Many who are skeptical of God have, I think, a cloudy perception of Him. I venture to say that a part of the problem comes from a misinterpretation of the titles He is allotted. To many in this generation, God the Father is the father who left them when they were young; God the King is every power-hungry monarch that cared more about his conquest than his people; and God the Lord is every pious slave driver who ruled with an iron fist. Few have a true Godly example in their lives and, therefore, cannot comprehend what such titles really mean. When one’s view of God is this warped, they will never be satisfied with His true actions. Of course, no one can have realistic expectations of anything if they don’t understand its mechanisms.
Let me give you an example. Imagine you are looking at a long wooden stick standing vertically. From your best perception, you conclude that it’s a yardstick standing on end when, in fact, it’s a cylindrical dowel. When posed with the question, What will happen when the stick falls over; your most educated guess says it will fall flat and stay still when, in fact, it will fall and roll. Little fault can be laid on someone who draws conclusions from faulty precepts. After all, what is knowledge but the best conclusions drawn from all data available? The problem arises of course, when one is content to retain faulty precepts and incorrect conclusions. Even an error of ignorance is still an error.
I said all of that to say this: I know that people wonder, Why doesn’t God just show Himself? Why not appear in a clear, irrefutable, end-all revelation? Draw your attention, if you will, to the greatest commandment. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matt 22:37 Love the Lord your God! I propose that love is only love if it is the same love, always. The kind of love that doesn’t change definitions based on context.
Many people grasp “love thy neighbor.” Thankfully, there are a good few that get “love thine enemy.” But the far-reaching facets of my hypothesis say that you should love your God as you love your spouse. That’s where I lose people. It’s hard to think of romance in a spiritual context. But take a moment and think of someone you REALLY love. It may be your spouse, sibling, parent, or friend. Does anything delight you more than when you discover them? You learn what they like, dislike, their past, their present, their future. Never, ever forget that love does. It is a mode of action. There is nothing passive about it. Delighting in the one you love means seeking them. Seek their needs and their passions. Love is respectful. The duality of rejoicing in not only the essence of your beloved but rejoicing in what their love desires for you; what a joyous practice! Believe me when I tell you that even friendships can be fantastic love affairs. And a Godly life is the greatest romance of all. To love the Lord your God means to discover Him, to delight in Him, to seek Him, and to respect His loving desires for you as the one He loves.
Now think of those who don’t truly love you, even though they might say they do. Do they really know you? Do they have respectful expectations of you? How many of those types of acquaintances, and we all have at least one, truly see you as you and therefore treat you justly? Do you know God? Do you have respectful expectations of Him? Do you treat Him as your God? If you don’t love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, how can you? If you love God, you delight in His word: who He is; you will respect His commandments: What He wants for you. And what is the greatest commandment? You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 See how circuitous and awesome He is! Who He is and what He desires is love. He wants you to love Him.
Now, I said all of that to say this: God is not a harlot. There is no one who does not desire to be loved. No one who sees love as it truly is will play anything but hard-to-get. We all have a desire to be discovered. We all want to be delighted in. We all want to reciprocate and romance our loved ones. Why should God be any different? Yes, God could make you know Him, but what is the point? Would you walk up to someone, reveal yourself body, mind, and soul and get any redemptive love as a result? Of course not. God will reveal Himself to you from time to time; just as you might do to someone you love. But “it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” Prov 25:2 Isn’t it fun to drop nuggets about yourself in a conversation and watch as the other person picks you apart and searches out your treasures? God wants you to love Him with every fiber of your being. Use your ins and outs to find His ins and outs. Seek to understand God. Know Him and what He wants. Respect Him and do what is right so He is honored. Do what He asks of you because you love Him and He will do what you need because He loves you. Expect from Him only what can be expected. True love is true understanding. Never concede the misrepresentations of God that pollute our existence. Know Him and see Him. If we desire God, we can live contented with His desires and why He does what He does. Done right, never again will we desire anything but His will. Done right, we will never desire anything but Him.
Let me give you an example. Imagine you are looking at a long wooden stick standing vertically. From your best perception, you conclude that it’s a yardstick standing on end when, in fact, it’s a cylindrical dowel. When posed with the question, What will happen when the stick falls over; your most educated guess says it will fall flat and stay still when, in fact, it will fall and roll. Little fault can be laid on someone who draws conclusions from faulty precepts. After all, what is knowledge but the best conclusions drawn from all data available? The problem arises of course, when one is content to retain faulty precepts and incorrect conclusions. Even an error of ignorance is still an error.
I said all of that to say this: I know that people wonder, Why doesn’t God just show Himself? Why not appear in a clear, irrefutable, end-all revelation? Draw your attention, if you will, to the greatest commandment. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matt 22:37 Love the Lord your God! I propose that love is only love if it is the same love, always. The kind of love that doesn’t change definitions based on context.
Many people grasp “love thy neighbor.” Thankfully, there are a good few that get “love thine enemy.” But the far-reaching facets of my hypothesis say that you should love your God as you love your spouse. That’s where I lose people. It’s hard to think of romance in a spiritual context. But take a moment and think of someone you REALLY love. It may be your spouse, sibling, parent, or friend. Does anything delight you more than when you discover them? You learn what they like, dislike, their past, their present, their future. Never, ever forget that love does. It is a mode of action. There is nothing passive about it. Delighting in the one you love means seeking them. Seek their needs and their passions. Love is respectful. The duality of rejoicing in not only the essence of your beloved but rejoicing in what their love desires for you; what a joyous practice! Believe me when I tell you that even friendships can be fantastic love affairs. And a Godly life is the greatest romance of all. To love the Lord your God means to discover Him, to delight in Him, to seek Him, and to respect His loving desires for you as the one He loves.
Now think of those who don’t truly love you, even though they might say they do. Do they really know you? Do they have respectful expectations of you? How many of those types of acquaintances, and we all have at least one, truly see you as you and therefore treat you justly? Do you know God? Do you have respectful expectations of Him? Do you treat Him as your God? If you don’t love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, how can you? If you love God, you delight in His word: who He is; you will respect His commandments: What He wants for you. And what is the greatest commandment? You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 See how circuitous and awesome He is! Who He is and what He desires is love. He wants you to love Him.
Now, I said all of that to say this: God is not a harlot. There is no one who does not desire to be loved. No one who sees love as it truly is will play anything but hard-to-get. We all have a desire to be discovered. We all want to be delighted in. We all want to reciprocate and romance our loved ones. Why should God be any different? Yes, God could make you know Him, but what is the point? Would you walk up to someone, reveal yourself body, mind, and soul and get any redemptive love as a result? Of course not. God will reveal Himself to you from time to time; just as you might do to someone you love. But “it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” Prov 25:2 Isn’t it fun to drop nuggets about yourself in a conversation and watch as the other person picks you apart and searches out your treasures? God wants you to love Him with every fiber of your being. Use your ins and outs to find His ins and outs. Seek to understand God. Know Him and what He wants. Respect Him and do what is right so He is honored. Do what He asks of you because you love Him and He will do what you need because He loves you. Expect from Him only what can be expected. True love is true understanding. Never concede the misrepresentations of God that pollute our existence. Know Him and see Him. If we desire God, we can live contented with His desires and why He does what He does. Done right, never again will we desire anything but His will. Done right, we will never desire anything but Him.