What does it mean that God loves me? What form does His love take in my life? And in our collective life as a congregation? No human can ever totally understand the breadth and depth of God's love, but do I have at least a partially correct acquaintance with it? Try these questions:
Where do I look for the most certain sign of God's love? At my bank statement? At my child's report card? At my spouse? At my medical report? At the cross?
If I'm poor, sick, uneducated, or lonely, does that mean that God doesn't love me as much? Or that I've done something to prevent His love from blessing me?
What does God promise? What does God not promise?
The questions above point to two competing views of God; they are labeled "the theology of the Cross" and "the theology of glory" and learning the difference between the two can help us clarify our thinking about God.
The theology of glory say that God's ways can generally be understood by human reason; that God's favor is manifested in the circumstances of life, in particular, life's successes and victories, in health and happiness; and that God is pleased by sincere human effort.
The theology of the Cross says that God's ways are paradoxical and hidden to human reason - we cannot understand God - we can only worship the mystery; God's favor is manifested in Jesus, in particular, His suffering, death, and resurrection - Jesus is God's gift to us, and His love for us; God is pleased only by Jesus, and Jesus advocates for us.
If we buy into the theology of glory, then when suffering comes our way (as individuals or as a congregation), we will face a crisis of faith - because God has promised that we will suffer in this life. He never promised us a rose garden; He never promised us that "victorious living" meant that we would not endure pain of all types and magnitudes. He did, however, promise that He would be with us as we suffer, with His Spirit and His Love.
