LOVE AND HATE
The difficulty in all this comes in our limited understanding and knowledge. Superficially, given what we hear and know, we may seem to find conflict. However, as we know there is no conflict in God.
Let us break down LOVE and HATE into definitive terms that are easy to understand.
LOVE is simply the giving of oneself over to the growth, life, and benefit of another. In words we can understand: love seeks to create, to nurture, to provide, to uplift, to build, and to uphold. When we call God our Father, we are acknowledging that God is the provider of our life, the one who gives of Himself so that we in turn my have life. When we think of Jesus dying on the cross, it was for this very reason. He gave His life as a sacrifice so that we may have life.
HATE is simply the giving of oneself over to destruction and end. In words we can understand: hate seeks to destroy, conquer, demolish, remove, and put to an end.
We must understand that both LOVE and HATE are acts where the "self" is given toward the other. Selfishness is not an act of hate. Rather, selfishness is something all together different. Selfishness is simply a person giving oneself to self.
In this, it must be noted that when we love, hate, or act selfishly, our whole purpose becomes just that. When we love someone, our life purpose or "will" is for the good of that person. When we hate someone, our life purpose or "will" is for the evil of that person. When we are being selfish, our life purpose or "will" is for ourself.
This is important to understand because love and hate are active pursuits. It is something sought after. It is something continual. Of course, hate cannot continue once it has achieved it's goal. Once hate wins, destruction occurs, and then hate is left alone.
Quick recap.... LOVE = good will towards something or someone HATE = evil will towards something or someone
HATE is best seen in Satan. The Devil hates God and hates us. His goal is to seek God's destruction and our destruction. Satan never ceases to seek this goal. It doesn't matter what happens, he overcome with hate. He will seek our end until either he dies or we do.
God is love. He does not wish anyone to perish or come to an end. God seeks to give us eternal life. He seeks to love us and care for us for eternity.
God is love. His will is good. He seeks what is good and best for all. He does not put Himself first at any moment. Rather, He puts all other things first before Himself.
You might stop here and think, "Yeah, but all things are done for God. I mean, we glorify God and give all things to Him. Isn't that selfish?"
It is not, because God is Holy. You have to consider who God is. The word Holy means "sacred." God is sacred because all things depend on God. He is the creator of all things. God gives life to all things. God gives definition to all things. This means that if God is great, then all things are great. Whatever God is, all other things benefit from it. If we give God all the glory, then all things are glorified together with Him, because God gives definition to all things. Also, God gives life to all things. God is Holy and so life is sacred.
In addition, God is good. This means that since God is good, all other things benefit from God's goodness. Think of it like this, if you give God all your money, you can trust that He will use it for good things. It is important all things are given to God, because He will use it for good. Jesus said, "Only God is good."
God is love and God is good. These are not contradictory, in fact, they are complementary. They go together. Love is good will. Love seeks the good of the thing or person to which love is directed.
Obviously, there are things that God does wish to be destroyed and come to an end. This, of course, is sin. What is sin?
Obviously, sin is loosely used in the bible to describe several things. Sin is used to describe our fall, how we "missed the mark." Sin is also used to describe those who are "unrepentant."
If we were to give it one definition to suit all, we would have to say that sin is the opposite of God's will. God is love. God's will is good. And so, sin is the rejection of God's love. In addition, if love is the giving of oneself, then sin is the rejection of God.
A "sinner" is someone who rejects God. And God hates sinners. He seeks to destroy anyone who rejects Him. Anyone who rejects God is His enemy.
At first, you might think, "That's not fair." or "But Jesus said we should love our enemies."
You must think of it like this. God is good. If you reject God, you are rejecting good. This means, you are evil. If you are evil, then your desire is either 1) selfishness or 2) hate. This means you are abusing the love of God. You are taking His love for granted and abusing it. In addition, you are dethroning God and defiling God. You are stripping Him away of His position and tainting His Holiness. In turn, you are hurting, not only God, but all things. And if God allows evil or selfishness to continue, eventually it will put an end to all things.
God loves His enemies, however, he hates that they reject Him. But you must ask yourself, what can God do when they reject Him?
I often think of my ex-fiance in this situation. I loved her and wanted to marry her. At first, she agreed. But then something changed. She didn't want me anymore. She gave me the ring back and left with another man. What was I to do? I cannot force her to love me. It is her choice. And so, I did the only thing I could. I let her go.
