{"id":7252,"date":"2023-06-01T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T00:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7252"},"modified":"2023-06-15T13:56:25","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T05:56:25","slug":"313-the-challenges-of-believing-that-god-loves-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7252","title":{"rendered":"314. The Challenges of Believing that God Loves You"},"content":{"rendered":"
6\u00a0<\/sup>One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the\u00a0Lord, and the accuser also came among them.\u00a07\u00a0<\/sup>The\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to the accuser,\u00a0\u201cWhere have you come from?\u201d The accuser answered the\u00a0Lord, \u201cFrom going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it.\u201d\u00a08\u00a0<\/sup>The\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to the accuser,\u00a0\u201cHave you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.\u201d\u00a09\u00a0<\/sup>Then the accuser answered the\u00a0Lord, \u201cDoes Job fear God for nothing?\u00a010\u00a0<\/sup>Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.\u00a011\u00a0<\/sup>But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.\u201d\u00a012\u00a0<\/sup>The\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to the accuser,\u00a0\u201cVery well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!\u201d So the accuser went out from the presence of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>.<\/strong> [Job 1:6-12<\/span>, NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/a> \"\" <\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/h6>\n
[L] Baptism of <\/em>Christ, by Francisco Albani; [M] Job and His Wife<\/em>, by Alfred D\u00fcrer; [R] Three Hebrew Men Thrown into the Fire<\/em> in Dan. 3.<\/span><\/h6>\n

When Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee came out of the baptismal water at River Jordan, immediately heavens opened and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove, and the Heavenly Father spoke these words to him: \u201cYou are my beloved Son<\/em><\/strong>; with you I am well pleased\u201d (Mark 1:9-11). This is divine, familial, love-language.<\/span><\/p>\n

Implicit in the language of the loving God is the promise that the Father will love the Son for all eternity, that the Father would suffer for the Son rather than to abandon him under any circumstances. The Son hears the Father\u2019s assurance of His presence and His closeness no matter what. And he will draw strength from that consciousness of the Father\u2019s presence in the bleakest moments of his life when all seem lost and his closest supporters will have also abandoned him. That\u2019s when he suffers rejection and humiliation, unjust suffering and pain, and even torture and death. In fact, the Father implicitly conveys to the Son the idea that He will suffer with<\/em> the Son any time the Son undergoes suffering. In a word, the Father\u2019s love-language suggests that He will always share the Son\u2019s joy and suffering.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is, however, the other side of the story as at the same time, implicit in that love-language is an incredible challenge to Jesus the beloved Son and, by extension, to all disciples who come after him and become adopted sons and daughters of God. That challenge is to not run away from the challenges that the divine love implies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those challenges must necessarily include a firm belief that God is from all eternity good and faithful, and that He will never abandon you, regardless. Then, if your belief is firm, should you one day have the misfortune of coming under severe suffering and even threat of death, you will stay faithful to your identity as a beloved child of God, holding fast to the kingdom-values that God has put into your heart. On that<\/em>, the Gospels resolutely attest, Jesus has shown the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

From the start, Jesus declared that the good news of God\u2019s approaching kingdom is near. He would go on to preach and live that good news to the full and till the very end, even to the death, to show his disciples and, through them to the rest of the world, that the evangelical values – which often requires sacrificial service – of which he preached and lived are humanly achievable. He calls us to believe, act and live according to what he has modeled for us: \u201cDo this in memory of me<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d That is the challenge that comes with believing that God is good and faithful, that God loves you and that God is worthy of your unconditional trust even when all current evidence appears to suggest otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other than the obvious case of Jesus the Christ, a couple of solid Biblical examples may help us appreciate that we can and ought to face life-challenges with hope in God when the going gets real tough in life.<\/span><\/p>\n

First off, is the ever famous poor Mr. Job. He challenges us all to stop whining when we are dealt some lousy cards in life. As Job\u2019s whole life is being decimated \u2013 losing his properties and his children, not to mention his social honour and dignity \u2013 Scriptures say he rose, rent his robe, shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped God, saying, quite incredibly really: <\/span><\/p>\n