God loves us but does he like us?

[colinlindsay]

I know I've posted this before but honestly I got such shallow replies.
And this is not a shallow question.
I never doubted God loved me for the first 20 years of my Christian life but subconsciously thought this was because He loved Christ but put up with us because of His covenant promises. This belief caused a kind of schizophrenia in my soul between emotion and intellect where I only fed the latter, becuase the former was just froth in God's sight. I was also distant and hard with others.
Then 5 or so years ago a preacher was serious enough to say that nowhere in the Bbible does it say that God likes us.
So that's all those children's songs out the window.
But he's not right is he?

 

[Rick Otto]

What's not to like?

But seriously, "like" sounds a little 'loaded' from here.

What exactly do you expect? A pat on the back along with your daily bread? Jesus to appear, wanting to hang out & listen to CD's with you?

I'm serious! What do you mean "like"?
Love isn't just about duty.
God doesn't love us because He HAS to! WHO would make Him?

 

[cygnusx1]

What's not to like?

But seriously, "like" sounds a little 'loaded' from here.

What exactly do you expect? A pat on the back along with your daily bread? Jesus to appear, wanting to hang out & listen to CD's with you?

I'm serious! What do you mean "like"?
Love isn't just about duty.
God doesn't love us because He HAS to! WHO would make Him?

of course!!! I have some great cds !!!

 

[Imblessed]

I know I've posted this before but honestly I got such shallow replies.
And this is not a shallow question.
I never doubted God loved me for the first 20 years of my Christian life but subconsciously thought this was because He loved Christ but put up with us because of His covenant promises. This belief caused a kind of schizophrenia in my soul between emotion and intellect where I only fed the latter, becuase the former was just froth in God's sight. I was also distant and hard with others.
Then 5 or so years ago a preacher was serious enough to say that nowhere in the Bbible does it say that God likes us.
So that's all those children's songs out the window.
But he's not right is he?

I'd love to try to give you a not so shallow answer, but I don't think I understand your question.

What do you mean by "like"?

I'm reminded of when my mom used to tell me "Windi, I dearly love you but right now I don't like you at all!!" I knew that she meant she didn't like my actions or attitude, that if I wasn't her child, she wouldn't want to know me. It was something that always shamed me, made me want to change, because I wanted her to like me-- ie: be proud of me and want to let others know that I was her kid. I wanted to be a good reflection on her motherhood. But of course, I often forgot, and let my own immaturity get in the way. I also craved to 'be my OWN person' and do things my way. I laugh now, when I look back and see that often 'my way' is quite a bit like her way now!

 

[edie19]

I'd love to try to give you a not so shallow answer, but I don't think I understand your question.

What do you mean by "like"?

I'm reminded of when my mom used to tell me "Windi, I dearly love you but right now I don't like you at all!!" I knew that she meant she didn't like my actions or attitude, that if I wasn't her child, she wouldn't want to know me. It was something that always shamed me, made me want to change, because I wanted her to like me-- ie: be proud of me and want to let others know that I was her kid. I wanted to be a good reflection on her motherhood. But of course, I often forgot, and let my own immaturity get in the way. I also craved to 'be my OWN person' and do things my way. I laugh now, when I look back and see that often 'my way' is quite a bit like her way now!

Windi,

If you've grown up with your mom's influence, my guess is that you (like me) have said the same thing to your kids a time or two.

edie

 

[edie19]

I know I've posted this before but honestly I got such shallow replies.
And this is not a shallow question.
I never doubted God loved me for the first 20 years of my Christian life but subconsciously thought this was because He loved Christ but put up with us because of His covenant promises. This belief caused a kind of schizophrenia in my soul between emotion and intellect where I only fed the latter, becuase the former was just froth in God's sight. I was also distant and hard with others.
Then 5 or so years ago a preacher was serious enough to say that nowhere in the Bbible does it say that God likes us.
So that's all those children's songs out the window.
But he's not right is he?

I don't think it's a shallow question at all. I'm the first to admit, I don't always like myself. If I don't like me, how can I expect anyone else to?

However - if I let my knowledge of God take over I realize that I can't put my petty, all too human emotions on Him. And while it isn't necessarily a logical conclusion - the God of Heaven who loved me enough to send His Son to die for my sins must not only love me, but like me too. His approval is an entirely different story though - thus I thank Him often for seeing me through the shed blood of His Son and for the understanding that I don't have to win His approval.

edie

 

[calmcoolandelected]

I started to post something similar to I love my husband and kids but there are occasions (rare occasions!) that I don't like them so much and I am sure they will say same about me! I deleted post because I thought it might be one of those shallow answers....

Anyhoo, I don't know if God likes us or if he likes us-likes us....
Sorry, I could resist that one!

Recently, I did a little study on God's glory and His glory is so wonderful that he created us to share in it. Just like the first question of the catechism says, "What is the chief end of man?" To Glorify God and enjoy Him forever. I don't know if that is liking us or not, but I know it is good.

