Inclined to Us - Part 2

After reading the previous post, most believers would agree with the concept that in general God loves His children and is inclined toward them. Many readers, however, would still protest regarding their own personal situations. They might say something like, "That's all well and good for church leaders and admirable Christians, but I'm not that. I've messed up too badly or too often. God doesn't love me that much." Such a protest cannot nullify the reality of God's positive inclination toward His children. It does not change the fact that a loving God wants a special relationship with "mediocre" and "failed" Christians as well.

There are plenty of Bible stories to support this truth. After David's sins of adultery and murder, he admitted, "I have sinned against the LORD," and Nathan the prophet responded, "The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die." (II Samuel 12:13). God forgave David, continued to use him, and called him a man after His heart.

Rahab the harlot simply admitted her fear of God and confessed, "The LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath" (Joshua 2:11). On that simple confession, God spared her and her family when He destroyed the rest of Jericho.

Nebuchadnezzar had refused to acknowledge God and became like a beast. When he humbled himself and "blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him," God was inclined to him. Nebuchadnezzar's "majesty and splendor were restored," he gained new respect and power, and "surpassing greatness was added" to him (Daniel 4:34&36).

These are just a few of many examples of God's readiness to turn to and embrace even those who have been far from Him. Whether that distance was due to profound ignorance of God or great sin against Him, these stories do not reveal that God was waiting to pounce on them and destroy them. Not at all. If God were vindictive, cruel, and demanding, He had ample reason to abandon or eliminate these people. Instead He accepted them, blessed them, and restored them to service.

God expresses His heart of loving inclination toward the wayward in both the Old and New Testaments. "And My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (II Chronicles 7:14). "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).

These are not the responses of a God who is scrutinizing to see the minutest error - who is waiting for the slightest excuse to abandon or punish - who is trying to rid Himself of troublesome people. By contrast, God is willing to put up with great offences and exhibit extreme patience for the opportunity to once again embrace those who have strayed. Over and over He has shown His willingness to restore at the slightest step on the part of His children. God doesn't require years of penance, substantiated proof, or great displays of extreme brokenness. He simply wants His children to turn humbly to Him. Regardless of what they have done or been in the past, His desire is to receive them all.

Lest anyone think these stories represent a few select people to whom God is loving, forgiving, and positively inclined, God purposefully reveals His heart desire and intention for restoration. Jesus stated these tender words to those who had rejected God: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling" (Matthew 23:37).

In the Old Testament, the story found in the Song of Solomon reveals the passionate and steadfast love that God has for His children. After a sometimes shallow and rocky beginning, the beloved has become the bride in chapter four; at the end of the chapter she declares her complete and willing surrender to her husband and her selfless abandon to fulfill his pleasure.

Shockingly, chapter five opens with her rejection of her husband's advances. She has shut him out and does not immediately respond when he seeks her. When she repents and goes out seeking him, she tells others how special he is. The townspeople's questions cause her to realize where she must go to find him.

As chapter six opens, she goes to that place that they have so often been together, and, sure enough, he is right there waiting for her. He is not waiting in anger or sullen displeasure. He does not avoid her or make her grovel. All he wanted was for her to seek him again, and his response is to overflow with declarations of love.

In the New Testament, the story designed by God to illustrate His loving inclination toward man is that of the prodigal son. This son grew up in a place where he was well provided for. He selfishly rejected his loving home and demanded wealth that was not yet his. He then squandered his resources by living in reckless abandon and the pursuit of pleasure, without a single thought for the home he had left. Then in desperation, he found himself at the bottom. He remembered his home and decided to return.

His father did not make him work as a servant as the son suggested. The father did not make him pay back the money he had taken. The father did not reject his son, scold him, or even require him to prove himself before he was received back into the household. Instead, the father ran to his son as soon as he saw him. He hugged him, kissed him, gave him gifts, threw a great feast, and gladly received him again.

These pictures wonderfully reveal the heart of God toward even His inconsistent and rebellious children if they will turn to Him. His is a heart overflowing with love, ready to embrace, anxious to forgive, and waiting to take back into His arms. This does not mean there will be no consequences or effects from the waywardness, and unfortunately the time lost cannot be regained, but God's heart is open to receive.

It is also important to realize that God knows the sincerity of the heart. The book of Malachi talks about people who gave an outward appearance of worship and godliness. God was not deceived, and He was repulsed by their emptiness. In Psalm 78:34, God's people appeared to turn back to Him, but their repentance was false (vs. 36-37). God knew their heart was not sincere; even so, He held His judgment for a time and gave them the opportunity to be true to Him (v. 38). Can there be any doubt that a God so gracious and longsuffering has a loving heart that is inclined toward His children? Can there be any doubt of His positive intention and disposition toward His own?

"That they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." Acts 17:27 (NASB)