I didn’t have much time to write last time, I but I wanted to get something out quick, since that what I did say was not at all what I was intending to get out. But I wanted to add this.
James 4:6 “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble”
Prov 3:34 “He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed”
When you are prideful and take care of your needs first, or don’t thank God for what He gave you, you are actually going against God Himself. When you are humble, realize that we are nothing without Him, and we have nothing without Him, realize that others are more important than you.
Phil 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,”
That is why Jesus washed His disciples feet. I don’t think Jesus wasn’t thinking “Oh man, I hate washing feet, this is below me, but I will do it out of ‘love’”.
I do think Jesus was thinking “I value their needs above my own, for humility glorifies my Father, therefore, I will wash there feet.”
Col 3:7
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
1 Cor 10:31
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
Though I do believe that God can be changed, His mind is changed quite a few times in the scriptures after pleading. It reminds me of my kinds, and I change my mind sometimes. I don’t think God is caught off guard or responding in fear, but I do think He is a personal God who does change His mind. I don’t think His ultimate will, will be changed, but the minutia could be. My kid is still going to school in the morning, but if they want to change their outfit, and there is time, and they are persistent and polite about it, I might let them change outfits.
I never meant to imply that. But if we are to become our own gods, then that is to say that He does not exist. This is why it was the 1st commandment, to have no other gods before Him…including us.
We know He is jealous for us, and our love. Rightly jealous, like a husband should be for his wife. This isn’t the Hollywood jealousy of distrust and paranoia. Rather when we speak our vows, we are saying that our intimate love belongs to each other, and no one else.
"Exodus 6:6-7 I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.
I will bring you out
I will redeem you
I will rescue you
I will take you as my own
When a Israelite audience heard those phrases, they weren’t just thinking rescue. But those were the four phrases used in an Israelite marriage vow.
God is calling out His bride. That is why the 1st commandment is have no other God but me, I’m a jealous God. He wants our affection, your mine and only mine."
He doesn’t need our love, He doesn’t need our glory or praise, but He deserved our love, and He deserves all glory and praise.
I don’t want to make this one too long, but I’m not sure if I believe this any more. You can refer to this thread There was no fall (almost) - #15 by still_learning for more discussion on that topic.
He is using two different analogies here. One, is to show humans, that we should not think of one as more deserving or better than the other, we are all God’s children, all having different jobs/lives, all equally important.
The other analogy is speaking of roles in a way we can comprehend.
God needs us like the Mona Lisa or Lamborghini (insert any beautiful peace of art/design greatly admired) needs it’s admirers. It would be a shame for those things to be created, and have no one know about them or be able to appreciate them. BUT, if no one knew about them, they are still the most beautiful and impressive feats, the car still produces 1000hp.
God is so amazing and deserves so much praise and glory, humans and the universe had to be made, for people to realize and appreciate who He is. BUT, God would still be everything He is if humans had not been made, it just wouldn’t have been as known of proclaimed. Though I am sure every angel who did know God would still be praising Him for all long as they existed, His face would still have been impossibly glorious to look upon.
God is invisible/unknowable. Like a child playing hide-and-go-seek. They want to be found, they want you to struggle slightly (which kind of shows them how bad you want to find them), but they ultimately want to be found. God is the same way, He wants to be found, He gives us hints and glimpse of Him. Ultimately revealing Himself to us in flesh at one point. But we can’t know of see Him because He is too much for us to handle, but He still wants us to find Him and seek Him.
But He does not need us. He is immortal, immortal beings don’t need feet, or hands, or any bodily form, they just are, they exist. “I AM, who I AM”.
You had me…until you said “available to those who reciprocate”. Just like God had Hosea marry a harlot, who didn’t reciprocate his love, but Hosea was to still love her. This is to demonstrate that God loves us, no matter how unfaithful we are. He can’t not love us, He is love.
I was just trying to lighten the environment a bit.
Let me try to re-word that. God created our purpose to give Him glory, we can only do this when we allow Him to live through us. We have two sides pulling at war. Needs of the flesh, and needs of the spirit. the flesh is temporary, a vessel on earth evolved. And the spirit is eternal, it is from God (this original blessing). We have a yearning inside us to allow Him to live through us (the eternal spiritual side), and when we don’t, we feel empty and unsatisfied (living for the temporary flesh side). We, like the Tower of Babel, try to “make a name for ourselves” as opposed to giving God the glory and trying to make His name known.
We are putting our fleshly needs before what our spiritual needs are. Maybe that is better than saying putting our needs before His. And in that, we are making flesh more important than our spirit. The flesh loves success, power, pride, the spirit loves God, and is manifested as joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self control, humility, submission, praise of God. These attributes are fruits of the spirit, they come from us putting God first. We can’t try to be loving, we will fail, the law shows us this, the flesh is weak. We can’t try to be humble, we will fail. The only way to achieve these fruits, is through God, God brings about the fruits in us. That is what I mean by all good things come from God.