Does God love everyone equally?

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awfulthings9 said:
I believe Thomas would agree with you, except he would make the following qualifications:

God does not possess unequal love, but he distributes his love in an unequal manner. After all, he offered a greater love for Christ than for, say, Satan (or me, for that matter).

All grace is given to all who will accept, but Thomas will say that God moves some to acceptance for reasons that have nothing to do with their own merit. . . .
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God the Father’s love is simple, singular: He loves the Son. The Father loves all that has been created because it is an image (in varying degrees) of the One through Whom and in Whom all things are created: the Son. The Father loves all humanity as part of creation, humanity being the crown of creation. Those who more fully image the Son (by supernatural grace, the grace of baptism transforming the beloved creature into a child of God, an image of the Son) are thus the most beloved because they participate in the one Love of the Father of the Son - the Blessed Mother being the highest example of this “received” Love. Since those in the state of grace are so in varying degrees, the love of God for the soul is concomitant to the image of the Son the Father sees in the given soul.
I answer that, Since to love a thing is to will it good, in a twofold way anything may be loved more, or less. In one way on the part of the act of the will itself, which is more or less intense. In this way God does not love some things more than others, because He loves all things by an act of the will that is one, simple, and always the same. In another way on the part of the good itself that a person wills for the beloved. In this way we are said to love that one more than another, for whom we will a greater good, though our will is not more intense. In this way we must needs say that God loves some things more than others. For since God’s love is the cause of goodness in things, as has been said (Article [2]), no one thing would be better than another, if God did not will greater good for one than for another. The Summa Theologica, question 20, article 3.
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I answer that, It must needs be, according to what has been said before, that God loves more the better things . For it has been shown (Articles [2],3), that God’s loving one thing more than another is nothing else than His willing for that thing a greater good: because God’s will is the cause of goodness in things; and the reason why some things are better than others, is that God wills for them a greater good. Hence it follows that He loves more the better things. The Summa Theologica, question 20, article 4.
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FCEGM said:
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God the Father’s love is simple, singular: He loves the Son. The Father loves all that has been created because it is an image (in varying degrees) of the One through Whom and in Whom all things are created: the Son. The Father loves all humanity as part of creation, humanity being the crown of creation. Those who more fully image the Son (by supernatural grace, the grace of baptism transforming the beloved creature into a child of God, an image of the Son) are thus the most beloved because they participate in the one Love of the Father of the Son - the Blessed Mother being the highest example of this “received” Love. Since those in the state of grace are so in varying degrees, the love of God for the soul is concomitant to the image of the Son the Father sees in the given soul.
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Again this depends on our moving towards God through grace. God cannot love unequally. We can only choose to accept His infinite Love in varying degrees by our acceptance or rejection of His essence which ***is ***love. (cf. 1Jn 4:8;16)
 
God’s love is INFINITE. That means there are no gradations of His love since infinite cannot be measured or reduced or even added onto; Infinite is Infinite.

The answer though, is that some of us love God more than some others.

Our love towards Him is on an individual basis and that is why some souls are positioned closer to His Throne…it is THEIR love that is measured.

God does NOT love those more than those in the backrows, so to speak, He loves them exactly with the Infinite sameness.
 
