Truth to fight that old Lie and that old Liar .......... Parables 688

October 31, 2000

My old friend walked into the crowded room without looking at anyone. His expression was beyond despair; a hopeless blank daze. His face was swollen, as if he had been crying for weeks. I’d not seen him for a long time yet as I went to him, I wondered what to say.

After a greeting, I asked about his health. He said he was not well but that was not his biggest problem. “It’s depression. I don’t think God loves me. I’ve been raised from a child not to believe it. I know in my head that I am wrong, but that doesn’t help.”

Recognizing severe depression and my own helplessness regarding a ‘quick fix,’ I thanked him for telling me his need, and told him I would pray against that lie. I am praying and it is a lie. God does love us. His Word says so and He proved it.

Besides that, God exposes the liar who challenges His love. In the New Testament, Jesus names him. He is a spiritual character called Satan or the devil. The Son of God called this person “a liar” and the “father of lies.”

In other words, every lie originates with him, beginning with his destructive work in the garden of Eden. There, finding Eve alone, he convinced her to do what God had forbidden by suggesting that God had not given the command at all, and even if He did, it was because He was withholding something desirable from her. In a few words, Satan insinuated that God gave His commands for His own reasons, that He is selfish, that He is not thinking about what is good for us, and that He does not love us.

At that accusation, Eve doubted God’s love for her and immediately disobeyed His one command. She encouraged her husband to do the same. Together, they became alienated from God, not just because they disobeyed but because they thought He no longer loved them.

In one way, this story is repeated in marriages, family relationships and friendships. One person in the relationship thinks the other no longer loves them. Even if it is a lie, the very idea of love gone cold drives a wedge between them. One or both begin to withdraw. One may try to win the other person back or do things to earn or deserve love. What was once a loving relationship becomes something quite different.

On the other hand, knowing someone loves you, no matter what you do, is a powerful force. For one thing, it sets people free to be themselves. All pretense disappears. The true personality begins to rise to the surface. Honesty happens. So does humility and thanksgiving. In spite of what could be negative, being loved actually brings out the best in someone rather than encouraging them to their worst. The love of God is like that.

God’s love is unconditional. The Bible says “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possible dare to die. God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The love of God also never ends. Jeremiah 33:11 says, “Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever.” Others may give up; God does not.

The love of God is for everyone. Jesus said these familiar words, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Whosoever is a big word.

My friend is walking proof that we need the love of God. We need to know it, be convinced of it, and allow it to permeate our lives. That love lifts our sense of worth, tells us we are accepted, sets us free to grow and love God and others in return, and even adds to our health.

In contrast, the lie says: “You have to earn the love of God, and look at you . . . your life is a mess. You can’t do anything right.” It says, “God’s love has limits” or “He only loves certain people,” or “Obeying His commands is harmful, not beneficial.” The lie can even make us ill.

Truth says our lives may be a mess or we cannot do many things right, but despite the shape we are in, God says we do not earn or deserve His love, although we do need it. In grace and mercy, He freely offers His love and His love helps us resist the lie and gladly receive His truth, enabling us to respond as all lovers respond to someone who is utterly devoted to them.