Does it sometimes seem that God plays favorites and loves some people more than others? When viewing God from this perspective, we may tend to believe He chooses to interact with some people while rejecting others. Living with this flawed perception impedes the relational reality God invites us into and we short-change the fullness of life He intends for each of us.
Perhaps you feel personally inadequate to deserve God’s full love. You may think people living differently than you are more deserving of God’s love, or believe others are less deserving. In either case, such perspectives are contrary to the reality of God’s unconditional love for everyone.
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are(1 John 3:1).
Many other verses from the New Testament also speak of God as our heavenly Father, who loves each of His offspring as His own children. Isn’t it amazing that the Creator of the natural universe is our Father? Before the progressions of time even started, God had us in mind, desiring to parent offspring. He saw each of us as children who would grow and develop under His parental care.
Unconditionally Loved, Not Rejected
Since the idea of fatherhood originated with the eternal God, we can count on Him being an ideal Father. Unlike many of our earthly dads, His love will not allow Him to ignore or abandon any of us. As the core value of His being, our Father’s love is so far reaching that Scripture describes it as being limitless:
… neither death, nor life…nor things present, nor things to come…will be able to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).
God loves each of us as offspring and mercifully blesses the just as well as the unjust.
More than what he does, God is love. He has the heart of a loving father (1 John 4:8). In fact, God’s parental love for His kids is better-than-the-best earthly father. He loves each one of us as His offspring and blesses the just as well as the unjust (Matthew 5:45). Although we may struggle with this level of God’s mercy, He does not. We do well to remember that everyone falls short of becoming what God has designed us to be.
Life in this natural realm has many choices, right and wrong, good and bad, positive and negative, and many variables between these opposites. These are intended to encourage our desire to draw close to God and choose His way of life. We are given a ‘free will’ so we can choose when, how often, and to what degree we respond, or go another way. Our Father understands and is patient.
We have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers (1Timothy 4:10).
God never chooses or rejects us, we are the ones that reject or choose. While God does not force anyone to interact, He delights in close fellowship with His developing offspring. So, it is only natural that abundant blessings appear to fall on all who choose to partake of God’s fellowship and walk in His ways.
God never chooses or rejects us, we are the ones that reject or choose.
Prodigal Perspectives
Jesus told the story of a son who took his inheritance and spent it his own way, apart from his father’s guidance. This story is a good example of the different levels of relationship we can have with God (Luke 15:11-32).
- Some of us take the gifts God bestows, go our own way, and ignore Him.
- Others awaken from indifference and turn into God’s forgiving love.
- Some are raised in the house of God, yet fail to understand His heart.
- Many partake of God’s insightful fellowship and learn of His loving way.
We may be quick to think of the son in this story as someone not-at-all like us. And yet, our life choices are more similar than we realize. Consider these common scenarios regarding our intimacy with God, or lack of such. We may:
- Be confident of life in heaven after this life, yet be complacent about interacting with God and drawing on His direction in this life.
- Accept God’s call and experience relational rebirth, yet fail to realize our awakening is meant to activate our fellowship with Him.
- Receive miraculous interventions and respond as faithful servants, yet still miss the loving sharing of intimate fellowship.
- Experience spiritual gifts and anointing, yet fail to seek His insightful adjustment to our own heart attitude.
Remember, everyone can experience relational fellowship with our heavenly Father and draw from His heart’s character, attitude, and personality (CAP). As we do so, we mature into greater and greater reflections of His heart.
The Real Meaning of “Chosen”
Even though we can see God’s love is not reserved for a “chosen few,” there are Scripture verses that do refer to “chosen” ones. So who are they? John shares the secret of God’s choosing: Those who are with Him are the called, chosen, and faithful (Revelation 17:14). The “chosen” are offspring who respond to God’s call to be disciplined by His love and remain faithful to His guidance.
The “chosen” are offspring who respond to God’s call to be disciplined by His love
and remain faithful to His guidance.
Peter said we make our calling and choosing certain by partaking of the divine nature. Peter goes on to say our conscious efforts to make certain our calling and choosing means we are adding to our faith the qualities of perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and divine love (2 Peter 1:1-11).
Fellowship of His Heart
God continually beckons us to draw from His perspective, learn of His ways, adapt His mannerisms, and be influenced by His caring attitude – so we can be better expressions of His loving heart. Knowing what is best for each one of us, God’s relational interaction leads us into fuller life – a more abundant life.
Jesus came as the perfect example of children’s response to our Father. Everything Jesus did illustrates intimacy with the Father’s heart. Our human design enables us to sense and receive our heavenly Father’s insightful guidance. When we observe what the Father is saying and doing in our present times, as Jesus did, we tend to learn as maturing children. The level of our response to His insightful presence illustrates the depth of our intimacy with His heart.
As offspring, we can experience intimate fellowship with God-in-Christ (His insightful and anointing presence). Rather than a mandate, our fellowship with Him is an amazing provision. May we go from childhood perceptions, into maturing disciplines, and into intimate friendship!
When we observe what the Father is saying and doing in our present times
we tend to learn as maturing children.
All Eyes on Jesus
Jesus became our elder brother (Romans 8:29), as one of us, so we would have a visual example to learn from. Jesus was/is a faithful reflective resemblance of our heavenly Father. We want to keep our eyes on the example God gave and encourage each other to faithfully respond to God’s guiding presence.
In the fellowship of Father’s presence, we are taught, apprenticed, tutored, and disciplined as maturing children into God’s character, attitude, and personality (CAP). This is explained in greater depth in Created To Relate.
As offspring of God, it is our open heart to His guidance that eases our gradual transforming growth. We can learn to walk in His love and reflect His loving CAP into all our relationships. This is how we become beloved children.
The fellowship of God’s presence is not reserved for a few. Are you pursuing our heavenly Father’s fellowship? Are you intimately drawing from His heart?
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Keith Carroll, “The Relationship Guy”
Relational Gospel Founder