CC&E

 

[colinlindsay]

What's not to like?

But seriously, "like" sounds a little 'loaded' from here.

What exactly do you expect? A pat on the back along with your daily bread? Jesus to appear, wanting to hang out & listen to CD's with you?

I'm serious! What do you mean "like"?
Love isn't just about duty.
God doesn't love us because He HAS to! WHO would make Him?

Flip answers have already appeared, as I expected.
I would say for the first 5 years of my Christian life in a presbyterian church I was sold short. I came away convinced that it was ONLY for the glory of God that He saved me. (even though that's the main reason)
And yes I acted as if God was like a father who had to love his son (after all I did produce him) even though he didn't really like him, because he was wayward.
It has only been recently that I've read and understood the implications of Jesus saying he wanted us to be his FRIENDS, and not His worshippers. Furthermore He wanted to share His mind and heart with us, His Friends.
His friendship was manifested by practical things like cooking breakfast for His disciples and washing their
feet.
If we are His friends we will obey His commands, not through fear of hell or punishment.
God doesn't NEED friends, He has that within the trinity, but He certainly wants friends. This is in the OT as well, where Moses talked with God intimately.
So what's the implications of this? Well I thought for a long time that to assuage God's displeasure I had to strive to be holy or at least knowledgable about His Word. But primarily I now realise that Jesus wants us to be His friends, and to live in His Pleasure.
This has been especially important to me in Asia, where institutional spiritual crutches are not available to me. And yes, I have a ministry here which reflects and benefits from my personality and likes and dislikes rather that my holiness or knowledge of scriptures.

 

[lmnop9876]

question (not directly related to the OP):
Jesus, as a man, loves each and every person (Jesus keeps the law perfectly, and this includes loving our neighbours as ourselves. the Scripture also says that Jesus talked to the rich young ruler and He loved him.)
does Jesus, as God, love each and every person?
if we say He doesn't, but loves each and every person as a man, then we are separating the two natures of Christ, making one act inconsonantly with the other, this is Nestorianism.
if we say that Christ, as a man, doesn't love each and every person, then we are saying that He broke the Law that He Himself gave, and that when the Bible says Christ loved the rich young ruler it means something else.
therefore, it must be concluded that Christ loves each and every person as God, and as man.
is there something wrong with my logic here?

 

[mlqurgw]

Deu 10:15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.


Psa 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

Psa 139:17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

 

[Imblessed]

Flip answers have already appeared, as I expected.
I would say for the first 5 years of my Christian life in a presbyterian church I was sold short. I came away convinced that it was ONLY for the glory of God that He saved me. (even though that's the main reason)
And yes I acted as if God was like a father who had to love his son (after all I did produce him) even though he didn't really like him, because he was wayward.
It has only been recently that I've read and understood the implications of Jesus saying he wanted us to be his FRIENDS, and not His worshippers. Furthermore He wanted to share His mind and heart with us, His Friends.
His friendship was manifested by practical things like cooking breakfast for His disciples and washing their
feet.
If we are His friends we will obey His commands, not through fear of hell or punishment.
God doesn't NEED friends, He has that within the trinity, but He certainly wants friends. This is in the OT as well, where Moses talked with God intimately.
So what's the implications of this? Well I thought for a long time that to assuage God's displeasure I had to strive to be holy or at least knowledgable about His Word. But primarily I now realise that Jesus wants us to be His friends, and to live in His Pleasure.
This has been especially important to me in Asia, where institutional spiritual crutches are not available to me. And yes, I have a ministry here which reflects and benefits from my personality and likes and dislikes rather that my holiness or knowledge of scriptures.

that's a nice post.

I wish you would have posted it first, because now we see where you are coming from.

Sorry we couldn't answer the question properly, but honestly, you didn't give us much to go on.........

 

[calmcoolandelected]

Sorry if I sounded flippant, didn't mean to be. Guess I was in a "cheeky" mood last evening, didn't mean to make you the brunt of it.

CC&E

 

[Rick Otto]

I apologize.
I wouldn't want ya not to like me!

But seriously, "being friends" doesn't mean "always liking" to me.
Even the best of friends have issues & moments.

 

[colinlindsay]

What's not to like?

But seriously, "like" sounds a little 'loaded' from here.

What exactly do you expect? A pat on the back along with your daily bread? Jesus to appear, wanting to hang out & listen to CD's with you?

I'm serious! What do you mean "like"?
Love isn't just about duty.
God doesn't love us because He HAS to! WHO would make Him?

Yes, actually I do mean that God wants to share in the listening to my CDs. Maybe He also wants to point some better things I should be listening to (as a more experienced friend would)
And yes, because I believe Jesus wants me as a friend and that's how he get me to grow in Him, and that's the method He wants me to use to reach people out here. I'm off to listen to some CDs with an atheist, to show Christ's friendship. So, YES, I DO think God likes us.
OK, sometimes I'm my own worse enemy because I start threads with grossly simplistic headings. But at least it gets a discussion started. In fact I'm just about to post something on the marriage board about whether God approves of sex in water.
Bless you.

