our Creator), nor the beauty and wonders of creation we partake of through all these gifts. 

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Footnotes: 

¹To a limited extent we can fix things but it is only temporary. The solutions we find or bring do not match and meet the fullest extent of our infinite need and capacity for infinite love offered to us as bearers of God's image. 

No matter how well we are able to position ourselves and our world for maximum joy or happiness ²in this life, it is temporary and never lasts. There is always something to disrupt it. If nothing else, ultimately death itself; our own or those nearest to us. 

²So why bother to continue living?  Because God desires we be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with His love, beauty, wonder, and glory and experience the joy in doing so. 

But this requires we grow deeper roots of trust in Him. The more we learn to trust him in this life the more we experience him now and the greater our joy in Him and His joy in us, both now and throughout eternity. 

God energizes us

The more we see God as the source of life, love, and all things the more our focus on and attraction to Him grows. This, in turn, energizes us to pursue Him - our Creator - more instead of the ¹blessings of creation all around us. Our focus shifts away from the temporary to the eternal, infinite, and permanent.

When we see Him as the all-wise, glorious, and loving Creator that He is, following His directions - i.e. advancing His Kingdom through the faithful pursuit of His ²commandments - no longer is a chore but a delight. 

Why? Because we understand that faithful pursuit of God - who is ³life - is the primary means of drawing us closer to Him and experiencing life as we were meant to. In, by, and through Him is everything necessary to live the life He's designed us for and calls us to. 

Our design also indicates our purpose and "calling" from God i.e. what we were created for... why we exist.

At first, obeying and pursuing God feels more like death, not a means to life (and why Christ said to live, we must first die). That is because it requires us to die to our dependence on the temporary things that only give short-term life - temporary satisfaction - in the moment, instead of eternal joy and delight in the Source of life, love, and all things.  

In reality, obedience wakes us up more to see why following God is necessary to experience true life found only in Him, who alone is lasting, never-ending - eternal - life.

This doesn't mean we don't need those created things we pursue, but simply that they are temporary and exist only because He made them and grants us access to them out of His loving generosity so we might advance His glory and kingdom of love by loving others well. This is also where we find the greatest joy. 

Created things are given by God and best enjoyed when we fully understand they come to us as a gift, not as something we deserve, can or must earn, and are "rightfully" ours (when we think we've ³earned them) to use as we see fit - instead of as God directs. 

The reality is they are given to us so that we might receive them with gratitude as gifts to show us His love, and in turn are to be freely shared with others on Christ's behalf as His ambassadors in order point them to Him who alone is life. 

If we pursue God and He prospers us circumstantially - with improved finances, relationships, health etc - it is the result of our desire and pursuit to honor Him and His kingdom of love, instead of pursuing our private agenda.

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Footnotes:

¹We still enjoy creation, but not as something we idolize or worship, but as something that conveys His love for us more fully.

²And what commandments does He call us to?

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” - Matthew 22:36-40

³What exactly is life? To find the answer we must look to God himself and what defines His life i.e. what does life consist of for Him - and in turn for us as bearers of His image? For more on this click here.

Pain, humility, and knowing God

Is there any connection between knowing God, humility, and pain? At first we may not think so. 

Let's take a closer look. 

Since humility is key to knowing, seeing, and experiencing God, we should embrace and receive, with thanks, anything that helps humble us, including and maybe especially pain and suffering.  

Instead of bristling at pain and pursuing ¹anything we can find to distract or relieve us from it, we should embrace struggles and be grateful for them. They are a vital means of drawing us nearer to God. 

Knowing God is far more significant and beneficial than short-term relief from our struggles (though it often doesn't feel that way at the moment). Seeing and knowing this enables us to receive suffering with gratitude.

In short, the reason we are to be thankful for our struggles (vs complaining about them) is they ²can be and usually are a primary means of strengthening our understanding and relationship with God who is the source of life, love, and all things i.e. pain ²can be a very unpleasant means to the greatest and most desirable and pleasant end - our increased union with God and the joy and happiness we find in Him. So while the loss of things we rely on for comfort or pleasure are painful, they become the very means by which we are drawn closer to God, the Source of life, love, and all things. 

Thankfulness is the best indicator of humility. Humility is the key to seeing and knowing God in all His infinite love and glory.

How do we discover God's love in our pain? click here

For a further discussion on the primary role of pain click here

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.

For a discussion on the value of paradox, click here.

