Robert Wolgemuth wrote a book named, “Lies Men Believe.” He was on the radio the other day discussing that book. Coincidentally, just a day earlier, a friend of mine told me one of those lies. She did not mean to do it, and possibly did not even recognize that it was a lie.
She told me that she was planning to attend a family affair and would be gone over Sunday. She asked if I thought it would be okay. She was not sure if God would like it. LIE! She didn’t exactly articulate is as such, but the question was, “Do you think God will like me less if I miss church and Sunday School?”
This lie ran through my head just before she called. “May the good Lord take a likin’ to you.” With apologies to Roy Rogers, that is a pernicious lie. It implies several things. First, it could mean that God doesn’t like you, He is just neutral and you have to “tip the scales” to get on His good side. Or worse, that He dislikes and you have to make up a lot of ground. The third, and probably not last, is that whatever His attitude, you can improve it by being likable. Lie, lie, lie.
God loves you. Turn back to old faithful, John 3:16. “For God so loved the world.” That is everyone, no exceptions. How much did He love? “...that He gave His only Son.”
When I go to a garage sale and see something that I like, I ask, “How much?” If the answer is within the range of my “liking” I go ahead and get it. So far, nothing has been likable enough that I would give one of my sons. But God heard the price for me, and the price for you, and paid it! He sent His one and Only Son, to die. He died for me. He died for you.
We cannot make Him love us more. We cannot make Him love us less. He does not love me more since I “believed on Him (Jesus)” than He did before I believed. He loves each one of us with His entire being. “God is love.” ((1 John 4:8)
Having a background in science and math helps here. You cannot diminish infinity if you take something away. You cannot increase infinity if you add something to it. Infinity is infinite: No end, no limit. It is indivisible. God’s love is infinite.
I had the privilege to share that with my friend. God will not, and indeed, cannot love you more than He does. It is not performance based. It is God based. Since He does not change, His love does not change. (Incidentally, that is why God cannot hate a sin in the past and now accept it. But I digress.) If you went to church every day for the rest of your life, He would not love you any more than He does right now.
“The good Lord’s” liken’ has nothing to do with my doin’ or not doin.” We hear that lie a lot, in one form or another. Don’t you believe it!
What a story we have to tell. “God likes you.”
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