God does the same. He lets us go. However, to be without God is to be without life, without love, without peace, without joy, and without everything good.
Now, we must also consider Hell in this equation. Let us say you were engaged, and a friend of yours suddenly turned on you. He hated you and your fiance. He hurt you by hurting her, abusing her, and much more. Would you not punish him? Would you not seek justice?
The Devil did just this. The Devil sought to dethrone God by destroying His Holiness. He sought to defile that which is sacred. And so, in justice, God created Hell.
Now, think of this. Your fiance to whom you love suddenly loves your enemy and seek to murder you.
People are sent to hell because they follow the Devil there. They make the Devil their husband and in they spend eternity with Him forever.
Of course, God is love, and his mecry and compassion are endless. For those who repent and seek Him, He has made a way for redemption.
As we know, Jesus came to save sinners. Why is it we should be saved?
Initially, in the garden, we rejected God. We wanted to do things our way. We sinned. However, God also knew that we it wasn't entirely our fault. We were decieved by the Devil. And so, God gave us a chance and time to repent. He also made a way that we may be saved through His son and God's greatest act of love.
Through Jesus Christ, we may be born again. We may be transformed from a fallen creature and made new. We are not "restored" creatures, rather, we are resurrected. We are made into something greater than Adam and Eve. They were made of dust in fleshly bodies, and in our future glory, we will have spiritual bodes. God will lift us up higher than we can ever imagine in our current state or history.
The bible speaks of God's elect. These are God's righteous. These are the bride of Christ. These are the ones who will be transformed into a glorious state.
Now, these loves ones were once lost. They were once attacked by the Devil and even killed. God's own son was murdered on a cross. In addition, God's chosen people have suffered under immense persecution and such from the Devil.
God will one day bring justice to His elect by sending the Devil and his people to Hell. This justice is for God's loved ones. They will be Holy, just as He is Holy, and reign in Heaven with Christ. By sending the Devil to Hell, God is making a declaration of not merely His Holiness, but of the Holiness of His Church.
Back to God's hate....
God hates sinners because they defile His Holy ones. They are an abomination because they commit adultery against God. God is offering Himself to them, and they reject Him. God seeks to destroy sinners in order to uphold righteousness. Obviously, when a person is born again, they are transformed. They are no longer a sinner. And so, those who are in Christ will not suffer God's wrath. They have not rejected God. They have accepted Jesus.
In conclusion, saying "God hates the wicked" and "God is love" are not contradictory. God wishes that the wicked were not wicked, that they would change. God cannot force them to change. God is offering His Son to them, so that they may be redeemed. However, they have chose to reject His Son. In addition, they persecute God's people. They hurt the ones He loves. God hates sinners, and He will seek justice for the one's he loves.
As a last note: Jesus said "love your enemies." You must keep in mind that God has a day set aside for judgment. He has an hour established for punishment. This time has not yet come. Until then, God is allowing sinners to live and commit evil. Instead, Jesus said "love your enemies." Give yourself to them. Help them, care for them. Jesus said if someone forces you to walk one mile, walk two with them.
Why? Why is would God say such a thing? Why would God allow people to abuse Him and His people like this?
Because God knows He is greater than all things. He is the chess champion who has already won the game. He is just moving the pieces around the board.
God allows evil to persist and sinners to live in order that all may have a chance to repent. God allows evil so that people may be humbled and see their sin. He allows pain and suffering so that we may see our need for Him and appreciate Him even more.
Love your enemies. God is with you. Let your light shine. God has promised He will care for us. God will give you new life. He made that promise. Don't worry about your life. Give it away. Let evil take advantage of you so that God's mercy may be displayed.
Jesus submitted unto the cross. Three days later, He was raised from the dead!!! You will be raised just as Jesus was raised.
We don't know who is really our enemy here on earth. All people who are alive have the hope of Jesus. There is a chance they could repent. God knows if they will repent. God allows the unrepentant to live in order to humble the repentant. However, we cannot see the heart of a person. We must abide in Christ and let Him take control.
The day of judgment will come. Until then, we must be abandoned to Christ so that His Spirit may control us, and as a result we produce fruit worthy of our calling.
In Christ, Blake _________________ Blake Kidney
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