Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
“God is love.”
This snippet from the First Letter of John is the source of endless memes and social media triteness.
Is it true?
The cynically-inclined are sure to doubt the proposition. We have but to look around the world to see an endless list of challenges to the notion that “God is love.”
We have endless war in Ukraine.
We have endless war in the Middle East.
We have India and Pakistan endlessly menacing each other with nuclear weapons.
We have disease.
We have poverty.
We have hunger.
How, comes the question, can a loving God create such misery? How does a God who is supposed to be synonymous with love cause endless human suffering?
Ah, comes the answer, suffering is caused by man’s sinfulness, not by God.
Certainly men are the root cause of war. Certainly the greed of men helps give rise to poverty. Certainly the carelessness of men helps turn poor harvests into hunger.
Yet men are not the root cause of disease. Men are not the root cause of the scarcity weaponized by greed to bring on poverty as well as hunger.
Disease and scarcity are part and parcel of the world God created. Disease and scarcity were indisputably created by God.
Clearly, not all dimensions of suffering are caused by man’s sinfulness. Clearly, some are created by God.
If “God is love”, how can God create even some suffering? How can a God who creates suffering be equated with love?
That sounds like a rather sick joke.
What is certain is that God created the world. Things are as He wills them to be, and because He wills them to be. Whether or not we equate God with love, that much remains beyond doubt.
God created the gazelle to be run down by the lion on the African savanna.
God created the deer to be hunted down by wolves in the forest.
Does the gazelle or the deer suffer when the lion and the wolf end their lives with a savage bite? It is not hard to imagine that they do.
Would the lion or the wolf suffer if lack of gazelle or deer meant they were sure to starve to death? It is not hard to imagine that they would.
Why did God craft the world thus? I do not know.
Is God intent on our suffering even as the gazelle and deer suffer, or as the lion and the wolf may suffer? I do not know.
Nor will I ever know. God does not reveal such things to us. Job teaches us that much.
God created the world as He desires, and placed us within that world, to navigate as best we can.
Yet it is also certain that God does not fail to provide us with at least some means with which to navigate the world.
We have our reason. We have the capacity to think logically and abstractly.
We have the instincts for social organization. We have the capacity to work together to ensure everyone’s survival.
We have God’s Word and God’s Law, that we may discern right from wrong, and so craft good, righteous, and above all lasting solutions to whatever challenges lie in front of us.
The world is indeed filled with challenges and obstacles which make the simplest acts of living at times very difficult. We can easily see the proof of that all around us.
We are indeed filled with resources which enable us to meet those challenges and overcome those obstacles. We can easily see the proof of that all around us as well.
If we fail to meet the challenge and overcome the obstacle, we are sure to suffer.
Is that suffering on us or on God? I do not know.
I do know that, in all instances, it is on us to meet each challenge and confront each obstacle however we will. Whether we succeed or fail, not putting forth effort is not among the available options.
I also know that, in all instances, our chances for success in every endeavor are greatly improved when we come together, and work together.
Husband and wife are far more likely to succeed as parents when they are together.
Businesses are far more likely to be profitable when everyone works in concert with one another.
Churches are far more likely to succeed in their respective ministries when the congregation is of like mind about those ministries.
If we truly love one another—if we truly love our neighbor as we love ourselves—surely we will show that love at least by coming together, by joining one another to confront common challenges and overcome common obstacles. Caring about one another is surely essential if we are to care for ourselves.
God created this world. God created us to be in this world. God created us to be in this world together, that we may prevail against the challenges and obstacles of this world.
It is no exaggeration to say that God has given us a sense of community. God has given us a spirit of fellowship, and through fellowship has given us a chance to prevail and even prosper in this world.
Is that a gift of love? I say that it is.
Even in the face of all the suffering that exists in the world, God gives us the means to confront, cope with, and even conquer that suffering. I choose to see that as a demonstration of love, as a proof of God’s love for us.
My prayer on every day is that I will be mindful of this call to fellowship. My prayer on every day is that I will pay heed to that call, and seek out ways to work with people and not against them. My prayer on every day is that I will, with others, prevail in the challenges before us all.
My prayer for you is that you also will be mindful of the call to fellowship. My prayer for you is that you also will pay heed to that call, and seek out ways to work with people and not against them. My prayer for you is that you will, with others, prevail in the challenges before us all.
God created this world. God created us to be in this world. God created us to be in this world together, and gave us a spirit of fellowship that we might have the chance to prevail and even prosper in this world.
Is that love? I say that it is.
And I say that is God.
Good reflections, have asked myself the same things many times, as I am sure others have. Linking as usual @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/
That’s right, Peter - God is love, and we are to love each other as we love God. There are many Biblical passages to that effect, and it is one of the primary messages given by Jesus.
There are many theories regarding the suffering we endure: we suffer to learn and grow our souls, we suffer to learn compassion for others, we suffer to realize that we need God, and so on. Maybe all of them are true, and maybe we will be able to comprehend it all once we are in Heaven.
There is another reason to believe that God is Love. Because of advances in medical technology, many more people today have near-death experiences, and researchers have compiled their recollections. Almost all of them have remarked that their “glimpse” of the Hereafter, even of God, has been a highly profound sense of Infinite Love, too amazing to put into words. They have spoken of God being a Pure Light and Pure Love. Many of them have grieved deeply once they “returned” to normal life; although they were glad to be with their loved ones again, they felt heartbroken to have had a brief experience of this Perfect Love and now they felt separated from it once again. They couldn’t wait to be reunited with God’s Love, in its purest form. We can “tap into” God’s Love while we’re alive, but apparently it’s a zillion times better in Heaven. I’m looking forward to it!