1John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
1John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
**1John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us. **
1John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1John 4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
It god loved me first, why is his love conditional on me seeking it out
Chronicles 15:2: “And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.”
And if I don’t do as he demands, I will be punished
Deuteronomy 7:9-10: “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.”
gods love is conditional on blind faith.
It god loved me first, why is his love conditional on me seeking it out
Your creation and continued existence is evidence of His first love for you. What’s more, if you did not need to seek him out would you not quarrel with God for not letting you chose Him?
And if I don’t do as he demands, I will be punished
This one seems odd to be upset about, is it not loving for parents to punish their children for behavior they know will hurt them? How much more will God do the same?
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
gods love is conditional on blind faith.
Accepting God’s love is conditional, forced love is no love, but blind faith is not the faith of the Bible or the kind that pleases God.
Hebrews 11 1 NOW faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
These verses were written long before anyone knew of atomic theory or had the recent James Web Telescope images, these are only a tiny sample of the multitude of physical evidences, but the greatest evidence is the Bible itself and what it teaches it goes contrary to every man’s wicked heart but yet it is the most read and loved book ever produced. The story of God’s love rings true in every heart that isn’t hardened by the blind faith common in this world.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
God loves us so much hat he gives cancer to children.
Let us think about that statement for a little bit…
Do you know what the future holds for that child with cancer?
Do you know that God is the one that gave that child cancer?
Do you know how much the cancer will matter to the child after a trillion years in Heaven?
Do you know how the child will feel about that short time with cancer on earth that generated thousands of conversations like these that lead a fraction of those souls to a saving knowledge of the Grace of God and eternal life?
Do you think that after two trillion years that the child would believe God made the right choice in taking them home early in innocence and mercy so that other souls could enjoy eternal bliss with them and communion with their Creator? Imagine that for a moment, two trillion years from now, looking at that child’s smile knowing they played a part in bringing you to that moment.
Being intellectually honest, do you think your statement could be considered a genuine critique or just an unthinking hateful jab?
God gave us our minds and reason because man was created in His image. It is the reason why we have our own will, and He is willing to allow sin and the cancer caused by a sin filled world to protect that free will, because it lets us be able to choose Him, the most important choice of our immortal souls.
Well he should not have let the cancer in the child in the first place being an all knowing, all powerful, Omnipotent being.
Why does he let his beloved children suffer?
How about wars? How many countless wars are fought in his name? Why does he let it happen?
The last sentence of my post your message was a reply to contains the answer to these questions. In other words, He protects our free will above all else, so that we are free to chose to go to Heaven. If we could not make bad choices, there would be no real choices. If we could not chose his love, instead forcing His love on us would be no love at all.
