The Difference Between Our Love for God and God's Love for Us - Part 2

Recap: About a week or so ago, I offered up a post talking about how our love is different than God's love. The main conclusion I was trying to draw from part one of this series is that our love for God is highly conditional on what we do - namely our obedience.

I Concede: Why did it take me a week to do part two? Part of the reason was that it was a busy week. My wife just had foot surgery, is in constant pain, can't walk, and is very needy right now, a job that falls primarily on the husband, though many people have gone out of their way to help out. Anyway, the main reason why I haven't posted a part two to this series is that it's really really hard to take a subject like God's love for us and turn it into a readable quick little blog. In fact, I admit that I can't do it. That subject is too big, too deep, and simply too much for a blog. So I'm going to try and touch on it by using a song (go figure). And by the way, I think I mispoke the other day when mentioning that our love for God and God's love for us were similar. While I know they are different, they really aren't very similar either. What is similar is our love for people. Parents can probably relate to this even more. But our love for God is so tied Biblically to our obedience, and because our obedience is so weak, I can't help but say that most Christians (including myself) probably have a much weaker love for God than they think they do.

Hymn Choice: I was in my Durango for about an hour and a half today alone, going to and from church, etc. Anyway, I listened to one song the entire time, over and over. I think it speaks of the love God has for us very well, and I think I can use it to finish my impossible task of trying to fairly compare our love for God with God's love for us. The song is "A Debtor to Mercy Alone," a song written in the 1771 by Augustus Toplady and performed by Sandra McCracken to the music Kevin Twit wrote for the first Indelible Grace CD. An absolute masterpiece. For some reason, my previous listening of this particular CD had sort of passed over this song. Not anymore.

A debtor to mercy alone, of covenant mercy I sing;
Nor fear, with Thy righteousness on, my person and off'’ring to bring.

-- God's love for us can certainly be seen in his wonderful mercy, which I spoke of extensively in a post a week or two ago. We absolutely cannot overlook the fact that God overlooks our sin by punishing his own son in our place. We are debtors to mercy indeed, and it took a mighty act of love to accomplish it. The difference between us and God? We in no way can show God any merciful love because God is derserving of nothing that would need mercy.

The terrors of law and of God with me can have nothing to do;
My Savior'’s obedience and blood hide all my transgressions from view.

-- Oh, how wonderful it is to live without an unhealthy terror of the law or of God! While we should definitely fear God in reverent sort of way, we need not fear condemnation because of the sacrifice of Christ. Notice how this hymn refuses to leave out the full gospel -- Christ had to both be righteous by his obedience and also had to shed his blood for the guilt of those who are disobedient. I don't think we can fully understand the love of God for us while he willingly separated himself from Christ in the moment he wore our sin, but the thing I 'll point out today is that we are not capable of that type of love. If we all only understood how free we are in Christ, we might live wild and different and holy lives.

The work which His goodness began, the arm of His strength will complete;
His promise is Yea and Amen, and never was forfeited yet.

-- Ah, a good Philippians 1:6 reference here, possibly sprinkled with some Isaiah 41:10 and wrapped up with some 2 Corinthians 1:20-22! Here, God is showing his steadfast love for us. Notice how often the Bible describes the steadfast love of God for his people. He is relentless in love. The good news is that once he saves us, he won't leave us alone -- but instead he mercifully completes the work he started in us and promises to uphold us. Do we have steadfast love for God? Well I know I don't...especially when I examine by obedience. My love for God is anything but steadfast...it's all over the place and terribly inconsistent.

Things future, nor things that are now, nor all things below or above,
Can make Him His purpose forgo, or sever my soul from His love.

-- Definitely a Romans 8:38-39 reference here. Perhaps the Bible's greatest passage on God's love, we are told by the Bible itself or by the Holy Spirit himself that there isn't anything that can separate us from the love of God. I'll throw this into the steadfast and unconditional love section that God has for us. There's nothing that can happen to rattle God enough to make him not love us anymore. Are we the same? Well, I would hope to say so, but I'm sure a lot of people out there can relate to a time in which a circumstance affected your love for God in a very negative way. God's love isn't like that. Aren't we glad?

My name from the palms of His hands eternity will not erase;
Impressed on His heart it remains, in marks of indelible grace.

-- The word 'indelible' isn't used too much today but means "impossible to remove, erase, or wash away; permanent" according to the Amercian Heritage Dictionary. I see this as a redeeming love. Know this Christian, you were bought with a price. Bought. By Christ himself. You were redeemed from a life of slavery to sin. And the grace of God is what made it all possible. I love the picture of our names being etched permanently into the hands and heart of Christ. I don't really even need to say that we don't have this type of love either. God has nothing to be redeemed from.

Yes, I to the end shall endure, as sure as the earnest is giv’n;
More happy, but not more secure, the glorified spirits in Heav’n.

Yes, I to the end shall endure, as sure as the earnest is giv’n;
More happy, but not more secure, the glorified spirits in Heav’n.

-- I think if you look up 2 Corinthians 5:5, 2 Corinthians 1:22, and Ephesians 1:13-14 in the KJV, you'll see where this stanza comes from. The earnest given is none other than the deposit of the Holy Spirit guaranteeing our inheritance. And that is why one shall endure to the end, not because one 'has what it takes' or believes flippantly in some weak 'once saved, always saved, so we can do whatever we want' theology. No, God is the one in charge of our perseverence, and I for one am exceedingly joyful that he is. If my perseverence was up to me, I wouldn't have made it three days (and that may be pushing it). Just like the rest of the song, we see God's great love for us and how our love for him just simply doesn't measure up.

Summary: Our love for God, Biblically, seems to be tied to our obedience. Since we all know we don't obey perfectly or even very well at all, we should hesitate and think before flippantly saying or singing about how much we love God. From personal experience, I can tell that that my love for God varies with circumstances, is often selfish, is highly conditional, and is full of empty promises. God's love for us on the other hand has things like grace, mercy, and redemption to consider and is steadfast and unconditional. See Genesis 1:1 - Revelation 22:21 for more details. I can't possibly discuss all that needs to be discussed on this topic, but I am convinced by just a little research that our love for God is very much different from God's love for us.