Being loved by god

[uglygal]

how does one know they are loved by god - not in a universal “jesus died for you” way, but personally?
what fruit does gods love have on a person - ie. what signs indicate a person is looked upon favourably by god?

How does one identify that gods wrath / displeasure is on someone?

 

[Sam_777]

how does one know they are loved by god -

I think by allowing that person to be born in this earth GOD shows his love for that particular person.

However that person might treat that love by being a sinner and evil person on this earth.

 

[hamba2han]

It is best that God Almighty Himself answer the question of how does one know they are loved by Him.

In the following Hadith Qudsi i.e. Words of Allah which are recorded as a hadith, Allah demonstrates the nature of His relationship with us:

**“Myself, Mankind and Jinn are in a great serious state. I create them, then they worship other gods that they make for themselves; I bless them with my bounties, then they thank someone else for what I sent them; My Mercy descends to them while their evil deeds ascend to Me; I endear them with my gifts even though I have no need for any of them while they alienate themselves from Me with their sins even though they are desperate for My help.

Whoever returns to Me, I accept him no matter how far he is; and whoever turns away from Me, I approach him and call on him. Whoever leaves a sin for my sake, I reward him with many gifts and whoever seeks to please Me, I seek to please him. Whoever acknowledges My Will and Power in whatever he does, I make the iron bend for his sake. My dear people are those who are with Me (i.e. whoever would like to be with Me, let him supplicate to Me and remember Me). Whoever thanks Me, I grant him more blessings; whoever obeys Me, I raise him and endear him more. Whoever disobeys Me, I keep the doors of My Mercy open for him; if he returns to Me, I bestow him with My Love since I love those who repent and purify themselves for My Sake. If he does not repent, I still treat him by putting them in hardship to purify him.

Whoever favors Me over others, I favor them over others. I reward every single good deed ten times over or seven hundred times over to countless times over. I count every single bad deed as one unless the person repents and ask for My Forgiveness in which case I forgive even that one. I take into account any little good deed and I forgive even major sins. My Mercy supersedes My Anger; My Tolerance supersedes My Blame; My Forgiveness supersedes My Punishment as I am more merciful with My slaves than a mother with her child.”** * … (Madarij As-Saalikeen by Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziya)*

 

[GaryTaylor]

God gave His only begotten Son so “you” shall not perish but have Eternal Life. He gave Man the choice to choose Him or not. And He said He would not remove man’s Free Will. You will make this choice then be bound by it.

Man’s time on earth in the flesh is but a drop of water in the ocean.

God looks down from the Heavens, to see if there are any wise men. They will eat His bread. But they will not call His name.

Gods law has been given to man. And Christ said He would not change that law one iota. He added to it and abolished Blood sacrifice with His blood and redeemed man. The laws stand till the end of man or God returns and changes them.

God never said you would not suffer. On the contrary suffering is a very big part of this life. But the Grace of God will always be with you. If you chose life through the Jesus Christ. There is no other salvation, none, no-where, its a wasteland. All else is vanity.

 

[Mijoy2]

It is best that God Almighty Himself answer the question of how does one know they are loved by Him.

In the following Hadith Qudsi i.e. Words of Allah which are recorded as a hadith, Allah demonstrates the nature of His relationship with us:

“Myself, Mankind and Jinn are in a great serious state. I create them, then they worship other gods that they make for themselves; I bless them with my bounties, then they thank someone else for what I sent them; My Mercy descends to them while their evil deeds ascend to Me; I endear them with my gifts even though I have no need for any of them while they alienate themselves from Me with their sins even though they are desperate for My help.

