A Word of Encouragement...

In many ways, I can be thankful for being a UK citizen, having been born here, even from wholly Italian parents who were both post-war immigrants. For example, we have the National Health Service, or the NHS, a free-to-the-point-of-use institution readily available to offer treatment to all kinds of illness, disease and infirmities. And we live under a democracy, a system where all its governing policies are directed by the will of the people, in direct contrast to a top-down dictatorship. And we enjoy the freedom of religion, unlike in Islamic countries where if someone was to differ in opinion would result in flogging, imprisonment or even a death penalty.

But no country is perfect as, in a fallen world, such idealist perfectionism cannot exist. And as such, for example, our densely-populated land contributes to air and sea pollution, mainly from transport and discarded waste, which many say is adding to climate change. But at least, on the good side, there is always a shop nearby (or in my case, two superstores) where groceries and other essentials can be bought and stocked up. And water, fuel and electric power are as easy to use as turning on a tap or plugging into a socket. And a more recent innovation is the Internet, with which I'm now able to express my thoughts into worldwide public readership, which was nothing but a dream, a product of wishful thinking only up to a generation ago. 

But does all this really make us feel happy and content? No doubt, many are happy. But anyone can feel sad, lonely, depressed, helpless, even if their homes are well-stocked with everything they need and their bank balance is reasonably healthy. As one U.S. medical doctor once wrote, most illnesses and diseases, including cancer and heart failure, are caused initially by excess stress, worry, fear, hatred, bitterness, resentment, and prolonged anger. If all this is true, and this doctor received plenty of support from his colleagues across America, then it's no wonder that over here, the NHS has been stretched to its limits throughout the past few years.

Like one recent afternoon when my beloved developed a severe, stabbing pain at her chest region, close to where she had cancer. It was not long after her chemotherapy treatment had ended, and we both suspected that this pain may be connected with her cancer treatment. So an ambulance was called and she was taken to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department of the same hospital where she was being treated for her cancer. I was horrified when we were confronted with a long line of gurneys lining the corridor leading to the Majors cubicles, all of them each occupied by a patient waiting to be seen and treated. Therefore, it was several hours before she was seen by a consultant, although much praise goes to the team of nurses who looked after all the patients in the queue whilst waiting.

Of course, if an elderly lady or gent fell down the stairs and fractured a bone in doing so, that does not mean that the patient was in any negative mood at the time of the accident. He or she could have been in a more jovial mood before the fall. But I couldn't help thinking that the majority of patients in that queue are there as a result of an initial upset mind, some of them stretching over many years. Fortunately for my wife, the cause of the pain was not too serious and wasn't connected with the cancer treatment.

And so, it's this present Coronavirus pandemic which has, in a way, brought me to my senses on how fortunate we all are compared to previous generations. To read or to hear that several hundred more had died of the disease each day is very distressing. For the rest of us who might have had a very mild form of the illness, along with those who haven't had it (yet) - the suppression of our personal freedom is something of a culture shock. To be told by the Government to stay indoors and not travel to the coast or to a national park, especially under a burst of warm Spring sunshine, is certainly not the British way of living! Neither is the long queue outside the superstore doors or to stand or sit not less than two metres apart. Thus, a friendly or respectful handshake, let alone a hug, is seen as equally dangerous, as if risking a bite by a dog infected with the rabies virus.

As the pandemic takes hold across the land, churches are no longer meeting together physically at a given venue. Instead, "virtual services" broadcast live on the Internet has replaced proper services. Scripture quotes begin to appear frequently on Facebook. Of all quotes, it looks to me that Psalm 91 is the most often quoted. It details the great protection given by God himself to anyone who trusts in him. It contains the verses:

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.

You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

Psalm 91:7-8.

