There are a couple of people who read my blog post drafts before I put them out for all of you to see. On reading last week’s post, one of them commented that I needed to explain why God chooses good things for us, why he would sacrifice himself for our benefit after we disobeyed him.

Now, fully explaining God’s thinking in this matter, as with all others, is beyond me, but the Bible does provide insights to explore.

It’s almost obligatory that we start with one of the best known verses in the Bible:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 ESV

A verse so familiar, especially to those of us from evangelical backgrounds, that we probably have to force ourselves to stop and read slowly in order to really think about what the verse means. Why did God do it? Because he “loved the world.”

As simple as this statement is, I’ve heard two approaches to understanding what it means that God loved the world and that Jesus came into the world because of his love. One approach says that each of us should interpret “for the world” as “for each of us individually.” God loves me so much that Jesus came and died so that I would have eternal life if I choose to believe in him.

I have heard others push back against this interpretation, arguing that we cannot take this verse so personally. They say that the sacrifice was for all who would believe and that individuals cannot claim this love for themselves particularly. My impression has been that their concern is that “God so loved me” lacks humility.

Personally, I am inclined to see the substitution of the individual for the world in John 3:16 as valid. This is partly because we see Paul do it when he talks about “the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20b ESV). We may be inclined to think that Paul saying this doesn’t mean it also applies to us. We often look at Paul as especially righteous and knowledgeable and somehow more special than we are, but Paul would not. He declares, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15 ESV). Other translations, such as the NIV, have “worst” rather than foremost. While Paul clearly recognized that God was using him, he also saw himself as utterly unworthy. In spite of that, he claims that Jesus loved him in particular and gave his life for Paul’s benefit.

As he teaches the disciples on his last evening with them before his crucifixion, Jesus also indicates that his sacrifice is personal.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you

John 15:13-16a ESV

These words are for the disciples, especially, but they apply also to all of those who have answered Christ’s call to follow him. He laid down his life for his friends, and he counts us among his friends.

I can’t begin to explain why the creator of the universe would choose to love me and to love you so much that he died for us. I do know for sure that it is personal.

I also know that if we really grasp the significance of this, our reaction cannot be one of pride, but rather one of gratitude, humility, and surrender. Paul did not talk about Jesus loving him and dying for him in isolation. Here’s the full verse:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

Paul’s response to God’s love and sacrifice is complete surrender of his life. That’s the response that our great and loving God deserves from us as well.

Photo by Justice Amoh on Unsplash

I read a lot of speculative fiction, both science fiction and fantasy. I especially enjoy the world-building and exploration of possible and impossible worlds in fantasy. One element that intrigues me is the approach various authors take to deity. 

Not surprisingly, many authors avoid the concept entirely. A few, like C.S. Lewis, take an allegorical approach. Among those who include gods in their creation, many determine the power of each god by the number and fervor of their worshippers.

I’ve not seen an actual religion that claims to believe that, but I have seen people who act as if they believe it, as if they are doing a favor for God (or other gods) by their worship. I’ve seen concern over gaining new believers, or at least new church members, that seems to be focused not on the benefit to the people who need God, but somehow on the benefit to the church or even God himself. 

Newsflash: God deserves our worship and wants it, but he doesn’t need it. His power is not impacted by our numbers or by our behavior. We see that in 1 Kings 18 when Elijah confronts the 450 prophets of Baal before the people of Israel, who apparently can’t decide who they want to worship. Elijah’s faith is pretty strong, but Baal’s prophets are also fervent and throw themselves into their worship with enthusiasm. But what matters in the story is that God is the one with all the power, not the people, the 450 prophets, or even Elijah.

Other approaches to understanding deity assume that the gods (or God) have power, but also that they can be manipulated. That is the core of animism and some other religions: there are powers in the world that can cause harm or good, and humans must appease their anger and attract their good will. The purpose of their worship and sacrifices is getting the gods to do what they want them to do.

And, of course, we sometimes see Christians doing this. We may have done it ourselves, promising things to God if he’ll do what we want him to do. We see it in the Bible as well, as in the story of Jepthah and his daughter in Judges 11. Jepthah promises God that if given victory over the Ammonites he will sacrifice the first thing that comes out of his house on his return. He does receive the victory that God desired to give him, but pays a heavy price when he is met by his daughter upon his return.

When we look at the prayers of those who are praised for their relationship with God, we don’t find this kind of bargaining and attempt at manipulation. It’s not that they don’t want things from God: they certainly do. However, their approach is not one of bargaining or manipulation but one of honest appeal based on their relationship with God and understanding of his character. We see Moses appealing to God’s character and reputation several times as he intercedes for the Israelites. We see David appealing to God’s character as well.

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.

Psalm 51:1 ESV

David acknowledges that he can’t actually do anything to make his failures right. He does make promises, but they are promises that flow from a changed heart, not some kind of quid pro quo.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalm 51:14-17 ESV

Some people look at the whole sacrificial system as an attempt to manipulate God, but we have to be careful to understand the point. God requires a blood sacrifice to wash away sin, but the sacrifices provided by men were never sufficient for that purpose. The perfect sacrifice that was adequate to achieve the purpose was provided by God himself: was God himself.

Here is our reality: God doesn’t need us. We can’t manipulate him. He actually sees our motives and cares about our hearts and how our actions reflect the reality of our thinking. Actions that are focused on getting him to do what we want are pointless.

Yet this self-sufficient, all-powerful, and all-knowing God somehow loves us enough that he made us, chose us, and sacrificed for us. He offers us the opportunity to have a relationship with him. He listens and responds to our petitions out of his love for us, not because of anything that we have ever done or could ever do for him. No fantasy novelist has ever come up with a concept of deity that comes close to matching the amazing reality of the one true God.

Photo by Davide Cantelli on Unsplash