.. I give.
There is nothing more cliche than this phrase: ''God loves you''.
What does that mean? I mean, really mean?
Does it mean God accepts everything I do? No, because as the inspired writer of Proverbs 3 said...
''My son, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be angry when he corrects you.
The Lord corrects the one he loves, just as a father corrects a child he cares about.'' Proverbs 3:11-12ERV
So does it mean, as many say, 'God accepts me but he does not accept my sin?' Isaiah the prophet explains to the ancient people of Israel:
'But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.' Isaiah 59:2-3
And Paul quotes:
''You see, all have sinned, and all their futile attempts to reach God in His glory fail.''Romans 3:23 VOICE
These scriptures show sin or wrongdoing does indeed bring a separation. This means God has to turn away from (i.e. cannot accept) the wrongdoer.
Ok, surely, this must mean that doing right will make us acceptable to God, right? Wrong.
He loves the one who does the right things, right? Right.
So how can he love the one who does the right things but that rightness does not qualify the doer as acceptable??
Well, Paul describes YHWH as:
''God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.'' 1 Timothy 6:15b-17 or as the VOICE translation puts it, ''He is the only One who ·never dies [has immortality]. He lives in light ·so bright no one can go near it [unapproachable]. No one has ever seen God, or can see him. May honor and power belong to God forever. Amen.''
John in the Bible explains ''This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.'' 1John1:5
Basically, the explanation is as Isaiah told the people:
''You (God) welcome people who enjoy doing good and who remember you
by living the way you want them to.
But we sinned against you,
and you became angry with us.
But you always saved us!
6 We are all dirty with sin.
Even our good works are not pure.
They are like bloodstained rags.
We are all like dead leaves.
Our sins have carried us away like wind.'' Isaiah 64:5-7 ERV
I'll summarise:
God is 100% pure - in fact, he is the definition of purity and right. He lives in this light of purity which destroys anything remotely impure. In fact, YHWH cannot even look at impurity. But here is the big BUT... God can sense (see) a heart that yearns to do right and actively pursues this desire though imperfectly.
He accepts that desire and graciously declares that active desire as right. Because he accepts that desire, YHWH takes an active role in bridging the gap of that one's fallibility with his grace. In other words, he takes the responsibility of overcoming the obstacles that separate that person from himself. He knows no amount of good work a person does will be good enough to stand in his presence because there is NO ONE who gets it right all the time. And for a 100% perfect God, even 1% imperfection is too much defilement. So God provides an answer- JESUS. As Jesus himself said,
'I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.'
This is God's answer to the separation issue. This is what permits Him to accept all who desire him. This is the solution - God's greatest expression of love:
''Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!''Romans 5:7-9
''Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” Romans 4:7-8
''Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.'' John 6:54-56
''Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: '' 1 Samuel 12:23 KJV
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