He Loves Me.

Book Review.

Jacobsen, Wayne. He Loves Me. Learning to live in the Father’s affection. Windblown Media. 2007
W.J.-author of numerous books on spiritual intimacy and relational church life. An interesting book of his written under the penname Jake Colsen is: ‘So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore’.

Comment. Henry
The author has tackled a very important part of the equation that describes our relationship with our Lord, i.e. our love for God. We know much about God’s love for us but we (I) don’t do nearly as well with the challenge of our (my) love for Him. I think this is an inspiring resource.

“The pull of religion can be far stronger than the freedom of relationship.” (12) Our perception of God’s love is too often based on interpretation of our circumstances and experiences, positive and/or negative. The author calls this “daisy petal Christianity”. (17) It has been God’s plan from the beginning to be in relationship with man (woman). Jesus modeled this relationship with his disciples. “We must not let the abuse of others keep us from the reality God offers us.” (29)

To focus on the reality of hell to motivate people to ‘accept’ salvation seriously undermines the understanding and appreciation of God and his offer of eternal life motivated by love. When we take a closer look at the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son we begin to understand the love of our heavenly Father. We must not create a “favor line” (60) with God.

Wanting to compensate God for his mercy is futility. Our motivation to serve must be God’s love and affection not our desire and even drivenness to please and be recognized for our services. It is a mistake to approach God on the basis of our own efforts. Fear can bring momentary reformation but not life-long transformation.

Jesus’ post-resurrection conversation with Peter illustrates an amazing truth. God wants us to love him. Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom but loving God is the end. It is absolutely crucial for us to love God (command number one) however he has given us the freedom of choice in this matter.

God’s wrath is against sin, wherever it is found. Sin in our lives will cause us to feel forsaken by God. Feeling forsaken does not mean that we are forsaken.

“There are two ways to hide from God’s love- rebellion and religion.” (151) Religion is keeping score and God is not into keeping score. In a Father/child relationship score-keeping is irrelevant. It does not depend on performance. Grace does mean that sin does not have consequences.

Trusting God is not a passive activity. “We only grow in trust at moments of extremity.” (168) We have been provided with the resources to practice “shame-free living”. (177) (No condemnation.)

Love accepts and supports. It does focus primarily on fixing. If we truly love God we will be provided the resources to keep his commands. Our prayers should always focus on the glory of God rather than on our personal needs and desires.

Living in God’s love is not the result of an intellectual argument or a correct theology. We need to learn to “live loved- to awaken to each new day confident that the Father delights over you (me) like a parent over a newborn child”. (196) Praying for and being open to continual revelations of his love will help us to respond in love. Expect experiences of Jesus making himself known. Look and plan for times where you feel one on one with the Lord. Share your experiences.