No Distinction

This morning I came across a great quote by Charles Spurgeon in his devotional classic Morning and Evening. He said, "God makes no distinction in His love for His children."

As soon as I read that, the glorious reality of it was impressed on my heart. God loves all His children equally. This means that God loves me every bit as much as He does Billy Graham, John MacArthur, Chuck Swindoll, Joni Eareckson Tada, the most committed missionaries, Bible expositors and Christian authors. God loves me as much as the precious orphan in the third-world country that has given his or her heart to Christ.

The Bible teaches that God loves all people, but He does not love all people equally. There is a great divine love that God has for all humanity. "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son . . ." (John 3:16). Yet the love that God has for His elect is so far greater than the general love He has for the world in general, that the latter is hatred by comparison. "As it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated'" (Rom. 9:13; cf. Mal. 1:2-3). God's love toward His people, as suggested by the term "elect," is a love of choice. It refers to God's sovereign grace, His special favor that He bestows on those whom He chose in Christ

before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

- Ephesians 1:4-5; italics added

We see from this text of Scripture (and numerous others) that our adoption is based not on our performance, our personality, or anything else that made us more worthy than the non-elect. Scripture makes it clear that God's choice to love us, redeem us, and make us His people was all according to His purpose and therefore "to the praise of His glorious grace."

My children have different gifts, skills, personalities, failures and successes. But I love them all the same. Nothing will ever change the fact that they are my children. If this is true of me as a very imperfect parent (even an "evil" parent compared to God the Father - see Matt. 7:11), then how much more so is it true of our heavenly Father?

Yet how prone I am to think that God loves other of His children more than He loves me. Actually, I suppose that I don't necessarily "think" this so much as I feel this, especially when I fail (which is often!). How glad I am to be reminded that God loves me as much as He does any of His other children. That love is unconditional and will never cease. Indeed, in the ages to come, God will continue to show me, and every blood-bought child of His, "the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:7).

No wonder the apostle Paul earnestly prayed that every believer would "know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:18).

George Matheson, a godly 19th century pastor and hymn-writer, was born with an eye defect that resulted in his becoming blind by the age of eighteen. Shortly thereafter his fiancee left him, deciding that she wouldn't be content to be married to a blind man. Having been spurned by what he thought was true love, Matheson lifted up his broken heart to heaven and found solace in the unchanging love of God. As a result, Matheson penned one of his greatest hymns, O Love That Will Not Let Me Go. The first stanza goes like this:

O love that will not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in thee.

I give thee back the life I owe

That in thine ocean-depths its flow

May richer, fuller be.

May we, like Matheson, find our solace and security in the love of God. There is no greater love, and to have it is to be filled with all the fullness of God.

A Mosque Near Ground Zero?

As you've probably already heard, "a New York City panel voted unanimously to reject landmark status for a building in downtown Manhattan, paving the way for its demolition -- and for the construction of a 13-story, $100 million mosque near the World Trade Center site" (via Fox News).

This has created quite a stir among Americans. Though I usually steer clear of politics on this blog site, I thought it would be good to take an opinion poll from the TruthWalk readership, to get an idea of where you stand on this issue. Most of us would claim to have a "Christian worldview" which would affect our political views. As a Christian, and as an American, what are your thoughts on this matter?

I'll borrow the same question and options put forth by the Fox News poll:

Should New York Allow Mosque Near Ground Zero?

1. No, of all the places to build a mosque, don't allow one there.
2. Yes, the Constitution protects freedom of religion, so government can't stand in the way.
3. Don't prohibit it, but work with the mosque backers to find a more appropriate location.
4. Other (leave a comment).

In the 'Comments' section below, simply put 1, 2, 3, or 4. Then, if you wish, add any comments to further explain your position or rationale (especially if you chose option #4).

I broached this subject with one of our associate pastors this morning and discovered that we held essentially the same view. Once we've received some significant feedback, we'll add our two cents.