My Deepest Question for God
I’ve spent years studying theology.
Read more books than I could ever remember.
I’ve served people around the world.
And I’ve sat with untold numbers of people as they wrestle through their life’s complications and unknowings.
All along the way, I’ve tried to tell people that God loved them.
Told them that there is redemption available…for them and their circumstance.
Explained that there is a bigger story going on in the world that helps make sense of the one they are living.
I have learned enough to know the answers that make sense.
That God loves you…loves me…and forgives us all.
A benevolent God…a great God.
And we worship with our lives together.
But there is a lingering question…a haunting question that holds me back from full freedom.
Perhaps you’ve heard the whispers of this question too.
You see…I know God loves me.
It’s His job, right?
History, Art, and Bible verses have been echoing this version of God’s job description for ages.
But in all of His magnanimous work in history…
In centuries of shining light into the darkness of our world…
Over ages of intervening on behalf of humankind…
There is a simpler question wanting to be heard…an unrelenting question that lurks in the deepest well of my heart…
…does God Like me?
If you answered quickly…you are more confident than I have been most of my life.
In fact, there has been no greater quest in my life than to track down this answer.
And no greater challenge than to believe the answer I found.
Believing that God likes you changes everything.
It changes the nature of our relationship.
The way you interact with God’s Spirit in you and in the world.
It changes the motivations of your heart.
Frees you from the pressures to perform for the Almighty.
He LIKES you.
In our younger years of school, we understood liking someone long before we thought about loving them.
Do you remember at recess sending a friend over to the girl or boy that had captured your attention and having them ask, on your behalf, whether the other might like you?
That moment of waiting.
That is the question that lingered most in my life.
I looked to everyone I could think of to convince God on my behalf…
Parents, pastors, friends of faith and broken souls…
Does He like me…?
When that question is offered, the words that come next will mean far less than the look on the face being asked.
When your heart’s deepest question is whispered into their ear…does the question evoke a raised brow of uneasiness?
Or…as you watch…and feel the butterflies in your stomach…
Do they break out into a wide smile when they hear the question.
Does the other immediately glance your way and giggle with glee.
I have never known anyone with a heartbeat able to contain their own smile when they can feel the ‘like’ of the one their heart longs to be connected with looking their way.
My dear, dear friend….God likes you.
He feels your liking Him back.
His heart leaps when you speak to Him.
His eyes sparkle watching you play.
His joy is magnified in your life’s dreams emerging.
He likes you.
And it changes everything.
About Jeff Blackburn
Jeff Blackburn is a Spiritual Coach and passionate Truth-Seeker. An alumnus of Oxford University, Jeff is someone who advocates for Freedom and Fullness of Life for All. He believes Jesus offers good news for people everywhere today…not just eternity. Jeff is the Executive Director of Fearless Questions, Inc. and has spent the past 20 years working with people searching for God.
What about Lucifer? I know God loves Lucifer, but do you think he likes him? Or perhaps is it just Lucifer’s actions that God doesn’t like?
What a great question Salvatore! First…I’m honestly not sure what the answer to that is. What I can do is offer a few thoughts that came up for me when considering your question.
First, I always like to know if this is a hypothetical question or one that is genuinely important to you in your life in some particular way? In my studies, I have gone down many a long discussion on theological hypotheticals…and they can be helpful discussions, but if it isn’t rooted in a practical wondering, I find it’s a less useful practice. It’s ok either way…it’s just helpful to know what kind of discussion we are having 🙂
As a general thought, I would say that I was initially limiting my discussion of God ‘liking’ us to human beings. That said, I can see where any of God’s creation might fall under that category on some level…although the nature of the relationship may not operate under the same relational dynamics.
Additionally, I find it helpful to consider what God’s ‘feeling’ towards people who have ‘messed-up’ or ‘sinned’. I’ve come to believe that as a loving God who genuinely ‘likes’ the ‘child’, the response is one of heartbreak and sadness that we have missed out on the best of life that is available for us and for the loss of the people affected by our decisions. This doesn’t dissolve responsibility or consequence for the person at fault, but it does mean that our connection to God is not at risk.
Would that same principle be at work with a ‘fallen angel’? Hmmm…I’ll have to do some more reading on that one 🙂
Thanks for getting me thinking today!
There was a time in my life where I believed God hated me. Over time I have accepted his love, but does he like me? What a great question.
Thank you for sharing so honestly MaryEllen. And yes…I’ve come to believe the ‘like’ question is much bigger than most people realize. For what it’s worth…I ‘Like’ you! (p.s. anyone reading who is looking for insights into finding financial freedom…go check out MaryEllen’s blog where she is running a book giveaway over the next few days! http://maryellenmiller.com/book-giveaway/
Fun. An enjoyable read Jeff.
My deepest question for God has two parts to it. And I suspect that means yours does too. I know in talking to broken souls, and being a broken soul, the question “Do I even like myself?” needed to be honestly answered too otherwise I still couldn’t get out of Self to feel what God feels. And to answer “Do I like myself?” so deeply as to understand “myself” in the big picture of being humanity on the whole. Not just “me”.
This requires I honestly face the question, “If God loves & likes me, why is he killing me?” (The answer, of course, being, “Because I’m killing myself one bad decision after another.”)
For decades people tried telling me “God loves you!” but I couldn’t “get it” because I didn’t love me and I couldn’t truly see what the problem was let alone how to correct it. I had to start learning to become deeply and completely truthful in order to start breaking through the barrier between God and I. None of us truly admires a liar. But truthfulness commands respect, and when we become truthful we tear our own temple veil in two from top to bottom like God did in his temple for us.
Not to take away from what you’re saying, but likely in your work you met with many who could hear you verbalizing “God loves you!” yet you could see they couldn’t feel what you were feeling because they didn’t know how to become honest about the fact they don’t even like themselves. Being able to confess our sins one to another infinitely matters.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful response Travis. I love your observation of how important honesty is to our ability to move forward. It’s hard to get to where we hope to go if we won’t let our deepest questions and hopes take voice.
Wow! I love this, Jeff! Because while I always love my husband and children, I don’t always LIKE them! But God always likes us!
Yeah…it really has been a game changer for me in all my relationships as well. Thanks Kathy.
Love this and like this too, Jeff! What a great question to ask. I’ve never thought about it until now, actually. So true we know God loves us and we are called to love our neighbors, but do we like them? Glad God likes us, what an encouraging word.
Great reminder about our neighbors! Thanks Doris.
Needed this, my man. Thanks for grounding a brotha inside our faith.
You’re welcome David!
Love vs. like…it’s similar to the statement blood is thicker than water, and I think it crosses everyone’s mind once in a while. It is in our friendships, family relationships, marriages, and in the relationship we have with our maker. Does He love me? Does He like me? Both? That’s a meaty question. One worth healthy investigation.
Really is worth the investigation…I agree Nicole 🙂