Tuesday’s Food for Thought 11
Prager U: God vs. Atheism: Which is More Rational?
What God Had in Mind
You were not meant to have an unsatisfying life of stress, anxiety, overwhelming challenges, or, lack of love. That is not what God had in mind for you. How do we know that? Because God Himself tells us…
In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. Gn. 1:1 AMP
God continued by creating (in sequence) land masses, plants, marine life, birds and land animals (Gn. 1:6 – 25). During that process, Jehovah tells us that everything He generated was good.
What is God doing here? He is creating a universe for you. Then, He began fine-tuning it, to give you an optimum environment. God stabilized the orbit of the earth, making it unusually circular, so the climate would be moderate.
He isolated the earth in a relatively remote part of our galaxy, so that we would not suffer catastrophic harm from comets, asteroids, black holes, etc.
God also tilted the axis of the earth with respect to the sun, so that we would have seasons; and placed the sun and the earth at an optimum distance from each other, so that we would not burn or freeze. He gave us a moon to slow the earth’s rotation, so that we would not suffer from continual hurricane winds. Jehovah also shrouded our planet with the Van Allen Radiation Belt, to shield us from harmful gamma rays.
Our Creator then altered plant and animal life until it suited you perfectly for sustenance.
Why? Because He loves you – even before you took your first breath:
We love, because He first loved us. 1 Jn. 4:19 AMP
Jehovah created you last – not because you were an afterthought, but because you were the crown of God’s creation:
Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth”…male and female He created them. Gn. 1:26, 27. AMP
And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power]…” Gn. 1:28 AMP
Perfect, peaceful and self-sustaining was this paradise, this Garden of Eden, where God lovingly planted them (Gn. 2:15).
So, who was this ‘Adam?’ He (and Eve) were created in Divine love. He was fashioned as a man who instantly knew that love, and willingly obeyed the Source of it. Adam was meant to be a ‘son of God’ – living in complete harmony with his Creator. In fact, Adam’s sole source of love, intelligence and wisdom was God Himself. Adam saw the world through his Father’s eyes.
Adam was god-like, swimming in the very thoughts of God. He was immortal and possessed the world and all that was in it. God created Eve to be the same. Both were intended to live together, forever, in bliss and in direct communion with Jehovah God.
Adam and Eve were you. It’s what God had in mind…
Goodnight and God bless.
Created By Love, In Love and to Love
Are you feeling unloved? Let’s tackle that myth right now.
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 Jn. 4:8 NKJV
He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature… Heb. 1:3 ESV
So, what do we know? God is love itself. Jesus is exactly like His Father; therefore, He too is love personified.
…I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ… Eph. 3:8, 9. NKJV
God created through Christ; thus, they are co-begetters. What did They create? Everything. That includes us:
“Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” Gn. 1:26 NKJV
So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. Gn. 1:27 AMP
What kind of image is that? Jesus tells us:
“God is Spirit…” Jn. 4:24
Jesus, being an exact image of His Father was a Spirit-being as well before His incarnation. Thus, we are created to conform to God in our spirits. Taking that further, if God and Christ are love, then we in our spirits are created as islands of love, by Love.
Okay. But how do we know that we were created in love?
We love Him because He first loved us. 1 Jn. 4:19 NKJV
See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God… 1 Jn. 3:1 NASB
We were loved in advance, long before we took our first breaths.
Moreover, the love of God can be seen all around us. He formed a planet we can live on, that sustains us in relative safety. He created us initially to be immortal and eternally joyful in Him. He created opposite genders so that we could be complete. He covered us with abundance and wisdom, and gifted us with children. We were made complete in His love.
Even when we broke that completeness, He continued to love us by sending His Son to heal that brokenness:
“For God so loved the wold that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Jn. 3:16 NKJV
By this we know [and have come to understand the depth and essence of His] precious love: that He [willingly] laid down His life for us [because He loved us]. 1 Jn. 3:16 AMP
The Father and the Son love you in orders of magnitude that are beyond human measure.
And, God will let nothing get in the way of His love for you:
…neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Rm. 8:38, 39. ESV
Finally, we were created to love:
“ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others.]’ “. Mt. 22:37 – 39. AMP
How do we love God? By keeping His commandments:
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.” Jn. 14:21 NKJV
Time and time again, we are called to love:
“…the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.” Jn. 16:27 NKJV
“…love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” Jn. 13:34 NKJV
A friend loves at all times… Pr. 17:17 NKJV
Let all you do be done with love. 1 Cor. 16:14 NKJV
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Col. 3:12 – 14. ESV
That’s a whole lot of love, thank God. You are a bundle of love, steeping in divine love; and when you express that love the way in which God expects you to profess it, your love will first resonate with God’s love, fill you with the same, and you will become an irresistible target for the love of others.
Still feeling unloved? You just need to do some expressing…
Goodnight and God bless.