And I can just imagine how that person, who had proposed this idea, would be laughing at the top of his or her screeching voice when he or she was finished- like that ugly bitch in the fairytale when she saw that Snow White took that fatal bite of the poisoned apple she offered her, and passed out. He or she would have probably thought HOW BRILLANT IS ONE TO HAVE FIGURED OUT SUCH A SOPHISTICATED ATTACK ON CHRISTIANITY.
Yadda yadda.
I admit that i was taken aback when such a question was thrown at my face. The question seemed reasonable and logical; the combination of two facts. For a long time i kept this question at the back of my head, though it poped out once in a while, in hope of engendering doubts in my heart. But just now i suddenly got a revelation which killed this question completely. Here it goes ...
Well dont be stupid. Look, firstly God did not LOVE us because/only when we love Him, and secondly He doesn't NOT LOVE us because we will not love/believe in Him.
1. God did not LOVE us because/only when we love Him.
The bible said it so clearly that He has first loved us. He loves us because He wants to, because He chooses to, not because we did something nice to Him or whatever whatever. Some non-believers may hate Him or say nasty things about Him, but He still chooses to love them.
Well you may argue, how could this suppose to happen? Well isn't this how our parents have loved us too? We are not perfect children. We sometimes rebel against them, quarrel with them, scream and shout at them, or even mutter curses under our breath. We glared at them when we were in a bad mood, complain about them in front of our friends, disrespect them in our hearts, do not honor them with our words and actions, bring them shame when we did some bad things etc etc. The list goes on and on.
That is how God has loved every single one of us too. He created you. And if you accept it as a fact, you will believe, but if you reject it, then you do not.
Sometimes i wonder why is it so hard for humans to accept news that are good and wholesome. It is difficult for us to believe that we can enjoy life everyday and be happy because we are meant to do so. It is hard to disgest the fact that God will forgive all, i repeat, ALL of our sins if we sincerely repent.
We tend to hold on to something which makes us feel bad in one way or another, and in one area or several few. We need to live in discomfort to be secure, and when life gets too peaceful, we jump out of bed to think that something must have gone wrong somewhere somehow, just that we have yet noticed it. Either this or we gets bored with life with everything's good. We get into this "too good to be true" mentality and try to find something to upset ourselves or to worry about.
And some may say, how can God be so good? Oh I just feel like slapping that person's head. Well of course God is good, and only He is good. (Good in the sense that He is righteous and holy.) Many a time people try to pull God's standards down to their humanly standards, and foolishly think that God is like man. They mumble questions like, "How can God be so forgiving? I have committed such and such shameless acts. He might not forgive me for this and that, but hmmm, the rest should be fine ...", "How can God be able to love me. I have diseases which made people shun me..." and etc. Well that's why God is God, because He is different from us man. He is The Creator, The Perfect One! He forgives those who are unforgiven by others and loves those who are unlovable.
2. He doesn't NOT LOVE us because we will not love/believe in Him.
The bible talks about the parable of the prodigal son which expresses the heart of the Father.
Jesus tells the story of a wealthy man who had two sons. The younger demanded his share of his inheritance while his father was still living, and went off to a distant country where he wasted he'd got. Eventually he had to take work as a swine herder. There he came to his senses, and determines to return home and throw himself on his father's mercy. He planned to go back and beg to work as a servant in his father's house, for at least it would be a much better job than taking care of the swines. But when he returned home, his father greeted him with open arms, and hardly gave him a chance to express his repentance; he ordered the servants to cloth the son with the best robe, shoes, and put a ring on his hand. He then ordered to kill a "fatted calf" to celebrate his return.
God is gracious to us. Just as the father, who had missed his son so much, had not blamed, punished or mocked at his son's failutre, but embraced him with love and care, God will do so too.
Therefore, there is unconditional love in God. God loves us, and He simply does, not for what we have done, but who we are in Him. God loves the way you sing, even when you are not singing to him. He is happy enough to see you enjoying your gift from Him. God loves the way you laugh, even when you are actually laughing at a dirty joke. Because He is happy to see you being delightful. God is simple in the way that He is not difficult to please. He is not that strict old yearmaster in your school who either frown at students or yell at them. God is full of joy and hope, peace and delight.
Knowing that God loves you and believing that He does are different things. Have you ever tried telling someone how much you love him/her yet he/she just couldn't or wouldn't agree with you? She knows that you have told her that you loved her, but she choose not to agree(believe) with you. And in her shoes, it is pretty much eqivalent to she not knowing that you love her even though she heard you and she knows that you said it in her face, simply because she rejects you altogether.
It is logical that you choose what you want to believe in, and what you believe in is true to you though it might not be as true to other people.
Well consider this. Imagine you receive a postage. The postman walks to your doorstep and knocks on your door, but you just don't wanna answer it. Then the postman leaves your bundle of letters on the steps and walks off. The next day, he comes again, but you refused too. This is similar to how the lovewalk with God works. The unconditional love from God is like the letters at your doorstep. There will always be letters for you, regardless of whether you go and answer to the postman's call or not. And believers are simply those who will answer the door and are delighted to receive their letters, the love from God, while those non-believers or critics are those who rejects. Some people are also really stubborn. They heard the knocks on their door, they are told about Jesus Christ, but they chose, time and again, to ignore it or fill their hearts with disbelief. Maybe it's that irritating neighbour, maybe it's the policeman, maybe it's the wind, maybe it's the dog, maybe it's someone i do not want to see, maybe... maybe...
They rejects the offer disobediently. Thus as you can see, this is how it has been working for the past thousands of years. So, the arguement that Christianity has a contradiction in its foundations is an erroneous and silly one.
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