3) Why don’t we associate God with pleasure? (part two)

In the last post I talked about how the commandments of God were given in love to keep us from destroying ourselves. I absolutely believe that is true. I believe that the tone of God’s voice and the feelings in His heart are very much like my tone of voice and the feeling in my heart as I pleaded with my babies to be careful to look both ways before crossing the street.

But I can’t stop there. I dare not go all mushy mush and present a picture of God that is distorted. God’s tone of voice is tender and pleading when giving commands to His children, but not everyone on this planet is a child of God. Scripture makes it perfectly clear that the wrath of God abides on those who reject His Son (John 3:36). The wrath of God is utterly, absolutely terrifying. How can my poor heart dare to open it’s doors to such a wrathful, majestic being?

I think we know God best when we realize that He relates to people from either end of the emotional spectrum, but not from the middle. We usually operate from the middle. We don’t absolutely hate or absolutely love anyone. The people we love sometimes get on our nerves, and if we are fair and honest, the people we don’t care for have some redeeming qualities. That’s being human, and frankly, I don’t see a problem with that. We should be growing into a deeper and purer love for our neighbor, but for the most part we operate in the middle of the emotional spectrum.

One of the reasons we find it so hard to really, really open ourselves to God is that we don’t want anyone to get that close to us. We have to hold some part of ourselves in reserve where it can be protected because every human being we have ever met, no matter how much they might love us, may at any moment get angry with us. Because of this most of us have a part of our hearts that we hold back, that we shield, even from the person we love most in this life. We may not consciously be aware of it, but this is what we are doing to each other and this is what we must stop doing to God.

If you believe in the Son of God, then you are in a position that is the exact opposite of the rebellious sinner. Instead of the wrath of God abiding on you, the love of God abides on you. Theologians might cringe at what I’m about to say, but I think it will communicate well to the average layman. If you reject Christ, there is almost nothing that God is not willing to do to you. If you receive Christ, there is almost nothing that God is not willing to do for you.

Let us close with what I find to be the most amazing words in the Bible, even more amazing than John 3:16. “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” (John 15:9 NASB)