God loves all of us equally?

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All true. Our great King is just and righteous. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords - the only God worthy of praise and worship. We take Him lightly at our peril. As C.S. Lewis said, “He’s not a tame lion.”

I believe also that we are to hold his justice, righteousness and wrath in tension with his great mercy and mysterious, wonderful agape love for us - sinners all.

For God so loved the world…

He created us - all of us - in his image.

He goes to find one lost sheep.

He rejoices over searching for and finding the single lost coin.

He says things like, “let those without sin cast the first stone.”

He welcomes back the prodigal.

He takes time to talk with and forgive the woman at the well.

He has great patience (“not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance…”)

He puts rainbows in the sky to remind us of his mercy.

He went to the cross and died for all of us - even those - especially those - we don’t like.

Our great King invented no kidding, sacrificial love. His great love for us - all of us - especially the sinner, is what He wants us to emulate when we follow Him.

Jesus loved the unlovable - us. That’s what we’re supposed to do. Love the unlovable.
 
I have always wondered about this; any thoughts?

Malachi 1:2-3 declares, “’I have loved you,’” says the LORD. But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ ‘Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ the LORD says. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.’” Malachi 1:3 is quoted in Romans 9:10-13,
 
Hi Mary, thank you for sharing that as I agree there are several scriptures that show partiality. I personally believe God may be fonder of some people than others, after going through this thread I see this may not mean He loves some less. But I couldn’t say for sure.
 
TULIPed said:
All true. Our great King is just and righteous. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords - the only God worthy of praise and worship. We take Him lightly at our peril. As C.S. Lewis said, “He’s not a tame lion.”

I believe also that we are to hold his justice, righteousness and wrath in tension with his great mercy and mysterious, wonderful agape love for us - sinners all.

For God so loved the world…

He created us - all of us - in his image.

He goes to find one lost sheep.

He rejoices over searching for and finding the single lost coin.

He says things like, “let those without sin cast the first stone.”

He welcomes back the prodigal.

He takes time to talk with and forgive the woman at the well.

He has great patience (“not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance…”)

He puts rainbows in the sky to remind us of his mercy.

He went to the cross and died for all of us - even those - especially those - we don’t like.

Our great King invented no kidding, sacrificial love. His great love for us - all of us - especially the sinner, is what He wants us to emulate when we follow Him.

Jesus loved the unlovable - us. That’s what we’re supposed to do. Love the unlovable.
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And

Among other conditions, He put the following condition on us.

"If you love me do what I command" John 14:15 RSVCE - The Promise of the Holy Spirit - “If - Bible Gateway

It’s NOT a suggestion but a command.

AND

One of His commands is NO DIVISIONS from His Church. He’s not just lookng for a squishy oneness, but perfect oneness. John 17:20-23 RSVCE - “I do not pray for these only, but - Bible Gateway

SO

Everyone who is divided from His Church, (schism, heresy, etc) they are in grave sin. They need to return to perfect union in HIS Church before they die, or they won’t be spending eternity with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As you know, those are NOT my words but from scripture
 
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Eric_Hyom said:
But would Jesus have loved all his neighbours in the same way? would he have shown preference?
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Let’s remember: approval and love are not the same thing.

If your child becomes a drug addict or decides to rob people for a living, that doesn’t mean you love them less. It does mean that if you really love them you want better for them. You want them to be themselves and to have the will and the means to be themselves and to stop living a lie. You will put more trust in the child who is trustworthy, you may even ask more of the one who is capable of giving more, and at the same time you may be open about not approving of the child who is not living in a way that ought to be approved. You might put more effort into one or the other, but it has nothing to do with how much you love either of them. It has to do with what is appropriate. The father of the prodigal son always had his eye on whether his wayward son would come home; he probably didn’t scan the horizon for whether his dutiful son would come in from the fields, because that son was surrounded by servants who would look out for him. Might the son not being scanned for feel overlooked? Sure, if he was looking his father to do things for show instead just doing what is appropriate in the big picture.

Think about the day after the feast for the prodigal son: which son would have more responsibility? Which would be in a position of trust? Which one would have authority over more? The older one, the one who showed that trust in him was well-placed. Of that one, the father could say, “Everything I have is yours.”
 
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PetraG said:
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Eric_Hyom:
But would Jesus have loved all his neighbours in the same way? would he have shown preference?
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Let’s remember: approval and love are not the same thing.

If your child becomes a drug addict or decides to rob people for a living, that doesn’t mean you love them less. It does mean that if you really love them you want better for them. You want them to be themselves and to have the will and the means to be themselves and to stop living a lie. You will put more trust in the child who is trustworthy, you may even ask more of the one who is capable of giving more, and at the same time you may be open about not approving of the child who is not living in a way that ought to be approved.
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I think about the story of the prodigal son. While the prodigal son was away, and in sin, what did the father say about that son? “This son of mine was dead”

Had the son stayed away, he would have been forever separated. Let’s not forget who is telling the story. It is Jesus.
 
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OP - please forgive the slight course deviation. I originally posted a snarky reply to Steve, which I removed because I wrote it when I was tired…and if I’m honest, after I’d had a couple of beers. Steve - you probably didn’t see it, but if you did, my apologies.

If you haven’t read Jonathan Edwards sermon “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” you need to. I know you disagree with his theology completely (and he’s a heretic)- but come on - you have to admit his style is pretty solid, no?

Here’s a couple of quotes that I think you’d find amusing - if not agreeable:

“The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh.”

“You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin which made it necessary.”

I disagree with some of your interpretation of scripture Steve - but I have to admit - I like your style.
 
TULIPed said:
I originally posted a snarky reply to Steve, which I removed because I wrote it when I was tired…and if I’m honest, after I’d had a couple of beers. Steve - you probably didn’t see it, but if you did, my apologies.
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I didn’t see it. Maybe because I also had a few beers 😉 Apologies accepted
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TULIPed:
If you haven’t read Jonathan Edwards sermon “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” you need to. I know you disagree with his theology completely (and he’s a heretic)- but come on - you have to admit his style is pretty solid, no?

Here’s a couple of quotes that I think you’d find amusing - if not agreeable:
  1. “The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh.”
  2. You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin which made it necessary.”
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Just a couple of thoughts

Re: #1

the road to heaven, is exclusive. Most are on the wrong road
And
And why are only a few saved?
Re: #2

Bottom line, Jesus says do this, don’t do that, and people do what they want to do… AND they spend their entire life justifying their bad behavior and die in that state. We do contribute

I’ve said this many times on these forums
"Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom"Psalm 111:10 RSVCE - The fear of the LORD is the beginning - Bible Gateway If that point is lost, or being blurred, or even discounted today, by ANYBODY, to cause indifferentism, confusion among the faithful because of misapplied or false ecumenism, or false sentimentality towards God, then the ones promoting such error by lowering the bar, rather than keeping the bar high with solid teaching, will find themselves in huge trouble.
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for those who have tried to fashion Jesus into an overly pleasant, overly affirming sort of fellow in all situations, rather than the uncompromising God & Lord that He is, thereby setting a low bar for themselves and everyone else, … well, I would suggest, they will have a rude awakening on “the” Day… because they have created an idol for themselves.
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TULIPed:
I disagree with some of your interpretation of scripture Steve - but I have to admit - I like your style.
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I’m just giving information which I always show where it comes/came from… I also know that what anybody does with it is up to them. It helps me keep the heat outta the conversation. Just sayin, 😎
 
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