STUFF ABOUT GOD AND CHRISTIANITY | Dr. Ron Braley
God is love; he does love, and he experiences love … just like we do.
He loves things such as justice, mercy, purity, righteousness, obedience and loving kindness. As imagers of God, we should love what he loves and hate what he hates. Let’s focus today on the things God loves (we’ll cover rebellion and the things he finds disgusting next time).
I began this article with the phrase, “God is love.” Read 1 John 4:7-16 (at least) and you’ll find these golden nuggets: “For love is from God” and “for God is love” and a reminder in verse 10 that he loved us so much that he sent his son to satisfy our sin debt.
Finally, verse 16 states, “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
God is love … and he, therefore, loves actionably. Salvation and discipline are but two examples.
God loves his creation (even if he doesn’t always like us or what we do, e.g., Genesis 6:6-7). In fact, he loves us so much he provided a way back to him through Jesus’ death and resurrection (John 3:16). This is how “God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). And he corrects those he loves as any good father would (e.g., Proverbs 3:12 and Hebrews 12:6).
God also loves righteousness, which is “right action’’ according to his standards, and justice.
So, what is justice and its relationship to righteousness? It’s fairness and moral rightness in the way people are treated and how laws are applied. Because God loves his creation, it’s easy to see why justice and righteousness are essential.
Psalm 37:28 teaches that God “loves justice, and does not forsake his saints”— a sentiment echoed in Psalm 146:8 and Isaiah 61:8. And Micah 6:8 reiterates that God desires for us to love kindness, do justice (as he does) and walk humbly with him.
OK. God loves us, justice, righteousness and mercy. How do these manifest in practice?
As God’s ambassadors and partners, we are called to care for the less fortunate. In mercy, we must be fair and impartial. In righteousness, we must behave as God intended, as he loves: sexual purity, patience, self-control and charity (see Matthew 25:32-46).
Our charitable actions toward the poor may include sharing money, food, time or talents; we give to others what God has given to us. In other words, our spirit, created by the “‘Father of Spirits,” must move the human mammal to do good, pure things. This is what God desires, what he loves.
Summary
God loves the charitable, merciful, just and righteous person. Love what he loves; do what he does. In the next installment, we’ll learn about what God hates.
God’s blessings and peace.
Braley, a Taylorbased minister, Air Force veteran, husband and father, earned a Master of Divinity degree from Regent University in 2018 and a Doctor of Ministry from the same school in 2021.
