The L.O.V.E of God

 The L.O.V.E of God

Collin Leong. May 18 2023

The apologist Ravi Zacharias once said that there four Big Questions of Life: 

1) Our Origin - where do I come from? 

2) Our Purpose - why am I here?

3) Our Morality - what is right & wrong?

4) Our Destiny - where am I going?

I believe the answers to these questions can be answered by the love of God. God's love can be remembered this way, using the acronym of L.O.V.E.  L represents Life. O represents Overseeing; V represents Victory; and E represents Eternity. 

1. L = Life

What is Our Origin - where do I come from? 

Genesis told us that God is the creator of the universe and of all life. He created the trees, the birds, the fish, and all the animals. And then he created us, the human beings. But the way he created life for us are different from the way he did for the animals. 

The way he created the universe is by using His voice. He said let there be plants, let there be fish and birds, let there be animals - and all these were created. But for humans, the bible said this: "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Gen 2:7)

God did not speak and we appear, like what He did with the animals. He use His hands to make clay to form our bodies, and he came close to us and breathed his life into us. He made us in His image, that is, we have a soul and spirit in us. Man is the only living thing on earth that is self-aware, and God-aware. Self-aware means that you are able to see yourself from the ceiling, sitting in the room and listening to me.  

God-aware means that are we the only species that can pray to God, for God created us in His image. In a news paper, The Guardian, reported in 2018 that 84% of people believe in a God or gods. We know our origin is from God, not just because the bible says so, but our own soul and mind tells us so. 

There was a man who believed that God did not exist. One day, he went to do rock climbing. Suddenly, he slipped and almost fell down the cliff. He hanged himself on a tree branch, and he shouted "God, help me!"  His natural instinct tried to reach out to the creator, because the creator's image is inside him. Deep inside, we know our origin is from God. 

Another difference from the creation of animals, God knows us and cared for us individually, even before we were born. 

Psalm 139:13-16 says: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

God already know us before we were born. He knows when we will be born; He knows where we will be born; He knows who our father and mother will be; He knows if we will do in our life - whether we will be naughty or nice; He knows who we will marry;  and He knows when we will die. He is omnipresent, he can see our past, present and future. 

Our life came from God, and each of us are special in God's eyes. 

 

2. O = "Objective" 

What is Our Purpose - why am I here?

Many people do not know why they are here, or why do they even exist? Are we all here to have fun when we were kids, then go to school, then work for money, get married, have children and grandchildren, and then die and disappear? Don't forget to add sickness, suffering and stress which everyone will go through. Is that the meaning of life? 

I believe the purpose of life goes beyond what we do on earth. If we only focus on what we do on earth, then life is meaningless. Solomon, who was considered as the wisest man on earth said this: "Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 2:11)

He said that if we only look "under the sun", meaning focusing on earthly life, then all our work and effort is like chasing after wind. It is useless and they will be gone after we die. Rather, to find purpose in life, we must not look left or right and follow people, but to look up to God's purpose for us. 

What are some of God's objectives for us? 

The first objective is to have a Relationship with us. God has created us in His image, so that we can have a personal relationship with God. He wants us to talk to Him and to pray to Him. Look at the way he loved us even before we were born! Our purpose is to love Him because He first loved us. 

The second objective for us is to Worship God. Throughout the Bible, humans are asked to worship and glorify God. In the book of Psalms, it said:  "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." and "I will give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever." (Psalm 95:6, 86:12) Our purpose is to acknowledge God's greatness and to glorify Him and to give Him praise.  

The third objective is for us to be a Steward of his creation.  In Genesis 1:28, He told us to be fruitful and increase in number, and to rule over all the living creatures on earth. We were given the responsibility to populate the earth and to take care of His creation. We are to love the earth and not destroy it with destruction of the forest and cruelty to the animals. 

The fourth objective for us is to live a Righteous Life and to Love each other. Romans says: "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." and to "put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience." (Romans 12:9-10: Colossians 3:12). We are to work for the good of each other and for the good of earth, instead of killing each other and rage wars with each other. 

Once we understand what God's objective for us, then we will understand our purpose and our meaning on earth. 

3. V = Victory (in truth and righteousness)

Our Morality - what is right & wrong?

Unfortunately, we have a big problem. We were not able to live the life that God wants us to have. We are unable to live righteously, to love one another and to have a relationship with God. 

The reason is because each one of us have a disease in our hearts. We inherited that disease from our father who inherited from his father and all the way back to Adam. Romans 5:12 said: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people because all sinned."

The disease is called sin, and it is fatal not just to our body but also fatal to our spirit. When we have sin in our lives, we are unable to see or hear God clearly. We became spiritually blind and deaf. This is the reason we do not know what is right or wrong. The moral compass is damaged, and it leads us to commit more sins. 

We were not able to recognize the true God, and we create and worship other gods to find ways to save ourselves. Do you know how many gods humans have created and worshipped? It is in the tens of millions! We are not just lost in our morality, we are also lost our way to God. We will never find a way into heaven. 

