When You Struggle to Feel God's LoveSample

A Question Mark On God’s Love

Our story takes a slithery turn today. The crafty serpent in the Garden of Eden got our greatest grandparents (Adam and Eve) to doubt God’s love for them. Today we see that at the root of our corruption is a deep lack of trust in God’s love for us.

Scripture:

“They did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled . . .” (Psalm 106:7)

In ancient times, covenants—agreements between two parties with certain requirements and promises—were how the world was ordered.

The suzerain/vassal treaty was one type of covenant in which a greater power (the suzerain) made a pact with a lesser power (the vassal), promising protection and provision in exchange for the vassal’s tributes, military assistance, and a solemn promise to never, ever, ever serve a different suzerain.

Loyalty to that covenant was something called hesed—often translated in the Bible as love, lovingkindness, kindness, mercy, or steadfast love (Ex. 34:6–7; Lam. 3:22–23; Mic. 6:8).

There is no perfect translation for the word hesed. That’s because hesed communicates something far greater than what suzerain/vassal covenants could. Scripture’s grand story reveals how God’s defining characteristic is hesed—something much deeper than outward compliance to an agreement.

Still, keeping the covenant meant the vassal loved his suzerain; breaking the covenant meant the vassal hated his suzerain.[1] And so, those first humans had a choice: would they love their suzerain, or hate Him?

Enter the crafty serpent. If he could get them to doubt God’s love for them, then perhaps they’d feel justified in their rebellion (Ps. 106:7). His subtle misquotation of God’s command essentially meant, “Is God really a good suzerain? It seems rather unloving of Him to deprive you like this.”

The serpent’s sinister story of scarcity

in God’s good garden

caused them to question

Creator’s intentions:

can love really be love

if it has boundaries?

The sentiment: “God doesn’t love me, so I won’t love Him” (the exact opposite of 1 John 4:19).

Cosmic treason ensued: “She took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Gen. 3:6). And now, the sequence of authority established at creation was reversed: the “beast of the field” (Gen. 3:1; the serpent) undermined the humans’ dominion, who then undermined God’s. Everything upside down.

And then, as Sally-Lloyd Jones once wrote: “A terrible lie came into the world. . . . It would live on in every human heart, whispering to every one of God’s children: ‘God doesn’t love me.’”

Do you know that lie?

Call to Action:

Here’s a writing prompt for today: What situations have you faced that made you think that perhaps that lie was true? How does that lie sometimes manifest in your life today? Consider the justifications you make when you choose to sin. Are you able to trace some of those justifications back to God doesn’t love me?

[1] Sandra L. Richter, The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 69–91.