It's the same kind of wording which is also found in Psalm 139:19-24, and within many other psalms, where David in particular, cries out for vengeance upon the wicked and to let them face justice whilst, at the same time, prays for his own deliverance from his enemies, the forgiveness of his sins, and his own salvation. Indeed, anyone reading such psalms can be forgiven for accusing him of a kind of self-righteousness, a Pharisaic attitude involving self-piety whilst judging and cursing everybody else. 

King David the Psalmist.

However, the evil people he's referring to are haters of God with a seared conscience, and since they are without any moral guidance, are out to exploit and steal from others, especially the defenceless poor, forcing them to suffer loss, bringing on physical and mental pain, and even be killed, while the villains are benefiting and getting rich from their victim's spoils.

Yet I can identify how David might have felt. The sort of people who annoy me most are scammers, those fraudsters who trick their victims into parting with their hard-earned savings by using sophisticated methods, usually over the phone, to deceive. And thus gathering wealth by dishonest means, causing their victims, mostly senior citizens, to suffer agonising losses. Then these thieves go on expensive holidays, party, and buy top-of-the-market cars such as the Lamborghini. Like David, I too wish them to be brought to justice.

Wishing such scammers to be brought to justice is one thing, but for the believing saint, will he be fully protected by God from any threat or affliction? Is Psalm 91 a guaranteed protection against general suffering?

Last Sunday, a preach at Ascot Life Church was delivered through the Internet, focusing on Psalm 91, probably as a result of the constant appearing of this psalm on Facebook. The question was: Will God really protect from all harm those who trust in him, worship and depend on him? Yes? - Er, No. And he was absolutely correct.

I have only my own testimony to prove that true believers are not immune to harm. Where the hospital has risen to the point of being our second home, one has only to read 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 and 6:3-10, where Paul the apostle lists his sufferings, including being flogged, while he was on his mission to preach the Gospel and form new churches across the Roman Empire, and visiting other, already established churches, particularly in the Macedonian area of northern Greece. In turn, Hebrews 11:35-38 lists the sufferings many Old Testament saints had to endure as they ministered to the ancient Israelites, even to the point of being stoned to death.

Then there is the case of Job in the Old Testament. He lived approximately at the same time as Abraham, and like the Hebrew patriarch, Job was a righteous man with a strong and reverent faith in God, who showed hospitality to strangers and always interceded for his sons, lest they fall into sin. He could be classed as a Bedouin, a man who lived in a desert tent, yet he was also very rich, possessing many flocks and herds.

Then one day all his livestock was stolen from him by a gang of marauding bandits, with only one shepherd left to tell him of his loss. Soon after this, another arrived to announce that all his sons were killed by a collapsing roof of the house where they were partying. Yet, when his grieving wife and mother advised him to curse God and die, his response was to rebuke her, telling her not to be such a foolish woman, and then acknowledged that God has every right to give and to take away. Soon after this, he fell ill, and his ailment worsened to the point where he was at death's door. Yet he did not waiver on his faith. 

During his distress, three friends arrived at his tent to grieve with him. At first, all four sat in silence. Yet when a discussion between them eventually arose, neither could understand why such a righteous man had to suffer such intensity as he did. As Job began to protest his innocence, the three friends began to accuse him of some secret sin or willful wrongdoing. Yet while all four agreed that God's thoughts are way above any human thinking and utterly beyond reproach, yet amid his sorrow, intensified by the accusations thrown at him by his three friends, he declared:

I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end, he will stand upon the earth.

And after my skin has been destroyed yet in my flesh I will see God.

I will see him - with my own eyes - I, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me!

Job 19:25-27. 

When reading such testimonies, whenever we are going through distress, and both of us have been through many such occasions, Job is always the one who has set an example. Other than Jesus Christ himself, whenever Alex is lying on a hospital gurney at A&E, Job often comes into my mind, especially during the long wait before the consultant eventually arrives.

