Lies Christians Believe #2
God loves some people more than others, right? It’s obvious –
some have soft, cushy lives and others’ lives are more like a series of
unfortunate events. It stands to reason God loves me more than he loves Hitler,
or God loves Mother Theresa more than he loves me. By and large, we perceive
love is something earned. There is a scale of good deeds and the more good
deeds you do, the greater God will love you.
Many agree and will admit God loves some people more than
others but there are still many (if not most) Christians who believe it but have
enough sense not to admit it but it’s hard not to compare our blessings with
another person’s and if they are better, deduce God loves them more. It’s a
terrible way to live because the only way to increase the amount of love shown
you is to perform better.
It’s a lie Christians believe, the truth is God loves,
period. Not more, not less. He loves you, he loves me, he loves Osama Bin
Laden, and he loves the bully who beat up your kid on the playground today. The
truth is we’ve confused love and favour. God loves the same, but not everyone
shares the same favour.
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate dictionary defines favour as
friendly regard shown to another especially by a superior.
Think about who you show favour to. I have favour to
restaurant servers who are kind to my Boy and treat him with respect. I honour
everyone, but have more favour for some, more than others. I favour friends who
keep my secrets, are loyal and who like my company. In short, I show favour to
others who have value for me and for what is important to me. Favour is
expressed in reward: a bigger tip to a server who gives fantastic service, time
(a most precious commodity) with a friend – sometimes it’s monetary, and other
times it’s less tangible but you’ll know you’ve received favour.
The Bible says Noah had favour, Moses had favour and countless
others found God’s favour. I want God’s favour too and the great news is favour
is not exclusive - anyone can get it. Psalm 84: 11 says, “the Lord bestows
favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold whose walk is blameless,”
(another version says “who walk uprightly). Proverbs 3:34 says God gives favour
to the humble, and favour is worth more than silver or gold (Proverbs 22:1).
When Jesus was talking to his disciple as recorded in John
15, he calls them friends – he upgrades their status because they received
favour. The disciples understood the heart of Jesus by being in a relationship
with him and he rewarded them with favour.
Love is already given to all but favour is bestowed on the
one who keeps the heart focus of God to be their focus and walk humbly and
uprightly, keeping loyalty to Jesus, who is their friend.
If you’ve confused love and favour before, change your
thinking; cast out the lie that God loves some people more. It’s simply not
true, receive the fullness of his love for you by faith and then seek his face
because that is where you’ll find favour.
I appreciate the distinction you're making, and have certainly been guilty myself of looking at "blessing" in the lives of other Christians and wondering "where's mine?" ... but doesn't the idea of favor put us right back where we were - trying to earn God's recognition and approval? Is that a legitimate goal of the Christian?
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