I have a theory. It may sound ridiculous to some and elementary to others, but I suppose I'm entitled to throw across whatever hair-brained idea that comes across my overactive mind -as long as I have readers gullible enough to believe I have something intelligent to say.
So here goes.
My theory is that since the Bible says, "God is love", then that means He actually loves everybody. It's a simple idea really, but let me elaborate. My theory further says that if God loves everybody, then He must want everybody to be saved. I imagine there aren't too many who would take me to task on that, especially those who espouse the Christian faith, but let me take this thought one step further. My theory further says that if God wants everybody to be saved, then He must be actively working to save as many people as possible. Notice that I didn't say that everybody will be saved, just that God loves everybody, wants everybody to be saved, and is working to save as many people as possible. Perhaps it's my simple mind working overtime again, but I have a feeling the only condition a living creature on planet earth must meet for God to love them and to want them to be in heaven with Him is to be an authentic human being (the technical term would be homo sapien...but I digress).
Alas my simple mind has gotten the best of me-or so my Calvinist friends would say. For don't you know, oh simple-minded one, the fact that God is love doesn't mean He actually loves everybody. For God, oh simple-minded one is not confined to love, God is also hate (howbeit a perfect hatred). Many have tried to convince my simple mind that yes, God does indeed love everybody, but only in a creaturely sense. God may love everone as His creation, but that doesn't mean that He actually has a desire to save everyone, much less pursue a relationship with everyone. God loves all people in a creaturely sense, but not in a relational sense. And don't you know, oh simple one, the fact that God wants everybody to be saved doesn't mean that He's given everybody the capacity to be saved. There are some that God has chosen to be reprobates... even though He still loves them in a creaturely sense.
And then I open my Bible to the story of the rich, young ruler. A man who, if anyone would fit the description of a reprobate, it would be him. The man did't want to give up his bank account to follow Jesus. Can you get any more reprobate than that? And then I see that the Bible says Jesus, "looking at him, loved him."
You mean that Jesus actually loved the rich young ruler?! Hmm....I wonder if that means Jesus loved the fact that He created him, or that He actually loved him? Well, I guess we'll never know.
Aaron D. Taylor is an author, a speaker, and the founder of Great Commission Society, an organization dedicated to sharing the love of Christ and serving Christians living in countries hostile to the gospel. Aaron is the author of "Alone with a Jihadist" a book scheduled to be released in January 2009.
To contact Aaron, go to http://www.greatcommissionsociety.com
Aaron blogs at http://www.aarondtaylor.blogspot.com
» left by Rabbi Stanley from Canada (1 year 28 days ago.)
God doesn't love everybody. In the Book of Malichi and then repeated in Romans it says "Thus saith the Lord I have loved Jacob and I have hated Easu". Some try to say that God meant He hated Esau's sin. God doesn't have a speech impediment and says what He means. He hated Him. Sure, God doesn't have the same kind of hate that we imperfect humans have, His hate is pure but none the less He hates. God is love, that much is true, but He can also hate.
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» left by Aaron Taylor from Missouri (1 year 27 days ago.)
I disagree. I think the point of the passage that talks about God "hating" Esau was that God loved Jacob so much that in comparison, His feelings for Esau was that of hate. The Apostle Paul in the book of Romans comments on this verse to show that God's dealings with the two men were simply a matter of God sovereignly ordaining certain people over others to be used for His redemptive purposes. I think any good theologian would agree, Jewish or Christian, that God has the sovereign right to choose some people over others to be used for His overall redemptive purposes.
If God hated Esau, He surely had a funny way of showing it. If you read the story of Jacob and Esau carefully, you'll see that God also blessed Esau with great wealth and possessions, showing that He also cared about Esau's well-being. If this is the way God hates, I'll take His hatred any day over human hatred any day. Respond to this comment
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