Love does not delight in evil

Consider the fact that today we can call sex between two strangers "making love". Love doesn't call evil love. Because our world doesn't even know what love is anymore, it's easy to confuse the two. Love gives, lust takes. Love comes from the heart, Lust comes from the flesh. Lusting people think about pleasing themselves. Loving couples are in it for the other person.

Until we can rightly divide evil from love, we will always unite them. As long as the lines are blurred, our perception of God's heart will follow suit. This is also what's happened in our understanding of giving back to God. Giving to get is selfishness.

We pray for God to bring disaster and tragedy to a "backslider" or a nonbeliever so that person will realize how much they need God. Out of this mentality come many more terrible teaching, some suggest God will cause something terrible to happen to us to "get our attention" or to "get us to get serious about our faith". May people look to the sky when something bad happens and ask "Why God?". We believe He causes our calamities because we have been taught that love delights in evil.

Love does not delight in evil but Christians do. God does not delight in fear tactics. When we use fear either to convert people or to get them to follow the rules, we are partnering with evil. God does not delight in the use of evil to manipulate His children into salvation or repentance. Instead, the kindness of God leads people to repentance. He will never bully anyone into doing what He wants them to do. He doesn't use evil to fight evil. There is a power in love that can soften the hardest heart and bring the dead to life.  The reason we resort to using fear and evil is because we don't believe love is enough.

Threats of hell were never meant to be the argument that drew people to God. Threats of hell bring fear and condemnation. Only a loveless person could think of such a thing. God finds no delight when people believe He might take one of their children or destroy their business if they don't give their lives to Him. God didn't create men to save their souls from hell. He created men and women to have relationships with one another and with Him. Fear tactics make that impossible. The end does not justify the means. Yes, God does work through life tragedies, but He's never the one who causes them. God's "vengeance" is never on people, it's on the devil. God desires what is true, holy, pure, lovely, and of good repute.

Imagine having no friends at school. All the kids make fun of you, and even teachers humiliate you in front of the class. Then, in the midst, you remember, "My daddy is picking me up today, and he will make it all better." That's what God hopes for us to feel about Him. You need to know right now that if you have ever opened your heart to God, you are safe. Nothing you do will make you any more ready. You are going with Him when He comes because you are His child. Nothing you do will ever cause Him to leave you behind. Your relationship with God and your security with Him can never be taken from you. The moment you lose sight of your security, you cease to grow spiritually. God calls it a promise, and you can believe that.

The starting point of all true relationships is the knowledge that we will never be abandoned - our experience of love will never be taken away for any reason. This is the foundation of relationship with God and of faith.

You must believe in unconditional love if you want a true relationship with God.


"extracts from Misunderstood God by Darin Hufford"