I'm not a non-christian for now

[flameofakatosh]

It has recently come to my attention that to go to heaven, one must love God. I know that you must ask Jesus for his gift of salvation, however, while I used to be very skilled (I could learn just about anything with ease), in my pride God took it all away. I do not blame him for he is God, but I also cannot love one who leaves me an empty shell of a person and feeling utterly worthless. God is the king though and I will serve him because he has my fealty, but I do not love him. Does this mean I am doomed to hell?

 

[Hakan101]

It has recently come to my attention that to go to heaven, one must love God. I know that you must ask Jesus for his gift of salvation, however, while I used to be very skilled (I could learn just about anything with ease), in my pride God took it all away. I do not blame him for he is God, but I also cannot love one who leaves me an empty shell of a person and feeling utterly worthless. God is the king though and I will serve him because he has my fealty, but I do not love him. Does this mean I am doomed to hell?

What matters is He still loves you, even if you don't love Him right now. You are not doomed to Hell, for you are still alive, and from what you tell us I believe you're in the first steps of having faith in God. You acknowledge His presence in your life.

You say God has left you an empty shell of a person, feeling worthless. But consider that God loves you far more than you regard him. He always has, always will. When people turn to God, He does not leave them as worthless shells, but instead he makes them new people filled with the Holy Spirit.

The problem you have sounds a bit vague, but if you would like to share more about it with us, or even in a private message, I am willing to hear you.

 

[razeontherock]

I have been where you are. We can learn to love again ...

 

[drich0150]

It has recently come to my attention that to go to heaven, one must love God. I know that you must ask Jesus for his gift of salvation, however, while I used to be very skilled (I could learn just about anything with ease), in my pride God took it all away. I do not blame him for he is God, but I also cannot love one who leaves me an empty shell of a person and feeling utterly worthless. God is the king though and I will serve him because he has my fealty, but I do not love him. Does this mean I am doomed to hell?

Love God wants is a choice and not an emotion based feeling.

 

[salida]

Are you a good person?
The Good Test

You can chose God and his goodness is wonderful. We are good through Jesus Christ.

 

[Faulty]

while I used to be very skilled (I could learn just about anything with ease), in my pride God took it all away. I do not blame him for he is God, but I also cannot love one who leaves me an empty shell of a person and feeling utterly worthless.

Doesn't sound to me like he took the source of your pride away from you at all.

You're hearing it being told of you that love God and be a good person to others to be saved, and this couldn't be further from the truth, and it will condemn you.

Follow me in this...

Jesus was asked whaty the greatest of the commandments were and He replied, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets" Matt 22:37-40

This is what you are being told, love God and love neighbor, and you will be saved, but this is the Law, and the Law commands perfect obedience from cradle to grave.

How are you doing with that? You ever been angry with someone? Lusted after someone? Told a "white" lie? Ever failed to perfectly obey your parents when you were a teen? Have you honored God in all thought and deed from birth until now? How are you doing?

God don't grade on a curve. It's 100% passing, or it's a fail. James tells us that whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. (James 2:10). Paul further tells us that by the keeping of the Law, no flesh will be justified.

There is none truly good, not even one, except God, Himself (Mk 10:18, Lk 18:19).

Seeking justification by loving God and loving others is a justification based on your works and by our works in keeping the law, none of us will be justified.

Paul states,

"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin" Rom 3:20
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And again,

"We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified." Gal 2:15-16
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But now what? We have sinned, this we know, and then we are told that one sin makes us accountable for breaking the entire Law of God. And because God is just, we will stand before Him as sinners, condemned by our own words and actions.

We need a rightousness not of our own doing, but one who which did fulfill the Law of God perfectly, from cradle to grave, then given to us. Thak God, there is such a thing available to us,

We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Cor 5:20-21
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and again...

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
Romans 3:22-25
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and again redeeming us from the curse that causes us to seek justification by works of the Law...

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Gal 3:10-14
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You must be born again to be reconciled to God (Jn 3:3), there is no other way. You must believe in the finished work of Jesus, on your behalf, that He lived the righteous life for you, then died in your place, taking God's punishment reserved for you upon Himself, and then buried and raised again by God, so that through His sacrifice alone, you are justified before God.

That's it. There is no other way.

 

[DCJazz]

I used to feel empty and worthless, and for a long time I thought I was a Christian. But this past month has proven otherwise to me. I was only asking for salvation to be spared from hell, not because I wanted to get to know him. A little before November, and a little after a certain incident in my life, I think that's when I truly came to Christ for the first time. I know, because it's been a month and I still want to follow him. I'm still making tons of mistakes, but I know Christ is there to help me pick up the pieces.

The reason for feeling so empty and worthless wasn't because of God leaving me that way; it was because I wanted to live life my way, the rules be damned. I didn't want to trust God with my life. And I paid a price for that disobedience. But most of all, because of my pride and stubbornness, I had no other reason to really live my life for other than selfish reasons.

I'm not going to claim I know how to love God. I'm still working on that myself. I figure, though, that love isn't an emotion. That it's a commitment, more than anything. While there may be some emotions that occur in that commitment, that's not what I should judge the relationship by. Ever since coming to Christ, I think I've been starting to understand what love is. But I'm not quite there yet.

If you truly feel God is bringing you low, maybe you shouldn't ask 'what kind of a God would do this to me'. Maybe you should ask "why is God trying to get my attention".

Think about it this way; discomfort in this life, or eternity in hell (whatever form that may take). I think God loves you enough that he'd want you to seriously consider coming to Him. I survived a car crash before I snapped out of my pity-party. At the very least, talk to God and ask Him to help you understand. I find that talking to God helps me work out some of my problems, even if I do end up talking to myself as well, lol. Helps me think, though.

Don't think that even when you accept Christ into your life that you'll automatically change into this super-awesome person with an amazing capacity for love and kindness and wonderful awesomeness. Change takes time. How much time varies with the person, of course. But it helps that I have new, God given desires to trump my older, more sinful desires now.