Born Again: Wrestling with God’s Love and Justice

Jesus Tells It Like It Is​

Jesus never sugarcoats the truth. He speaks plainly about who He is and who we are.

We are sinners. He is not.
We are flawed. He is perfect.
We are created. He is the Creator.

For many Christians, John 3:16 is at the core of our faith:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

Click to expand...

But what does it really mean for God to love the world? If He loves the world, why does it look the way it does?

Did God Want It This Way?​

We believe that God created everything. Nothing exists outside His will. But that raises some difficult questions:

• If God is in control, does that mean He wants evil to exist?
• Does He allow suffering, or does He desire it?
• If He truly loves the world, why do disasters, war, and death continue?

Scripture tells us that God’s ways are higher than ours:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord.” – Isaiah 55:8

Click to expand...

Though we may not fully understand His ways, we know that God’s plan includes both His love and His justice.

A Loving God Who Judges?​

Throughout Scripture, we see God acting in ways that, from a human perspective, seem harsh:

• The flood – “And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” (Genesis 6:6)
• The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – “Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.” (Genesis 19:24)
• Ananias and Sapphira struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit – (Acts 5:1-11)

If we saw a person doing these things, we would call them evil. If a leader wiped out an entire population claiming it was for the “greater good,” we would condemn them as a tyrant.

So why is God different?

God’s Love vs. Human Love​

Many throughout history have claimed to act out of love. Hitler claimed to love his nation, but his love was selective—reserved only for those he deemed “worthy.” Many others have done the same, using their own version of “love” as a justification for destruction.

But God’s love is not like human love. His justice is not like human justice.

“The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.” – Nahum 1:3

Click to expand...

God’s love and His justice are inseparable. He does not love as humans love—He loves perfectly, righteously, and eternally.

Seeing Through a New Way​

Jesus gives us the answer in John 3:3:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Click to expand...

To understand God’s love, we must be transformed. Our human reasoning alone cannot grasp the depths of His justice and mercy. Only through Christ can we begin to see His love not just as a comforting sentiment, but as a holy, purifying, and redemptive force.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” – Proverbs 9:10

Click to expand...

Final Thought: Can We Accept God’s Love as He Defines It?​

We often try to fit God’s love into our human expectations. But His love doesn’t always look the way we think it should. It’s a love that saves—but also a love that judges. A love that welcomes—but also a love that separates.

So the question isn’t just, Does God love the world?
It’s: Are we willing to see His love through His eyes, rather than our own?

“But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand.” – Isaiah 64:8

Click to expand...

May the Lord continue to bless us with peace and strength. Have a wonderful day from Japan; those who are saved by grace here are few and yet the few are very true in their praise and worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.