Larry Crabb, in his book Understanding People, goes into great detail about the inner workings of people. He first asserts that we are all made in the image of God. Because of this likeness, we follow a certain pattern for fulfillment. God exudes the same characteristics, but He is already the fulfillment of our inner longings. We bear the image of God in four ways: we deeply long for relationship with God and others, we rationally evaluate our surroundings, we feel emotions based on those thoughts and we make choices based on those feelings. (1977,p.95).
We were made for relationship. This is evident from Genesis all the way to Revelation. God created us for His divine pleasure and relationship. In the same way, we long for deep, meaningful relationship. Unfortunately, we look to meet that need in relationships other than God. When those relationships fall short, we become disappointed. We react to that sadness in two ways, we run from it and swear off relationships forever, or we jump into the first one that comes our way. In Genesis, God made everything good until one thing: “It is not good for the man to be alone…” We have been looking to fill that void ever since.
That’s where love comes in. We feel love, which comes in many forms: erotic, brotherly, love for things, love for family. That feeling compels us to reciprocate in some fashion. The problem is that when someone lacks that love they once had for whatever reason: divorce, rebellion, death, etc. they stop doing loving things for them. They allow the feeling to dictate the amount of actions. God is love. He embodies love. He does not allow action (or lack thereof) to dictate His loving actions. He calls us to love in this same way.
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