We are studying God’s love in our “Sunday School” class right now. We have all acknowledged how important it is to not isolate one of God’s attributes because then it is very hard not to compromise other attributes, and He is perfectly all attributes, all at the same time. In one instance He is not loving and then in another just. He is always both. He is perfectly all these attributes.
Yet, at the same we have come across many tough questions while attempting to study the love of God before moving on to other attributes – “Does God ‘love’ everyone? If God loves everyone, what does it look like for Him to send some to hell? How do you reconcile texts like vessels of mercy and vessels of wrath or Jacob he loved but Esau he hated in Romans?”
And, so this is something I have come across while studying on my own and reading sermons. Piper quotes D.L. Moody:
Written on the outside of the gate of heaven are the words, “Whosoever will may come.” And on the other side of that gate, which you can read from the inside, is written: “Chosen before the foundation of the world.”
Such a sweet reminder and such a sweet understanding of how verses like John 3:16 and Ephesians 1:3-10 are consistent and true at the same time. Such a sweet glimpse at the depth of God’s love and all the things I don’t yet fully understand. God’s Word and God’s ways are truly amazing, and I am so grateful for the depth and truth that is found therein. Blessed be the name of the Lord, for His Word never fails.
And to be chosen by God, there is nothing sweeter.
Love this, Natalie! Greg and I have recently been discussing that same topic…specifically how God is perfectly just and merciful at the same time. What does that look like for us to then strive to be like Him? Tough stuff. but good! Love and miss you!