I know God loves you and loves me as well. He tells us all through the Bible about his “everlasting love for us.” God the Father made each of us. I look at the beauty of nature, stars, the human body and see that only divine hands can create something so perfect. As a nurse I have touched the hand of heaven as a person died on his journey to heaven. I have held the newborn baby that God made. Who are we that God is mindful of us.
He loved us with a Father’s love. He loved us so much he states he wrote our names in the palm of His hand. God did not list he loved John, Suzy better, but He loved us the best. God counts the tears that fall when we are sad, and has counted the hairs on our heads. He loved us so much that He created our souls to hunger for him and to know that HE is God. Growing up as a 4 year old no one told me this. I did not grow up in a real religious family. We went to church when the moon was blue. I went from church to church searching. Searching for a Father in Heaven who called out to my soul. When I found him I found rest, love, and mercy. He loved us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to save us all.
God our Father, willed that Jesus (who freely gave His life for us) to suffer, be mocked, tortured, and killed for a person that forgets him, sins against him, is mean and cruel to his fellow man. A person too busy or too proud to give him any time during the day or any love back.( I was the one God loved and sent Jesus to die for. You are the one that God loves and sent Jesus to die for. )
He put our sins in the sea of forgetfulness, and puts them as far as the East is to the West. God sent Jesus anyway though he knew human nature and that many would not chose life. God loves us so much that he must have felt the world would not be complete without us.
Like the prodical son, God the Father, waits at the door, looking down life’s road to see if any one seeks him, or anyone is coming to Jesus for salvation. Jesus loves us so much he went through the bitter agony of the passion. His sacred heart is filled with mercy if we only ask. Jesus was a friend of sinners, and still is. Come to me he said and I will give you rest. Lay your cares upon me I will take your burdens and help you. I will lose the bonds of sin, and set you free. Jesus calls us to life, to salvation, and to the Father. Jesus came to the earth for us all. Jesus doesn’t want anyone to perish, and God the Father does not want that either. People paint God and Jesus as vengeful. But the Lord God and Jesus our Savior and King has given us everything. We owe them our deepest love, devotion, adoration and service. If we thanked him constantly through the end of time it would not be enough. That is what I love about the Blessed Trinity. THe Blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit loves us all the best. peace of Christ to you.
Shelia
 
Also, something we may want to consider is ‘does God love the angels in varying degrees?’ The answer would have to be ‘yes’ as he loves the fallen angels less than the elect angels.

Also…does He not love Jacaob and hate Esau? This alone shows a disparity in the love of God towards His creatures.
True, God is love, but, does He not also have the capacity to hate? If so, to whom is the hate directed?
Flip
 
HOw about Jesus who loves John more than other disciples?? doesn’t He love His disciples equally??
 
Flip said:
Also, something we may want to consider is ‘does God love the angels in varying degrees?’ The answer would have to be ‘yes’ as he loves the fallen angels less than the elect angels.

Also…does He not love Jacaob and hate Esau? This alone shows a disparity in the love of God towards His creatures.
True, God is love, but, does He not also have the capacity to hate? If so, to whom is the hate directed?
Flip
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Good point, but did Esau love God? He sold his birthright to Jacob. Esau acted on impluse. he was hungry.

God bless.
jean8
 
teachccd said:
Again this depends on our moving towards God through grace. God cannot love unequally. We can only choose to accept His infinite Love in varying degrees by our acceptance or rejection of His essence which ***is ***love. (cf. 1Jn 4:8;16)
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This reminds me of a child asking Mom, "do you love John more? (his brother) I’m a Mom. I love all of my children equally, but I do have favorites. But if they asked me, I would never say so. 🙂 Maybe God is like that too. I would protect all of them with my life if I had to. yes, I love them equally.

God bless,
Jean8
 
Perhaps the most necessary consideration in this discussion is that of grace, freely given and completely unmerited. Remember Paul’s analogy of the potter and his discussion of this issue in Rom. 9. Grace, “favor” if you will, is not the same as love. If I were coaching a Little League team on which my son plays, I would indeed love my son more than the other palyers, but I might favor another player with more ability to pinch hit for him in a critical situation. In order to accomplish His purpose, God favors (graces) some over others. Remember that His purpose is unfathomable to us, and the reason for His gracing one and not another is really none of our business, including His dispensing the graces needed for salvation. It is not His love that is unequal so much as His gracing, and that, although connected with His love (every grace is a manifestation of His merciful love), is something to which no one has any entitlement or claim.
 
Think of it like a field of grass with a tree standing in the middle. The tree represents those great saints who are greatly favoured by God, while the grass represents the remainder of us mediocrities who are nevertheless holy in our own way.

