I was pondering the word αγάπη in John 3:16 and 3:19. John 3:16 says that, "God so loved the world." John 3:19 says that, "men loved darkness." The result of God's love of the world is that He sent His Son. The result of man's love of darkness is that they would not come to the light. We have here a competition of love between God and man. The Greek word and tense is the same in both verse. θεός ηγάπησεν and in verse 19 we have άνθρωποι ηγάπησεν. Will man's love for darkness trump out over God's love for men? Will God's love be enough to win the hearts of men or will man's love for darkness prevent him from being saved? The questions that I am asking hinges upon ability and desire. If God's love does not have the ability to cause men to love the light or if God's love does not carry with it a desire to turn men's heart to the light, they will be left to love darkness. If man's love for darkness is able to negate God's love then man will forever remain in the dark. Since man is shown to love the darkness more than the light what will produce in man a change? How will a God hating rebel be turned into a God loving saint?
The 21st century church claims that man must choose God. How does a man who hates the light choose to come to the light? Why would a man choose that which his soul hates? The scenario seems to be like asking a fish to choose to live on the land or asking a bird to swim the depths of the ocean floor. The only way to have such mind boggling things happen is for the nature to be changed. The only way man will ever come to God is if his nature is changed. Man needs a new heart and a new spirit and the only way this is going to happen is if God love is greater than man's love. Oh, the love of God that melts the heart of stone!
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