You may often find yourself frustrated at how disgusting people can be sometimes. And how they can do the most repulsive and disgusting acts to hurt other people, animals, this planet, themselves even. And in light of these repulsive actions, you may ask yourself...
How can God love these good-for-nothing creatures?
Firstly, I understand your frustration and your absolute disgust in these vile creatures who call themselves human beings. I could not agree more with you in feeling a deep, passionate anger against them. I have felt that anger and disgust. And still do to this day.
But there's a few keys...
Firstly... God
DOES love them, unfortunately. I say unfortuntely, because to the natural, cognitive mind that sucks to hear; because it makes us goes "
HOW??? HOW CAN YOU LOVE THESE PEOPLE, GOD??"
Well, that's where God's love is different to ours. It is entirely unconditional. NOTHING anyone does can make God love people more or less. If God's love were in any way conditional, we would be in trouble. How would we know for sure God loves us? What makes us think we deserve God's love and not someone else? Are we saying that we deserve God's love? If God's love for us is by Grace, then it's by Grace to EVERYONE, ALL THE TIME, COMPLETELY.
Remember when Jesus was being crucified? He cried
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
There are so many keys in that statement! Firstly, HOW can God love the people that were disgustingly murdering and humiliating the very Son of God Himself?? Who did NOTHING wrong to them and only loved them?
There's a few keys...
First one...
They didn't know what they were doing.
This is massive in our understanding of humanity and its despicable corruption. Humanity doesn't actually realise what we are doing. We don't realise that we are hurting other people, we don't realise that we're hurting animals, the environment, etc.
Why? Because embedded in our flesh is something different to any other animal... SIN. And it got there not from what we DO, but because it was passed down from Adam and Eve. Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve's sin, and not long after that the world became a pretty disgusting place. The first murder after their sin was their own son Cain killing Abel!
Romans 5:12 gives a great explanation of this:
"...sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men..."
(And then on the flip side, Verse 18 shows how God's love for us isn't based on what we DO)
"18 Therefore, as one sin led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men."
So you see mankind were born sinners and they don't know any different! Thousands and thousands of years living selfishly, unaware of God and His nature, etc. makes us ignorant of even sin. (This is why humanity needs law - laws in society etc. Because without the Spirit of God, we are sinners and need guidance).
So, God knows this. He knows mankind's ignorance and doesn't blame them for it.
Does He like it? NO WAYS! He HATES it!!! God hates what Hitler did to the the Jews more than we do!! He hates what a rapist does to a victim more than we do! Etc.
But!
He still has a deep love for them. He knows that they don't know any better. They were probably brought up in a disgusting culture and society etc.
And God can't blame THEM for their act. He blames the society system in general.
Why doesn't He change it then?? Why doesn't He deal with it then??
Well... that's a whole different story and explanation. In a brief nutshell: He can't. He gave the Earth to us, and He cannot do anything on Earth without our permission and working with us. That's why Jesus had to come as a MAN. To restore MANKIND's authority.
Jesus then ascended into Heaven and left the job of making this world a better place up to US, His disciples. (A long story for another time) ;)
The thing is... ALL humans are made in the image of God. They are like His own children. And like any parent loves their own children, He loves His own children. He just hates their sin, and wishes they would stop it. He wishes they would come to Him, and let Him fix them up, help them out, etc.
It's a bit like a drug addict. Most parents of drug addicts LOVE their children. But no-one likes their addiction.
Now... you may be asking "well, if God loves everyone then what's the point of being a Christian? Surely it means I can do what I want, then, too?"
Well, ever heard the phrase "to him is given much, much is required"?
It's kind of like that. We are blessed and privileged enough to know this Glorious Gospel of what God is like have a responsibility to
A) Tell people that there is a God who loves them and wants to save them from a life of self-destruction
and
B) Change the world by stewarding its resources, treating it the way Jesus would've treated it, and educating others to do the same.
There is another key in all this...
Rebirth.
New birth. Being "born again". Which could also be a LONG explanation...
But basically... when Adam & Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they died spiritually. Their spirits (which carried the heartbeat of God) died.
This is why Jesus said "if anyone wants to experience the Kingdom of God they must be born again - born of the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but you must also be born of the Spirit." (John 3:5-6)
When someone has a hunger and desire to know what God their Creator is like, and respond to His Love for them (through the Gospel - however that may look) they get "born again". They get the gift of God's spirit birthed inside of them.
This Spirit can NEVER die out. Ever! They become spiritually connected to God forever! (This is how we will live forever in Heaven - we are spirit beings)
The Bible says that when we get born-again, we get the Laws of God written on our hearts. In other words... the WAYS of God are placed inside of us, and all of a sudden we have a new love for other people, for animals, the planet, we feel responsibility, we feel compassion, we feel Love.
If someone isn't born again, God still loves them unconditionally... but their spirit isn't alive yet, and they don't yet have God's ways flowing through them from the inside. There may well be a remnant passed down from Adam & Eve, because, like all mankind, they too were originally designed in God's image. But there is more than just a remnant! There is an opportunity for the God-kind-of-life to flow through their veins and feel and experience Life to the Full! And that comes through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
So there you go!
This definitely doesn't explain everything. But gives it in a nutsh ell. That God DOES love those people, but hates their actions, and is hoping we would rise up and do something about this planet's mess. (Which is what we as mankind are doing!)
I hope this helps and explains a little about where God stands in His view toward humanity and their disgusting ways.
If you have any more questions, please feel free to shoot!
I have a feeling this is going to open a can of worms though. But hey, I'm open-minded and ready for the questions. ;)