When considering all these things - the suffering believers have to endure, then how truthful is Psalm 91 when it promises full protection from every kind of calamity which befall unbelievers? Last Sunday's preach has shed some light on this, which I have found to be helpful. The ultimate victory of Psalm 91 lies in our eternal state, an eternity in God's presence in Heaven.

As I write, a definite pattern emerges. The pattern is this: When a believer in Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen, has to endure sufferings, whether physical, mentally, or emotionally, they will always end in victory for the believer.

Final Victory.

Therefore, does God offer protection to the believer against all adversity? The answer is a resounding Yes, but it applies to the soul and spirit. For once the sinner confesses with his mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and believes in his heart that God has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-13) - he becomes a new creation, a child of God, forever adopted into his family. Yes, the body will die and goes to the grave, but the spirit and soul will go to be with Christ.

Once saved always saved.

And physical death is the believer's final victory.  

That Universal Question...

I recall 1978. Or it might have been 1979. An ordinary working day and lunchtime at what was British Aircraft Corporation, near a small town of Weybridge in Surrey. This rather spacious aeroplane-manufacturing works complex, consisting of several large buildings, each arranged symmetrically to form a grid of streets not unlike a typical American town layout, was built on a former motor-racing track, the then nationally famed Brooklands, with remnants of the racing track still visible throughout the seventies. The complex featured two large canteens, across the street from the factories, and built back to back with each canteen housed under the same roof. One was the worker's canteen with no staff, where cold snacks were available from vending machines lining the wall. The other canteen was fully staffed and served hot dinners for a discounted price. Before the Trade Union intervened, manual employees, such as skilled and semi-skilled precision machinists from the factory shop floor, such as myself, would have been forbidden to enter the restaurant where hot food was served, but instead had to be content with the cold snacks from the vending machines.  

A VC 10 under construction at Weybridge.

But by the mid-seventies the Union was successful in its campaign. And so, by the time I joined British Aircraft Corporation in the Autumn of 1977, we machinists and labourers alike were allowed to mix freely with the suited office staff, which before were the sole users of the canteen. Therefore, being such a free-thinker back then as I am now, and without isolating myself entirely from my work colleagues, I tended to avoid the cliche-culture of manual workers remaining in their groups, and tended to "invade" office staff whilst assembling among themselves at table. With a tray of hot food in my hands, I chose a table where I knew was a favourite among office staff. Sure enough, about half an hour later a group of suited men around my age or a tad older piled around me. Although I keep saying that they were suited, in reality they were allowed to work in the office without the need to wear a tie. By going by my experience with them, with a few exceptions, these more casually-dressed individuals tended to show a greater sense of camaraderie towards the likes of myself. 

I was quite popular among them, although there will always be a few who resented having a manual worker sitting at their table. Only once was I ordered to move by one angry office pen-pusher. Since this occurred very soon after returning from backpacking the USA in 1978, and going by the timing of this incident, his anger and consequential rejection of my presence might well have been motivated by jealousy. Otherwise, among them I was quite popular. On this occasion, I was alone at a table which accommodates six people. This particular group of office staff, seeing me sitting alone, all rushed to occupy the remaining five seats. Not only had I felt welcomed by them, but had the impression that they wanted to be in my presence to ask me some questions.

The one with the most pleasing personality and was sitting right next to me, turned and asked:

If your God is such a God of love, then why does he allow such suffering in the world?

Oh gosh, here we go again! Then I turned and asked:

Do you believe God himself had ever suffered?

He could not answer, but still stuck to his thinking that the existence of a loving God couldn't be reconciled with the reality of the world's sufferings.

