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The upshot of the Bible is that God loves us, and He wants us to love Him. Some, with their earthly reason would assert that God is narcissistic in wanting us to love Him.
Seems, though, if we’re going to try to figure out why God wants us to love Him, it may be more along the lines of payback for His giving us the gift of life on earth, using all our God-given senses to enjoy the things He provided on earth for us.
To wit, when God in Genesis 1:26 speaks of creating man, he doesn’t add something like ‘and let man love me.’ One might believe it was out of modesty that He doesn’t tell His angels He intends to make man to love Him, or so He can be loved. We know His angels in Heaven are loyal to Him, but it is unclear that they may love Him too, if they have any capacity to love.
One may think that God’s creating us is akin to a married couple saying, ‘Let’s have a baby,’ not adding ‘a baby to love us.’ Maybe to parents that’s a given, and perhaps in the same vein God had presumed that in creating man, man would love Him.
But it is notable that it isn’t until Deuteronomy 6:5 that a command goes out to love God with all your heart, soul and might. It should be noted, though, that even here it isn’t God telling us to love Him, it is Moses. Prior to that, there is Exodus 20:6 in which He says He shows his love to those who love Him. Does He ask anyone, prior to Exodus 20:6, to love Him?
Why does this matter? For one thing, Jesus frames God in terms of love...that is, we should love God and love our neighbor.
Seems the idea of God loving anybody doesn’t appear until Genesis 24:12-14, when Abraham’s servant asks God to “show steadfast love” to Isaac by providing a wife for Isaac. So, at least as far as the servants go, the idea of God loving anyone has crossed man’s mind.
And if God truly loves, then love reaches beyond earth to the heavens, unlike some earthly emotions that can trip man up in his doings and goings about.
Seems, though, if we’re going to try to figure out why God wants us to love Him, it may be more along the lines of payback for His giving us the gift of life on earth, using all our God-given senses to enjoy the things He provided on earth for us.
To wit, when God in Genesis 1:26 speaks of creating man, he doesn’t add something like ‘and let man love me.’ One might believe it was out of modesty that He doesn’t tell His angels He intends to make man to love Him, or so He can be loved. We know His angels in Heaven are loyal to Him, but it is unclear that they may love Him too, if they have any capacity to love.
One may think that God’s creating us is akin to a married couple saying, ‘Let’s have a baby,’ not adding ‘a baby to love us.’ Maybe to parents that’s a given, and perhaps in the same vein God had presumed that in creating man, man would love Him.
But it is notable that it isn’t until Deuteronomy 6:5 that a command goes out to love God with all your heart, soul and might. It should be noted, though, that even here it isn’t God telling us to love Him, it is Moses. Prior to that, there is Exodus 20:6 in which He says He shows his love to those who love Him. Does He ask anyone, prior to Exodus 20:6, to love Him?
Why does this matter? For one thing, Jesus frames God in terms of love...that is, we should love God and love our neighbor.
Seems the idea of God loving anybody doesn’t appear until Genesis 24:12-14, when Abraham’s servant asks God to “show steadfast love” to Isaac by providing a wife for Isaac. So, at least as far as the servants go, the idea of God loving anyone has crossed man’s mind.
And if God truly loves, then love reaches beyond earth to the heavens, unlike some earthly emotions that can trip man up in his doings and goings about.