However, God's love has not given up on us. He wants everyone to be with him in heaven. He is a holy God and he cannot allow sinful man to be with Him.  He is also a just God, and he cannot just forgive everyone without punishing us for the sins. The bibles says "The wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23a). Everyone who has sin will die spiritually and be without God for eternity.  So how can God save us? 

John 3:16 gave the answer: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  God loves you and me so much, that he sent his own son, Jesus Christ, who stepped down from heaven to earth, and paid for our sins through his death on the cross. Since our sins are paid, he is justified to forgive us. 

Once there was a drunk driver who crashed into a shop and damaged everything. He was brought to a judge to be sentenced. According to the law, the driver must pay $10,000 or else he will be sent to prison. The driver was broke and told the judge he did not have any money. Suddenly, the judge stood up, took of his robes, and step down from his bench. The judge then wrote a cheque of $10,000 and gave it to the court. The court let the offender go free. Why did the judge paid for the driver? It's because the driver was his son. 

We have victory over the punishment of sin because of what Jesus had done. When we receive Christ as our savior, the holy spirit of God enters our hearts. We begin to learn from His spirit and from His word - the bible - what is right and what is wrong. We may not be perfect, but our moral compass is now tuned to a moral standard set by God himself. 

4. E = Eternity

Our Destiny - where am I going?

When you ask the question "where will you be when you die?" You will get all kinds of answers. Some will say that we no longer exist. Others will say we will be reincarnated and become another person or another animal. But most of them will say they don't know. 

However, the bible is very sure of the answer. The apostle John said "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." (1 John 5:11) He said that when we die, we will be in heaven with God for eternity. That's our final destination - our eternal life, where there will be no more death.  

But how do we know if this is possible?  It is possible because Jesus had done it. 1 Cor 15:3-4 says that Christ died, was buried and he was raised on the third day. Jesus rose from the grave and walked and ate with his friends, before he ascended to heaven in front of hundreds of people. He defeated death itself. 

1 Cor 6:14 says: "God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power."  Jesus' resurrection meant that God has accepted his sacrifice. Otherwise, Jesus will still be in his tomb. Since God raised him up, then God will also raise us up when we die. Eternal life is a free gift for those who accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. 

But some people do not believe that it is so easy to have eternal life.  They think that to go to heaven, they need to do good works, be generous to others, to meditate and pray for salvation. They believe that God will measure the good things they did and the bad things they did. If the good is more than the bad, then they can enter heaven. Otherwise, they will be cast out of heaven. This is the default philosophy of all religions. 

Do you know who has the world record of the highest jump? It is Javier Sotomayor of Cuba. On July 27, 1993, Sotomayor set the world record by clearing a height of 2.45 meters (8 feet 0.46 inches) during a sporting event in Spain. But God's standard is not 2.45 meters! It is 2.45 kilometers! Can anyone jump so high? If God thought that we can go to heaven by our own effort, then He would not have let his son suffer and die. Does this make sense to you? 

A religion is when man tries to reach God by good works. Christianity is God trying to reach man through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with God so that we can live with Him in heaven for eternity. 

Summary

God's love gave us our physical life, and gave our lives a purpose to follow His objectives. He gave us victory over sin and death, and he promised us Eternal life in heaven. 

What should our response be to what God and Jesus had done for us? God wants us to receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. I know that it is not easy to commit to Christ. We have to humble ourselves and confess our sins, and to follow him and learn from him. In some countries, it is against the law if you become a Christian. They will put you in jail or they will execute you. Many parents are also against their children converting to Christianity. 

Let me tell you the story of Nabeel Qureshi. He father was from Pakistan, and migrated to America. His family was a devoted Muslim family and he was thought to memorize the Quran since he was a young boy.  During his college years, he was introduced to the Bible. Being a highly analytical person, he studied the Bible, and researched various theological and historical aspects of Christianity. He studied the life, teachings, and claims of Jesus Christ. When he realized that the death and resurrection of Jesus is true, he made Jesus his Lord and savior. 

When he told his parents, it caused a lot of conflict and tension. He said his father, who was a 24-year military man, broke down and told him that he felt his backbone has been ripped out from behind him. Her mother's face showed absolute despair and cried each time they meet. Nabeel was very sad that he had caused pain for his parents, but he has chosen the truth and he  will not leave the truth. 

Nabeel completed his medical degree and studied Christian apologetics, and he has been speaking to people, especially the Muslims, about the true God and the Salvation through Jesus Christ. He has written several Christian books and you can see him in many Youtube videos. He died in 2017 due to stomach cancer. His parents came to his house to support him and his family. 

The gift of eternal life is free, but it is not cheap, for it cost the life of Jesus. It is also not easy for us too.  Jesus said: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven." (Matthew 5:10–12)

I tell you all this, because you need to know following Jesus may not be easy. But you are not alone - you can depend on other Christians to guide you in your new life, and to help you understand God's purpose for your life. God's spirit will leave inside you, to give you a new conscience and to know what is right and what is wrong. 

Will you give up your way of living, and even your own life, to follow him? If you are, I will help you to ask him into your life. Let's close our eyes and bow our heads.