And so within the last few weeks the news media pumps out disaster after disaster. After all, what is it about the Caribbean region and Mexico becoming the victim of two tropical storms (so far) along with two earthquakes, both hitting Mexico City with intensity? The storms, with both hurricanes reaching magnitude five, which is at the top end of the intensity scale, had devastated the islands of the Caribbean. This, together with the two earthquakes had caused a high rate of fatalities and many more homeless. Then in addition, right on the other side of the globe, an earthquake hits Japan within the same time frame. Yet it is the islands surrounding the Caribbean Sea which are worst affected, whilst the UK seemed to enjoy immunity from such forces of nature. After all, with just one centimetre of snow covering our land, the whole nation comes to a standstill - schools close, trains remain stranded between stations, roads turn into skidpans and traffic builds up into a snarling congestion. After all, nature mustn't be too hard on us British! If half-an-inch of snow can cripple us, heaven help us if a magnitude twelve earthquake was to strike, or be hit by an intense Force Five hurricane.

Indeed, how can a God of love allow for all this? And then only at some parts of the world and not in other parts? To add salt to the wound, it does look as if nature is far more harsh towards the poorer tropical nations, while the richer nations such as the UK and Northern Europe seem to escape from such disasters. Even then, sitting on a throne in Heaven, God and his heavenly population aren't at all affected by these disasters, are they? And yet we earthlings are, and it does look as if God's arm is too short to intervene. Yet the question remains: Has God himself ever experienced suffering?

By reading the Internet lately, a plethora of blogs, articles and comments began to appear as if a by-product of these catastrophes. These contributions generally centres on the concept that as these disasters grow more and more frequent, this is the sign that the Rapture and the Second Advent of Christ are rapidly approaching. Even as I write, there is talk of the world ending today, a theory advocated by some christian crackpot, and therefore giving our faith a bad reputation. The fact that I'm right at this moment typing on the computer testifies that I'm still here and this present world hadn't ended, nor are we about to face Antichrist and the Great Tribulation.

This idea of the imminent coming of Christ is taken from Matthew chapter 24. Especially in the case of this generation in no way passing away until all these things - earthquakes, disease, global warfare, etc - are fulfilled, then the end will come (Matthew 24:34). The trouble is, when did this generation came to be? Was it those born before or even during the Great War of 1914-1918, as advocated by Tim LaHaye, Hal Lindsey, and perhaps Norman Robertson? The snag with that idea is that those alive during the Great War, even children alive during 1914, have long passed away. And the end still hadn't arrived. Or what about the generation who were alive when Israel became a sovereign nation on May 14, 1948? Yes possibly, because among the veteran population, there are many still alive to this day. Even more so who were alive when Jerusalem became the capital city of the restored nation of Israel. That took place in July 1980. This may indeed be a point worthy of consideration, because Jesus began his discourse on the Temple in Jerusalem, which stood at that time, and he foretold its destruction by the Romans some forty years later. If Jesus was speaking specifically about Jerusalem, and this present generation is the actual one Jesus was referring to - the generation who saw Jerusalem declared the capital city of Israel in 1980 - then I'm one of this generation, since I was already 27 years of age when this declaration was ratified. Indeed, the Rapture could occur within my lifetime, assuming that I could have up to thirty years left to live (taking me into my nineties!) But whether plausible all this may be, my generation have not seen the beginning of "wars and the rumours of wars...nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places, which are the beginning of sorrows (or birth pains)." Rather, the beginning of all these was seen by those alive around 1914.

Therefore a counter-argument had arisen among more recent authors, such as Benjamin L. Corey, who wrote and published books as well as posted on the Internet. These authors specify that "This generation" of Matthew 24:34 refers to his disciples who were alive in his day, and were still alive during the razing of Jerusalem to the ground by the Romans in AD 70, and this event referred to as "The Great Tribulation". This carried with it the argument that the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 resulted in the sun turning dark and the moon blood red, and the cloud of ash obscuring the stars at night - giving the effect of "falling from heaven" as the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were wiped out.