For a discussion on the necessity of humility click here

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Footnotes:

¹drugs, alcohol, and sex are some of the more obvious and most common diversions. But diversions can also be more socially acceptable pursuits, such as recreation, career, entertainment, material possessions, food, power, control, fame, or anything else pleasant that will help distract us or relieve us from pain. Boredom is also a form of low-grade pain. 

This is not because pleasure in itself or those things among creation that bring us pleasure are bad. God created us for pleasure but in, by, and through Him. But when comfort or pleasure in itself (the opposite of pain) becomes a higher pursuit than God, it is contrary to our design of finding our greatest happiness in God and what He provides. 

²Actually pain and struggle is a primary means to our increasing maturity and greater union with God when received with thanksgiving. I say "can" because it depends on us trusting that God is using our pain for our ultimate good (even the pain caused by the failures and offenses of others). Otherwise, suffering will only make us angry and embitter us. 

"See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;" - Heb 12:15. No one likes being around a bitter and angry person - except maybe others who are the same way... "birds of a feather..." as the saying goes.  

It is worth noting that the author of Hebrews was writing to people going through intense persecution and suffering at the hands of others.

Hebrews 12:6-8 ESV

⁶For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” ⁷It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons... 

Hebrews 12:11 ESV

¹¹For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 

Other passages that directly or indirectly address this vital truth... 

James 1:2-4 ESV

²Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  

Ephesians 5:20

"...giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,"  

1 Thessalonians 5:18

"Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 

Colossians 3:17

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." 

Philippians 4:6

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." 

This last passage is particularly interesting because we often go to God in prayer for relief from difficulties, yet God says we should give thanks in those very kinds of prayers i.e. don't just seek God for relief, seek God himself and be grateful for everything that aids you in knowing Him better, especially difficulties. 

Romans 8:28-29 

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29] For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

The good that God is achieving in all things (vs 28) - both hard and comforting - is making us more like His Son (vs 29), not necessarily improved circumstances.

Which is it... sinners or like God?!

God's love for ⁴us is without conditions. FULL STOP! i.e. to be fully accepted and embraced by God requires nothing from us. God's love for us is based on someone else meeting the requirements, ¹not us. Accepting the offer that Jesus met what God requires is the only thing required of us. 

However, that doesn't mean there is not a good reason for His infinite love for us. There is a major reason. He values and therefore loves us because we are like him - in His image. 

This has nothing to do with what we do but with who we are, who God made us to be. It is not our trying to make ourselves more acceptable and loveable to Him or others.

This is why He loved us before we lifted one finger for Him. In fact even while we were still in our state of rebellious distrust of Him.

"...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us..." - Romans 5:8

"...But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—..." -  Ephesians 2:4-5 

Have you ever scratched your head wondering why he would value and love us while we were still in a state of rebellious distrust toward Him (i.e. "sin")? It is because our rebellion did not cancel out or erase our being like God, it only marred and suppressed it - though severely. 

This resulted in our spiritual sight and sense going completely dormant (until His Spirit opens our eyes). We are now "unplugged" from God (the source of all things), broken, and blind to seeing His infinite worth, beauty, and love. As a result, we ascribe the worst possible intent by God on why we struggle or experience loss and pain. The Bible describes this as being spiritually blind and dead to God. 

But our capacity for love, light, and life didn't go away and is still fully intact - we are still like God - even when we don't trust Him i.e. we still are designed to love and be loved and we long for this. We are hard-wired for love, if you will, because God is love and we are like Him, created to be in a community of love with Him. 

God values and loves our being like Him because we still have the capacity to fully partake of the community of love that God is as Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit. 

This capacity for infinite love never went away; it only ceased to function properly i.e. it went dormant if you will. In our broken and spirituality-blind condition, we now long for the wrong things - instead of the only true thing that can fill our longing for love - because we are blind to the true Source of love and life - i.e. our Creator.

A recap and summary 

Our being in God's image is vital to how God sees us and who we are. This means there is good reason for Him to love us i.e. because of who we are, not what we do. 

We are not just rebellious - aka "dirty rotten sinners." This is true but only half the story - and the far lesser half - once we accept his offer. The more important half is we are still also like God with an infinite capacity to fully engage, delight in, and commune with the Infinite God and experience His infinite love, glory, and joy!!!

