2. God deeply loves me and has told me so in the record of His activity in the Bible.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
In what passages in Scripture do you find it difficult to see God’s love?
In what passages in Scripture do you find it easy to experience God’s love?
Can you think of examples in our human relationships where the actions of a person do not appear to be loving on the surface but in the long run demonstrate deep love?
How would you define “love,” God’s love?
What do the stories and writings in the Bible tell me about God and what God thinks about me? There are many other questions we can ask when we read Scripture, questions about history, theology and the future. Questions about how to treat others, live right, and order our lives and character. It has been said that the mind will attempt to answer any question it is asked.
When we approach Scripture, the questions we bring will influence the answers we find, so it is important to have the right question. Asking questions about history or theology may be appropriate at times but only as these questions support and enhance the primary question about how God loves us.
The Bible is, effectively, God’s love letter to humanity, to each person, individually. Whatever the stories in the Bible seem to say, however the sermons or letters might be interpreted, and whatever picture of God we may be led to imagine, we must begin with the foundation that God truly loves us, delights in us and wants us to know that.
When we read the stories of the Old Testament we can be confused at times because they may not seem relevant to us. They include instructions that don’t fit our lives: commands about sacrifices, agricultural practices, festivals, etc. Stories of war, descriptions of God’s judgments on those who rejected Him, and poetry about God’s anger all paint a picture that may not seem like a loving invitation to a relationship with God. How do these difficult passages reflect a God who loves His people? A couple of ideas or answers to that question follow.
Interspersed with stories of God’s judgment are accounts of the many who walked with God and enjoyed a relationship with Him: Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Samuel, David, prophets, Daniel, Esther, Job and many others.
We must also not overlook or undervalue the overwhelming number of texts that speak of God’s love for His people and His loving action in their lives. Repeated references to God’s unconditional love occur in the psalms, prophets, the writings of Moses, and in God’s dealings with Abraham.
When considering our image of the God of the Old Testament we need to understand that this part of Scripture represents a different time, in which God was working to bring about a people and a kingdom and create a space for people to experience abundance. In order to protect the space so that it could provide abundance, God needed to act against those who threatened or jeopardized this kingdom space.
Jesus brought about a new kingdom and a new way of God’s action. No longer a physical kingdom, we now live in a spiritual kingdom with God. God’s anger now is not expressed at the physical “enemies” but at spiritual ones. Would anyone fault God for being angry at the forces of darkness that create oppression, manipulation, and keep us from experiencing God’s abundance?
Finally, we must remember that God deserves holy reverence from us. God may be our friend, but God is not our “buddy.”
Sometimes our discomfort with a God who shows anger comes out of a desire to avoid accountability and correction. A parent who truly loves their child will not allow the child to behave in ways that are dangerous or will create long-term challenges for the child. A loving parent does what is best for the child, which may not always be what the child wants. When God disciplines His children, it is always for the best of the child.
These suggestions on how to understand the Old Testament passages that sometimes lead us to question God’s love and desire for relationship are admittedly simplified. But the core idea is that if we believe that God truly loves us and wants to be with us, we can in fact find this loving, relational God in the Old Testament.
It gets easier when we get to the New Testament, for who could argue that for God to send His Son into our world to become like us for the purpose of removing obstacles that keep us from Him shows us a God who truly loves us and desires to be with us. But there are also passages in the New Testament that may make us uncomfortable.
So in the end, we can either choose to believe that the Bible reflects the story of God’s actions to bring about the possibility for an intimate and healthy relationship with Him or we can stumble on what we don’t like or don’t understand and miss out on what God desires for us.