I think I can see where this author is coming from. First of all, Jesus was talking specifically about Jerusalem, with its destruction in AD 70. This was nine years before Mt. Vesuvius erupted and wiped out cities which had nothing to do with Jerusalem, the two locations being about a thousand miles apart, neither had the eruption brought the Second Advent nor the end of the world as we know it. Then throughout history, volcanic eruptions of greater intensity occurred, blackening the sun rays in the atmosphere, causing the moon to turn red and taking the lives of multiple thousands. One striking example was the explosive eruption of Mt. Krakatoa in August 1883. The resulting dust cloud blown out from the caldera has created a belt of darkness around the globe, but this didn't bring the return of Christ either. And of the many, many cases of widespread famine and diseases throughout all history, none had brought the present world to its climax. So in one sense, Benjamin Corey and his ilk may have a point in their argument. But the question of This Generation still remains.

Corey bases his argument on Jesus's words, this generation - that is, the generation alive during the Lord's ministry and the immediate years to follow, that is, his disciples. It's true that some of Jesus' followers might have still been alive during AD 70, although I tend to believe that the majority of Jesus' immediate disciples were martyred long before Jerusalem was razed. Therefore could he be referring to my generation, who saw Jerusalem restored as Israel's capital? Or thirdly, could this generation be a reference to the Jewish race? 

The footnote in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible has a footnote under Matthew 24:34, which reads, or race. The late Dave Hunt, who among other books, also wrote How Close Are We? - also believed that the term this generation was a reference to the Jewish race, at present existing in unbelief for up to two millennia after the Crucifixion, and tied to Jewish culture and traditions, kept alive despite its attempted annihilation by the Roman Catholic Church over the centuries as well as by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The Jewish race lives on to this day, even in unbelief. If Jesus' meant this generation not passing away as referral to the Jews as we know them, then he is absolutely right! The Jews are with us to this day, and they will not cease to exist after the Second Advent! Rather, the whole of Israel will be converted at his coming, as these verses testify:

And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one who mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Zachariah 12:10.

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn ungodliness away from Jacob:

For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Romans 11:26-27, AV.

The idea that this generation is a referral to the Jewish race as it stands at present in unbelief certainly makes sense, and eradicates any theory of which generation will see the signs ushering the end of the age. Because, in all truth, nobody knows. But the Rapture is imminent. That is, it can happen at any moment, totally unexpected. His return has been imminent since the day he ascended up to heaven. Nobody knows when he will come back, and God himself does not wish to give any dates either. So nobody should even guess. To guess the date is not the will of God for us. 

But as we await his coming, suffering continues. Physical suffering, especially around the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Earthquakes, hurricanes - demolishing property and taking lives. People suffering, both physically and mentally. And are we immune here in the UK? By no means! Statistics have shown of a rise of mental illness, with a significant rise of depression rising among the young, both boys and girls, by as much as 70% in the last 25 years.*

So the key question is: If there is such a loving God existing, then why does he allow so much global suffering?

The question can be faced with a counter-question: Has God himself ever suffered?

The answer to that is - Yes! God knows everything about both mental anguish and physical suffering. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. 

2 Corinthians 5:19.

Jesus Christ, whilst at the Garden of Gethsemane, was so mentally anguished, that he literally sweated blood. Then at the cross, his physical suffering combined with the reality of being abandoned by his Father for the first time in all eternity has made his suffering the worst in history, and no other person in the whole of history had ever suffered to such an intensity. Especially among Christian martyrs, whose hearts were ablaze with the joy of the Lord in their spirits, already equipped with the knowledge of an eternity in glory. 

Is God fully acquainted with suffering? Yes, absolutely. A worthy revelation for those who sat with me at table back in the seventies.

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* The Independent, 27th Feb, 2016.

Do we believe God really love us?

Just a couple of days ago in Norway, a far right-winger who calls himself a fundamental Christian went on a mission to shoot down and killing 76 innocent people, and according to a newspaper, injuring a further 97, mainly at a little island of Utoya, 50 miles from the capital, Oslo, where the same terrorist set off a car bomb which killed seven people outside Government offices.