 

[McWilliams]

Well, a rather good test of whether God 'likes' you is how your life is going! Is it smooth running without a lot of great challenges, trials, and tribulations! Be careful and examine yourself if this is so! For whom the Lord loves He chastens!
Dont remember His ever mentioning whether He 'likes' us but as we are being molded, shaped into His image and sanctified we are being formed into a being He would find more desirable, more like Himself.

 

[McWilliams]

Actually we're all pretty worthless mudballs! We have absolutely no worth of our own! It is only through His mercy and grace and clothing us with His own righteousness that we have worth, its His, not ours until we meet Him in heaven and are changed to be like HIm! What grace, that He could change a worthless clod into a useful vessel of honor to glorify Him! Our righteousness is imputed, our goal is to be like Him and to glorify Him forever! Soli deo gloria!

 

[colinlindsay]

Actually we're all pretty worthless mudballs! We have absolutely no worth of our own! It is only through His mercy and grace and clothing us with His own righteousness that we have worth, its His, not ours until we meet Him in heaven and are changed to be like HIm! What grace, that He could change a worthless clod into a useful vessel of honor to glorify Him! Our righteousness is imputed, our goal is to be like Him and to glorify Him forever! Soli deo gloria!

Mudballs!!!!!
THat's the point. Is this true. This is EXACTLY what this preacher was saying. We should think little of us because God never says he likes us. We ARE like mudballs. You can forget anything like "God loves you as you are". He accepts us becuase of Christ's works and becuase he loves Christ.
Don't you see? If you truly believed God looked on us as mudballs you would be depressed all the time. There would be no jusification for the way most Christians even on these message boards think about themselves, which is pretty highly, considering most of the postings.
Did Christ think of His disciples as mudballs when he wanted to have them as his friends and to wash their feet and to make breakfast for them? Will our worth ONLY be revealed in heaven? Or did the incarnation ( God with man), sanctify our humanity at that moment?

 

[McWilliams]

Its not about me! Its all about Him, what He did, what He does, is doing, will do! My confidence is in Him and I look to HIm for my worth, value, direction, in obedience! It is the culture that constantly points us to considering our own worth, be self involved and preoccupied and focused! We look always to Him the author and finisher of our faith, knowing that He who began a good work in us will continue it to its completion, until we are like Him!

 

[CCWoody]

1. I am loved as a son by adoption. (Romans 8:14-16)
2. I am loved as a son through correction. (Hebrews 12:6-8)
3. I am loved through the greatest gift that is given to man. (Isaiah 9:6)
4. I am loved in that my Father did not spare him who was worthy, but has made that merely the first of gifts (Romans 8:32).
5. I am loved by another greatest gift (John 15:26).
6. And though the full flower of this verse is not yet, I am quieted in his love (Zephaniah 3:17).
7. It is not enough to have the fullness of my own joy, but I must have the fullness of a better joy (John 15:11).
8. I was loved with a great love even when I was dead in sin (Ephesians 2:4).
9. In the midst of anguish and throught the Valley of Baca (weeping) I am accounted worthy to suffer for the sake of Him who loves. This, too, is love (Romans 8:36-39).
10. etc., etc., etc.

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.

Recognize that all true Christians will be Calvinists in glory....

Your friendly neighborhood Cordial Calvinist
Woody.​

 

[colinlindsay]

1. I am loved as a son by adoption. (Romans 8:14-16)
2. I am loved as a son through correction. (Hebrews 12:6-8)
3. I am loved through the greatest gift that is given to man. (Isaiah 9:6)
4. I am loved in that my Father did not spare him who was worthy, but has made that merely the first of gifts (Romans 8:32).
5. I am loved by another greatest gift (John 15:26).
6. And though the full flower of this verse is not yet, I am quieted in his love (Zephaniah 3:17).
7. It is not enough to have the fullness of my own joy, but I must have the fullness of a better joy (John 15:11).
8. I was loved with a great love even when I was dead in sin (Ephesians 2:4).
9. In the midst of anguish and throught the Valley of Baca (weeping) I am accounted worthy to suffer for the sake of Him who loves. This, too, is love (Romans 8:36-39).
10. etc., etc., etc.

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.

Recognize that all true Christians will be Calvinists in glory....

Your friendly neighborhood Cordial Calvinist
Woody.​

Yes, but can he use my personality?
I know the answer to this, but it's taken me 20 years of wrongly interpreting the truth of what you said.
I find so much about these boards frustrating. My harsh preacher friend would have had NO problem believing what you have said but he would have said we should still wake up every morning bemoaning our sin, and going through the day with a realistically low view of ourselves. I'm not even sure that when God looks at us in the morning, he sees any sin in us, because He's no longer looking for it