Being like God has nothing to do with what we do (our good deeds) for others (God and other bearers of His image) - when it comes to establishing a good standing with Him - but has to do with something about us - i.e. who we are, not what we do. 

God's love has nothing to do with something that comes from us or is offered by us - i.e. something we do in an attempt to earn His love or appease His disapproval. 

Our only requirement is to recognize that Christ did everything necessary to fully restore us to His Father and accept this as a free gift (the essence of the gospel - good news - of grace). 

Do you receive this? If you only know this in your head but haven't fully believed it, you only need to recognize He did everything necessary to restore you so He can pour out His love on you. A love He already has for you that you are blocking by your not believing this good news. Because nothing you can do will restore you to God...nothing - not your abilities or good deeds!!! 

Accept His offer of complete restoration. If you are sincere in accepting and receiving His offer of perfect love, He will legally and immediately restore you now, and ²completely upon His return.

"The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price (you can't buy it or earn His acceptance of you)." - Revelation 22:17 

For God to have a relationship with us in the same way the Father and the Son have with each other, we had to be like him in one essential way i.e. we had to be able to receive and return love to God like God does between and among the Father and Son, in, by, and through the Spirit - i.e. God IS love. Love is the central and essential core of who God is!!! We are like Him i.e. we are hard wired for this same love. 

But love for God first, not just between each other. Our love for others must flow out of our love for God. This is why the greatest commandment is to love God first, then our neighbors. 

Does God need anything from us? No! He has Himself i.e. He is complete within Himself.

But when we say he loves us without conditions, that is not to say he doesn't have longings and desires for us and from us. He yearns to commune with us. Why? Because we are like God and God is love. He longs for us to experience the fullness of who He is so, like Him, we too experience it.

He is the source of love, life, and all things and knows our greatest meaning, purpose, and joy is found only in Him!! His calling us to love Him above everything else is because He knows He is our best and desires our best i.e. God is love.

James 4:5 says:

"Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us' ”?

Nevertheless, His love for us is without conditions i.e. no deeds are required from us in order for His love to be set on us.

This is possible only because Christ fulfilled all the conditions ³required and necessary for him to remove the barrier between us and love us freely and fully. Even to the point that the Father loves us in the very same way He loves His only eternally begotten Son. Jn 17:23.

"I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."

So does our love and pursuit of God matter since it's not required?

While there should never be ⁴expectations or conditions put on us for the gifts freely given to ⁵us or on others for the gifts we gladly give them, it is legitimate to enjoy and eagerly anticipate the appreciation from others for those gifts.

When gratitude is shown for the gifts we graciously receive, it delights the giver because they know their gift (and love) is not just accepted but also enjoyed and appreciated.

This reminds us of the 10 lepers that Christ healed and only one returned and showed gratitude. As a result, Christ engaged him further because he demonstrated by returning to Christ that he appreciated what Christ did. Lk 17:12-19.

To hope for and enjoy someone else's appreciation for what we give them is different than ⁵demanding their gratitude.

This also happens to be how God loves us and enjoys a relationship with us. God doesn't ⁶demand our obedience in exchange for His love. He delights in it. We are this way because God is this way. We are in his image.

In order for him to have this kind of love relationship with us we had to be like him as much possible without actually being him.

For a further discussion on why God loves rebels but not rebellion click here 

Are we rebels against God? Click here 

For a further discussion on the solution to our rebellion click here. 

For a further discussion on why God delights in our love click here.

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¹Who met them? Christ!!! For only He could, not us!

²The claims of Christ and His return!! and Knowing God but not fully yet.

³this is necessary because we fail to. No one fulfills the greatest commandment to love God with everything we are and have. Do you? I certainly don't!

⁴Expectations and conditions come from those who need love. God wants our love but doesn't need it. He is love as a community of love among the Father, Son, and Spirit. And when we are filled with His love we are the same way i.e. we don't need the love of others because we already have the perfect love of God.

⁵Who is "us." Is it humanity in general or us who have trusted Christ? It is both. God values all his image bearers by virtue of them being like him. But only those who accept his offer of restoration actually participate in and experience that love as we are designed to.

⁶We demand things from others only because we believe we must have them in order to be loved. God doesn't because He is already a community of love between the Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit. He doesn't need us in order to be complete (whole) and therefore does not need to demand our obedience. 

However because He is love he delights in our entering into and participating in his love. He seeks - "requires" - us to love him because he knows that is where we are most complete and find greatest joy.