Anders Breivik was a nationalist who had a passionate hatred of multiculturalism, Marxism and Islam. Previous to his massacre, he had associations with far right organisations, including the English Defence League. He believed in conservatism, State Christianity, and he was also involved in Freemasonry. This was not the work of a madman who had on the spur of the moment lost his marbles. Rather his mission was planned over several years, including purchasing of a farm to buy and accumulate enough fertiliser to build his car bomb. He was intelligent, apparently well educated, an excellent planner and was pictured twice in the Daily Mail newspaper both as smartly dressed, wearing a suit and tie in one photo, and a dinner jacket and bow tie in the other.

So what's all this has to do with the love of God?

Nothing.

And that is the point of this article. Breivik wanted to restore his country to the white, Christian nation, free of Muslim immigration and Marxist supporters. And he did it with hate, not love.

And I'm pretty well convinced that this fellow had never known the love of God, nor his saving grace. He is, of course, an extreme case, as with the Muslim terrorists, but it does reflect my doubts whether those who support such right wing organisations, such as the British National Party or the more radical English Defence League had ever known the love of God, or understand the power of the Atonement made for them by Jesus Christ. Yet members of these groups maintain that their host country, whether it would be England, Norway or elsewhere should remain Christian, with Christian laws, culture and principles.

And to Breivik, to achieve this virtual Kingdom of God on Earth, blood had to be spilt, plenty of it. And the spilt blood of children who were innocent and had little or no idea of Islam or Marxism were included in the massacre.

And it's little wonder that more and more people, particularly in Western countries, see religion as something to be outlawed. If this recent killings in Norway, which can be compared with the 9/11 bombings in the USA in 2001 and the London Transport terrorism in 2005, both the work of Muslim extremists - then little wonder Richard Dawkins wrote in his book, The God Delusion:

The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character of all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control- freak; a vindicative, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a mysogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. (p.31).
Dawkins then goes on about one Old Testament story about the man who was stoned to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath - with his screams distressing his wife and children as the fuselage struck, leaving his family without bread-winning support.

Richard Dawkins

Although Dawkins uses such language, including the story of the Sabbath-breaker, in truth the vast majority of the UK population knows practically nothing of the Bible, let alone the Old Testament. This was easily demonstrated on TV quiz shows such as The Weakest Link, Mastermind and even University Challenge, where most of the Bible questions remain unanswered by the contestants. With my own leaving full time education in 1968 with absolutely no knowledge of the Bible, despite daily morning worship assembly and a weekly R.E. lesson, it is little wonder that the door of ignorance was left wide open for the likes of Richard Dawkins and his ilk to invade our minds. After all, all of Dawkins' description of God of the Old testament is also a fairly accurate description of Anders Breivik, who claimed that he was "doing God's work" in ethnic cleansing of Oslo and Utoya.

In my own personal experience, it was easier to imagine God as one punishing sin where ever it was found rather than as a God of love. This had a lot to do with both parental as well as school and church upbringing. Since my father had a tendency to look on the negative side of my childhood and not spared discipline, and in turn found it difficult to show affection (although showing affection would have been easier for him had I been female), it would have been natural to perceive God as a God of vengeance and not of love. Coupled with our Deputy Headmaster constantly wielding the cane for even talking in the corridor leading to our classrooms, and as the icing on the cake, the need to confess and do Penance every time a mortal sin was committed or spend eternity in Hell - little wonder that any spark of perception that God is love was totally quenched.

And I think this is the central thought of British life.

My wife Alex had spoken many times of her maternal grandfather's attitude of children being seen but not heard. This sort of attitude was passed from generation to generation in the UK. This attitude might have been the main ingredient for military conquest and rise of Empire, but it was the main barrier, I believe, from knowing God as a Heavenly Father. Instead, his wrath against sin had to be placated by unreserved obedience to King and Country and to conquer the heathen by subjection to God's earthly Empire.
Am I kidding? I wish I was!

