Objects of His Love

   One of my favorite verses of Scripture is from the Old Testament book, the Wisdom of Solomon.

For Thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst hated it. (Wisd. 11:24)

It is a comforting thought to know that I exist because the Creator of the universe loves me and wants me to be here. He did not create me or anyone else to be hated. He created everyone and everything to be loved by Him. God loves every single individual on this earth and if there is life in other parts of the universe, He loves them, too.

   God's love for us implies that He desires to have a relationship with each of us. He wants us to communicate with Him and He wants to communicate with us. This means that God reveals Himself to us and He actually does that. He reveals Himself to us through nature. St. Paul said,

For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. (Rom. 1:20, KJV)

King David wrote in the 18th Psalm,

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. (Psalm 18:1, LXX)

   God also has revealed Himself to us through the writings of His prophets and through His Son, Jesus Christ.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds. (Heb. 1:1,2, KJV)

   The Bible, which includes all of those books accepted in the regional Church councils accepted by the Quinisext Council (692 A.D.) in its Second Canon, contains the writings of those prophets. These books of the Bible reveal God to us.

   Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate, of course, also reveals God to us.

   Since we are created to be loved by God, we should spend time knowing God. We need to read the Bible daily and pray frequently. We should try to obey God in our daily lives by keeping His commandments. Jesus said:

He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. (St. John 14:21, KJV)

St. John the Theologian wrote:

He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:4, KJV)

   Obedience to God is evidence that one knows and loves God. We all sin, however. (I Kings 8:46; Rom. 3:23) So, repentance, therefore, should be the outcome of spending time with God. A person who sees his sinfulness after reading pages of Holy Scripture and does not attempt to abandon his sinful way of living is like a man who looks at himself in a mirror, walks away, and then forgets what he looks like. (James 1:22-24)

   Being objects of God's love, we each have value. No one is worthless. Being objects of God's love, God desires that we know Him and He has revealed Himself to us through nature, the Bible, and His Son Jesus Christ. We should spend time with God in prayer and reading the Bible. We should strive to keep His commandments. Obedience to God's commandments is evidence that we know Him and love Him.

Steve