Whoever returns to Me, I accept him no matter how far he is; and whoever turns away from Me, I approach him and call on him. Whoever leaves a sin for my sake, I reward him with many gifts and whoever seeks to please Me, I seek to please him. Whoever acknowledges My Will and Power in whatever he does, I make the iron bend for his sake. My dear people are those who are with Me (i.e. whoever would like to be with Me, let him supplicate to Me and remember Me). Whoever thanks Me, I grant him more blessings; whoever obeys Me, I raise him and endear him more. Whoever disobeys Me, I keep the doors of My Mercy open for him; if he returns to Me, I bestow him with My Love since I love those who repent and purify themselves for My Sake. If he does not repent, I still treat him by putting them in hardship to purify him.

Whoever favors Me over others, I favor them over others. I reward every single good deed ten times over or seven hundred times over to countless times over. I count every single bad deed as one unless the person repents and ask for My Forgiveness in which case I forgive even that one. I take into account any little good deed and I forgive even major sins. My Mercy supersedes My Anger; My Tolerance supersedes My Blame; My Forgiveness supersedes My Punishment as I am more merciful with My slaves than a mother with her child.” … (Madarij As-Saalikeen by Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziya)

Sounds like God the Father.

 

[Mintaka]

You were asking two different things.

1. How can you tell God loves you?
2. How can you tell God favors you or is wrathful with you?

So I have two different answers:

1. A person can tell God loves him by the fact that he exists.
2. God does not go by outward signs, but by the heart. God favors those who try to obey His commands, who love Him and their fellow man, who help others. God disfavors those who turn away from Him and try to do evil. Repentance, reparation, and trying to do the right thing in God’s eyes is the way to find favor with Him; and anyone can start that at any time.

Other signs are pretty useless. God may give a good person a lot of troubles, because He wants to give them a chance to become stronger in faith. God may give a wicked person lots of good fortune and a long life, because that person is getting every chance to repent before he goes to Hell. Contrariwise, God may give a good person plenty of good things even in this world because he’ll use them wisely, and a bad person plenty of bad things because it might make the bad person think twice and turn back to Him. God has an individual plan for what is best for each of us, all very different.

Even if we feel sad and abandoned by God, He is never far from us and always loves us as His precious children. It is just that sometimes He is standing behind us instead of in front of us.

 

[JRKH]

how does one know they are loved by god - not in a universal “jesus died for you” way, but personally?
what fruit does gods love have on a person - ie. what signs indicate a person is looked upon favourably by god?

How does one identify that gods wrath / displeasure is on someone?

I know that I am loved by God because I am alive and am able to see the beauty of creation. I am able to love my wife and care for her in her illness. When I am down, sad, depressed, even crying, I know He will not abandon me…
Even if He allows my suffering and does not come quickly to my aid, I know that He is there and that my suffering is for a good purpose. It’s generally for my own growth and/or the growth of others through me.
The main fruits of God’s Love for me are manifold - from my next breath, to the many friends he has given to me. From the Love I am able to give through His grace to the Love that I receive from others, likewise through His grace…

As for “God’s wrath”, frankly I don’t identify with this too much. Nomally what I see is antoher person turning from God or acting in ways that serve noly to block God’s grace.
This can also be manifested in people having preconceived notions about how God’s Love should look and feel, and when God does not meet their expetations they blame God…

Peace
James

 

[William_Pitts]

how does one know they are loved by god - not in a universal “jesus died for you” way, but personally?
what fruit does gods love have on a person - ie. what signs indicate a person is looked upon favourably by god?

How does one identify that gods wrath / displeasure is on someone?

Many years ago, right after my oldest daughter was born, I became aware that I wasn’t the father I was supposed to be or that she needed. I wasn’t an evil or bad person. I didn’t drink or cheat on my wife. I wasn’t mean to people. But, I had done some things I shouldn’t have. After a lot of anguish and crying, I knelt in my room and prayed something like " I don’t know who Jesus is, and I don’t know anything about the Bible but I need help." After a few minutes I felt the presence of someone or something in the room with me. I was afraid to look up to see who or what was there. After a few moments I felt an overpowering feeling of love and acceptance and the burden being lifted from me.

I did not in any way expect something like that to occur. I was startled. I was confused. I expected something like “Well okay. If you will be good maybe you’ll be alright.”