I personally knew several English church-goers, younger as well as older than myself, who spoke of Empire being ordained of God. They thought well of William Blake's poem Jerusalem now sung as a popular hymn. But none of these things reflected the love of God as personal Saviour.
So the main point of this article is, how can I perceive God as a loving heavenly Father?

One, is to pick up a Bible and hold it in your hand. This is the main channel with which God uses to communicate with us. The Bible is a love letter from God to us. It tells us why we are born without knowing who he is, the fact of sin creating a barrier between him and us, and what God himself did to remove this barrier and reconcile us to himself.

So the fact that the Bible exists is in itself proof of God's love to mankind.

Then the contents of the Bible. In it we read that through sin we are separated from God, and left that way, the whole of mankind would spend eternity in Hell, separated from God forever. God's justice demanded this.
But because of God's love, he sent his Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Now through believing, all can have their sins washed away and be reconciled to God and enjoy his love forever.

And that leads us to why we are here. Not a product of Evolution, but created by God for the pleasure of sharing his love with us.

God is love. That is quite different to saying that God has love.
God had always enjoyed eternity past as three persons in one Godhead - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father. The Father loves the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit loves the Father. The Son loves the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit loves the Son. This interpersonal love is flawless and absolutely perfect. This makes God complete in himself, he does not need any created thing for him to love. But he created us for the purpose of sharing, or partaking in his love.
We live, we breathe, we have our being. The food we eat, the air we breathe, the heart beating are all maintained by God's love. But his greatest demonstration of his love his sending his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross to wash away our sins, and to rise again three days later.

Trusting Jesus Christ to save us cleanses us from our sins and reconciles us to God. This is the gift of salvation, a free gift of grace, which is to say, undeserved mercy. It means that instead of spending eternity separated from God in Hell, as justice demanded, the believer will enjoy God's love in his presence forever, infinite justice satisfied by the payment Christ made on the cross.

All this looks so nice on paper, or should I say, on a blog.

But in reality, much of the time I still finding it difficult realising God's love in my heart. Life is very unfair, and I must admit of my agitation over the bonuses many bankers and pen-pushing executives receive, while a drought at the Horn of Africa has put many families to starvation and suffering. In Africa, a young child cries for food, while up in Scotland a couple wins a rollover lottery jackpot of £161,000,000.
People ask, if there is a God, why so much suffering? Why so much unfairness?

But one thing I can ask: Has God himself ever suffered? The answer to that is Yes! He knows exactly what suffering was all about. And it was a twofold suffering. One was of physical pain. The pain felt while he hung on that cross. The second form of suffering was combined mental and emotional. He experience a sudden separation from his Father and the Holy Spirit for the first time in eternity. At the same time he was jeered by his enemies who surrounded him. All this because of God's love for mankind.

So despite how I feel at times, it does not change the facts.

Another demonstration of God's love is husband and wife. Paul the apostle uses this as an illustration of Christ's love for the Church. The Church is people, everyone who has trusted Jesus Christ to save them is a member of the Church, and it's open to all who have faith in Jesus.

The Bible says that the Church is the Bride of Christ, who he will present to his Father at the end of the age.

I love my wife Alex dearly. I take care of her, always making sure she is well fed and all her needs met. In no way would I wish any harm on her. That how Christ feels for his Church, only more perfect and intense. Just as Alex loves me, so the Church will grow to love Christ.

The Church is people, not the building with a steeple. That's only where Christians meet to worship. The Church is open for all believers of every nationality. God commands everyone to repent and receive the life God freely offers. God is in the business of saving, not destroying. He is building a Bride for his Son.

That where such a one as Anders Breivik got it so seriously wrong. He does not reflect the will nor the love of God. Christ will have as his Bride people of all ethnicity, black, white, Indian, Arab, Jewish, Chinese, all included, non excluded.

Something Andres Breivic would be wise to learn.