Simple Faith: Where’s the Love?
Faith is one of those things that can be mysterious or simple, profound or child-like. It can be explored with depth and breadth and still leave room for questions. But in my daily experience, I’ve found it helpful to have certain foundational truths to fall back on, especially when something comes along that tries challenging what I believe.
One of the most basic tenets of my faith runs through my mind nearly every day, simply by thinking of the beautiful world we live in. I wish I could see these mountains and flowers out my window, but with a little imagination and help from Bing Free Images, I’m reminded of some extraordinary views like the one pictured here. Everywhere I turn, I see evidence of a Creator’s love. Green plants, wildflower colors, unimaginable fragrances, endless blue skies that often turn into a blaze of sunset colors. Need I search out the variety of playful puppies, the extraordinary variety of birds and fishes and other animals? Or tune in to Pandora to be reminded of the incredible musical gifts we enjoy, or turn to my book shelf to see story after story written by my friends, each one exhibiting creativity and an ability for knowledge that must be more than merely accidental?
When I look at creation, or when I see evidence for a creative streak in mankind, I see proof of love in our Creator. If the universe is an accident, isn’t it extraordinary that something so accidental has resulted in so many varieties of things that appear to be here simply for us to enjoy? That, to me, is proof of a generous creator who enjoys not only what He’s created, but wants those He created to feel enjoyment, too. A generous creator has lavished gift after gift upon us not only for our survival, but for our pleasure. (I’ll talk more about fine tuning evidence for a creator in a future post.)
Love itself is evidence of a creator who bestowed such a gift on this world. We, as the created, can’t possess something our creator didn’t already have—how can we be greater than the one who made us? So love in itself is evidence of God and His love.
Seeing evidence for love by the bounty surrounding me and the wonder of feeling love myself, I look for evidence of where all these gifts came from. What world view offers a Creator who is loving? Buddhism instructs its followers to love others, but does it offer a source of love outside ourselves? At its core I see Buddhism as a works-based world view, with its followers striving toward denying oneself, seeing desire as the source of what’s wrong in this world. But it doesn’t claim a loving, personal God. Does Islam, another works-based program, reveal a God whose desire is to spend eternity with each and every one of us? Ultimately even the most faithful Muslim cannot know, when they cross that bridge connecting this life to the next, if they will fall into the side of Heaven or Hell, because that moment will play out according to the whim of Allah (unless you give your life while taking the lives of infidels—is that love?). I admit I have not studied the over 2,000 gods found in the Hindu religion, but like Buddhism this is a system of working toward liberation from a cycle of birth/death/rebirth, paying forward positive karmic energy which will ultimately lead to something like nirvana, a state of liberation. But if liberation means an end—both of suffering and of identity, is there any sense of love found in that? An end in what basically equates to annihilation?
There are other worldviews, of course, but in my search so far I find love only in the Bible, where a creative God explains that He wants to spend eternity with us. So much that He was willing to take on human flesh in the form of a Savior named Jesus to clean up my imperfections, as a gift, so I can share the presence and fellowship of a perfect God.
That’s love, and the Bible is riddled with it. Next week I’ll talk about the Bible itself, and why I believe in it. So stay tuned!
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I believe the evidence of God is everywhere. He created everything even man. When I pray and be thankful for my blessings, that’s evidence of God because I know He’s the one that provides for me and takes care of me.
One of the reasons that speaks so clearly of God’s existence, to me, is the kind of personal experience that you describe, Barbara. We may face hardships but ultimately God’s promise is to comfort us and be with us through them. So knowing He loves us brings with it the certainty that He’s taking care of us, and we have the hope of heaven ahead of us. Thanks for commenting!
So well said, Maureen. Who would not be drawn to such a love? The desire to be loved is crafted into our very DNA. To think that God loves us and wants to be with us for eternity is thrilling to me. Thanks for expressing it so well. I look forward to your post on the Bible!
Thanks, Diane! What a great thought to add here, that our desire to be loved is crafted into us. That’s evidence of being made in God’s image, since He created us for communion with Him. Thanks for sharing!
God, so LOVED the world that he gave His only begotten Son, how great of a LOVE is that!! He truly LOVE us that he wanted us to have eternal life.
Norma
How true, Norma! That single verse really does reveal the gospel, and is such great evidence of the love God has for those He created – all of us!
I love your posts. It’s so nice to read something on the Bible and not have to wonder if the person who wrote it actually means what they say. My favorite Bible verse is “Jesus wept.” John 11:35. To me that says it all. I also love Psalm 23, especially “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me”. My preferred Bible is the King James version, the one I grew up with, though I do have others that I read in occasionally.
A long time ago, my mom bought me a KJV by mistake, thinking it was one of the newer and easier-to-read versions. She’d already inscribed it, so we couldn’t exchange it, but I ended up falling in love with the language. There are times when I still go back to that version, sometimes because I’m researching a passage the way one of my historical characters would have read it. But often I return to it just because I still love that version.
Thanks for sharing two of your favorite verses! What wonderful examples of God’s love for us.
How big our world seems but when compared to all the other planets, and solar system and nebulae and all the moons and stars and all the galaxies upon galaxies that makes me feel like we are specks of dust in comparison. Yet He knows everything about every one of us dow to the number of hairs on our heads plus every single intimate and juicy detail in our lives…it’s just WOW!! It’s mind-blowing and! I can’t even try to wrap my head around it all! But God loves me…a little speck of dust!
What a wonderful picture of the greatness of God compared to our own insignificance, and yet He loved us so much He made a way for us to spend eternity with Him. Great image, Kristin – Greetings to you from one well-loved speck to another!
Our faith is how much we believe and trust in God it is harder for us than it was the disciple, because they were with Him but it seams like it was hard for then even though they were with Him. You can see God in everything, the sky, sun, clouds, flowers, building,trees, different colors,people, He made them all!
Norma
Yes, I see your train of thought, Norma – that’s why Jesus said to Thomas “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” He was talking about us! 🙂
When I pray, or when I sing about God or Jesus, I get very emotional.
That’s when I first knew for sure, that God was real.
I completely agree that personal experience is very powerful – I’ve had people share their experiences and see the depth of their emotion, which reminds me that God gave us this ability to feel (which can be used for either good or bad). But there’s no denying the power of emotion, and the lasting impact it leaves. Thanks for sharing, Phyllis!
Hi Maureen, I did not get a blog from you yesterday or today, i pray that there isn’t any thing wrong. I know with your faith that God is with you the same as He is with me through all of my many health problems. I pray that it isn’t you son that is having problems and you are unable to blog yesterday and today! I miss reading your blogs! Which every the case may be that you are sick or your son is sick, i will pray that God will watch over you and your family. God bless you and your.
Love in His Holy Name,
Norma