Now before you dismiss this let me say a few things. First, I had not been to church since I was ten years old. I was twenty-seven when the above happened. I had not been reading the Bible. I didn’t even own one. I had not been reading anything relating to religion in any way. I had to go buy a Bible before I could begin to read the Gospels.

How do you know God loves you? How do you know anyone loves another? The answer is by what they do, how they act. C.S. Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” When we listen we hear how much He loves us. It was His love that put Jesus on the cross. When we begin moving toward Him we see His fingerprints all over the place. In creation. In all the good things around us. He begins to transform us into creatures able to love Him in return and other people. We experience joy and peace and a sense of purpose.

May God bless you and may you find the evidence of God’s love. If you don’t know what to do, ask Him to show you his love and to help you.

 

[Sufjon]

how does one know they are loved by god - not in a universal “jesus died for you” way, but personally?
what fruit does gods love have on a person - ie. what signs indicate a person is looked upon favourably by god?

How does one identify that gods wrath / displeasure is on someone?

This is such a great question Uglygal. The answer is simple, but escapes the intellect entirely. You have to answer the question yourself. You have to do all the work yourself. Only you will know the answer when it hits you. Once you know you will never need to ask anyone again. The first step in finding the answer to what you’ve asked is to answer this (to yourself):

Sit quietly by yourself and think on this for a moment if you would. If you were able to give something or someone all the love you want to give, what would the love you give be feeling like to you? What would it feel like to them? Imagine if you would, if you could build a little place in the center of your heart for something or someone, and hold that person or thing there in that little sacred place you made for a few moments? What would be going on in there? What kinds of feelings would be going on there? What does it feel like? The answer is not something to share with us here in the forum. But are you able to imagine that for a moment?

Your friend,
Sufjon

 

[Sufjon]

Many years ago, right after my oldest daughter was born, I became aware that I wasn’t the father I was supposed to be or that she needed. I wasn’t an evil or bad person. I didn’t drink or cheat on my wife. I wasn’t mean to people. But, I had done some things I shouldn’t have. After a lot of anguish and crying, I knelt in my room and prayed something like " I don’t know who Jesus is, and I don’t know anything about the Bible but I need help." After a few minutes I felt the presence of someone or something in the room with me. I was afraid to look up to see who or what was there. After a few moments I felt an overpowering feeling of love and acceptance and the burden being lifted from me.

I did not in any way expect something like that to occur. I was startled. I was confused. I expected something like “Well okay. If you will be good maybe you’ll be alright.”

Now before you dismiss this let me say a few things. First, I had not been to church since I was ten years old. I was twenty-seven when the above happened. I had not been reading the Bible. I didn’t even own one. I had not been reading anything relating to religion in any way. I had to go buy a Bible before I could begin to read the Gospels.

How do you know God loves you? How do you know anyone loves another? The answer is by what they do, how they act. C.S. Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” When we listen we hear how much He loves us. It was His love that put Jesus on the cross. When we begin moving toward Him we see His fingerprints all over the place. In creation. In all the good things around us. He begins to transform us into creatures able to love Him in return and other people. We experience joy and peace and a sense of purpose.

May God bless you and may you find the evidence of God’s love. If you don’t know what to do, ask Him to show you his love and to help you.

That’s an amazing post William. Thanks for sharing that.

Your friend,
Sufjon

 

[quixotic]

how does one know they are loved by god - not in a universal “jesus died for you” way, but personally?
what fruit does gods love have on a person - ie. what signs indicate a person is looked upon favourably by god?

How does one identify that gods wrath / displeasure is on someone?

Personally because the ‘good’ things outweigh the ‘bad’ things. Because God is all good and thus is love in nature and has made us to be happy with Him forever - we have our finality in Him.

As for the second question, we can never really tell can we? Look at Job - the only reason he had to live through the torture of the advocate was because God ordered that his life be spared, and everyone thought God was angry with him. Guess we’ll never know till we see God…