Now the tree is much larger than the grass, but when the sun shines is the light the tree receives any brighter than that of the blades of grass?

God loves everyone equally, and offers his love equality to every creature that He created.

However, in order to abide in his love and to know it ourselves we need to love and obey His Son:

John 14:21-23

21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
22Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

He offers His love freely and equally to all creation, but only those who obey Him are the ones who experience it.
 
Foremost to this question, for me anyway, is how does God manifest his love for me/us? I am aware of the obvious answer, that he gave his only begotten son who died and opened the gates of heaven for me/us. But this particular act of love was for every soul ever created. My question is, how does God show his love for ME, as an individual, different and apart from everyone else?

I remember a priest once said in a sermon that “God loves us and he wants us to be happy”. This made me wonder; if I’m not happy (however one might define happiness), does this mean that God does not love me?

PS

In a hurry, did not spell check.
 
OHIOWA said:
Foremost to this question, for me anyway, is how does God manifest his love for me/us? I am aware of the obvious answer, that he gave his only begotten son who died and opened the gates of heaven for me/us. But this particular act of love was for every soul ever created. My question is, how does God show his love for ME, as an individual, different and apart from everyone else?

I remember a priest once said in a sermon that “God loves us and he wants us to be happy”. This made me wonder; if I’m not happy (however one might define happiness), does this mean that God does not love me?

PS

In a hurry, did not spell check.
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If you mean “happy” in our daily lives on this earth it depends a lot on the choices we make as individuals. Lot of us make poor choices and it’s natural we are impacted by them. God never tells us He would guarantee our happiness in this life.

Even those that make a greater percentage of wise choices still experience shortfalls.

The only resemblance of “happiness” in this life is most akin to “inner peace.” Now that is given to all of us by asking for it. They seem pretty indistinguishable.
 
saylo said:
If you mean “happy” in our daily lives on this earth it depends a lot on the choices we make as individuals. Lot of us make poor choices and it’s natural we are impacted by them. God never tells us He would guarantee our happiness in this life.

Even those that make a greater percentage of wise choices still experience shortfalls.

The only resemblance of “happiness” in this life is most akin to “inner peace.” Now that is given to all of us by asking for it. They seem pretty indistinguishable.
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OHIOWA said:
Foremost to this question, for me anyway, is how does God manifest his love for me/us? I am aware of the obvious answer, that he gave his only begotten son who died and opened the gates of heaven for me/us. But this particular act of love was for every soul ever created. My question is, how does God show his love for ME, as an individual, different and apart from everyone else?

I remember a priest once said in a sermon that “God loves us and he wants us to be happy”. This made me wonder; if I’m not happy (however one might define happiness), does this mean that God does not love me?
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You exist as an individual–God is that existence. And what’s more, you, alone of all material beings, will continue to exist as an individual after your material traits are separated from your essence/“soul”, rather than it being re-absorbed as a single drop in the ocean of “Humanness”, as happens to all other animals’ “souls”. Only God makes that (the immortality and individual survival of the human soul) happen–it’s a miracle.
 
moletOeHIOWA said:
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saylo:
If you mean “happy” in our daily lives on this earth it depends a lot on the choices we make as individuals. Lot of us make poor choices and it’s natural we are impacted by them. God never tells us He would guarantee our happiness in this life.

Even those that make a greater percentage of wise choices still experience shortfalls.

The only resemblance of “happiness” in this life is most akin to “inner peace.” Now that is given to all of us by asking for it. They seem pretty indistinguishable.
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I agree with you, that happiness in our daily lives depends on the choices we make. However, when these choices are life defining or life altering choices, and they are faith based choices, made only after fervent prayer, and then ultimately they turn out to be disappointing choices, how do you reconcile this disappoitment with your faith and prayer and then not ask the question, how does God show his love for me?

I’m not questioning whether or not God guaranteed happiness in this life, I’m asking about God’s love, how is this defined, how is it manifested in my life? How do you define it in your life? And if God does in fact love everyone equally, how does he show or manifest this to us all?
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