by Rex Rouis
This may sound odd, but I like God. I like everything about Him. I want to go to Heaven to be with Him, and not because I don’t want to go to Hell. I would choose Heaven even if there were no Hell. God, or anybody else, does not have to scare the Hell out of me to get me to choose Heaven. My hand goes up on its own.
I was sitting in my study couch the other day, and I say ‘in’ my couch and not ‘on’ it because that’s the kind of couch it is. I call it my nest. It is my quiet safe place. As usual, I had all my favorite Bible study things around me, and I suddenly had the thought – “I like God. I honestly like doing this.” It’s a funny thought really, liking God. I mean, why wouldn’t you like God? Sadly, many do not.
I like Him. I like his ways. I like what He likes. And, most of all, I like spending time with Him. It is the best part of my day. He is my God and my Best Friend. I think it’s amazing that I can personally interact with the God of the universe. Me, a normal guy, sitting in a normal house, can communicate freely with the one Eternal God. I just can’t fathom it. And what is even more amazing, is that He enjoys my company. I have no idea why. I have nothing to offer except my honest enjoyment of Him, but then again what else do friends need? I just appreciate His attention.
I like God. I like everything about Him.If I had the choice between God’s holy Heaven and the world’s image of a bliss-filled utopian Age of Aquarius Nirvana future, I would choose Heaven hands down. Why would I want to pretend to be a god when I can be with the real God? The world’s view of eternal goodness is similar to God’s Heaven, yet without the God of Heaven. That is shallow and empty. It is God alone that can satisfy our souls. I don’t understand how we will be able to remain satisfied for all eternity with any one thing or person. Forever is such a long, long time. But if anybody can pull it off, I’m sure God can. We will enjoy Him and what He will have for us forever.
I believe in a personal faith that can move mountains and change things in this world. Jesus taught it, and it is all over the Bible. But I also believe that at its core, the Bible is not about bringing justice or relief to this world. It is all about bringing a just people to the next world. The next life is the eternal one. The next life is the all-important one. This life is the test. The things of this life are meant to sort out those who do not like Him and do not gravitate toward Him, from those who do. Of course, God could reveal the horrors of Hell to each of us and drive us to Him, but why would He want to? God doesn’t want people who have been forced to be with Him. He wants people who desire Him.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. I Peter 2:9, 10 Berean Study Bible
The grand purpose of the Gospel is not to bring justice to this world, but instead, to choose a just people for the next world.We all have ups and downs, and sometimes we wonder why things turn out the way they do, but through it all, true believers are moving in God’s direction, and the others, in the other direction. Some people simply do not enjoy God. It’s a hard truth, but it is the truth. In this, I have a concern for worldly Christians. Most of them would rather do anything than fellowship with God. They accept Him into their heart but they don’t accept Him into their lives. If they haven’t a desire to spend time with Him now, why would they desire to spend eternity with Him later? And why would God desire to spend eternity with them? He barely knows them. There has to be more that drives a person to God than escaping Hell.
But he will say, “I really don’t know who you are! Get away from me, you evil people!” Luke 13:27 Contemporary English Version
God desires faith, and the thing about faith is that it takes time to develop. Jesus said, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine: and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31, 32). He said this to people who already believed in Him. Apparently, a superficial believing is not enough to receive from God. Hearing from God is the basis of faith (Romans 10:17), and hearing takes seeking and seeking takes time. Those that continue on with Him are the ones who hear and receive their answers. And not only do they receive answers but each time they receive something from Him they receive a little more of Him. The process of faith is the process by which we all become more like God. It is the win-win process of God, and He calls it salvation. In the end – in the eternal end – He is the real prize of faith.
“I like God. I honestly like doing this.”God is not a church and He is not a religion. He is not just the creator of the universe or the One who wrote the Bible. He is a Person. He is a Person who enjoys spending time with other persons. That is why He created lots of ‘persons’ – normal people like you and me. He created us in His image so we could relate to Him and be with Him. The purpose and goal of the Gospel is to get us to a place where we can have a special eternal friendship with Him.
So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. Hebrews 2:11 New Living Translation
Jesus is not ashamed to call us family. What a Gift. What an honor. And what a relief! We will be a Family forever. And remember, there is nothing after forever. There is nothing better than that in all the universe.
Oh, and by the way, if you were wondering, I also deeply love Him.
Comments
Hi Rex – So, I smiled. Kind of grinned when I saw the words, “I like God.” It felt easy going and welcoming. Made me want to read on… I loved the whole article. The scriptures and your writing style. You helped me to stop beating me up for sometimes “questioning” my faith. The more I’m in the Word, the more faithful to God I am. The more I am in the Word, the more I trust God and who he is in my life.
Then I read some of the comments people made about you “liking” God vs. “loving” Him. Seriously? You told one person to relax. I agree. Relax. You can tell from your article you LOVE Him. Thank you for your succinct and easy to read style. I liked it. (Maybe I even loved it…)
Diane,
Sorry that I just saw this, but I LOVED your comment. Thank you for it. It blessed me on so many levels. Your ‘succinct and easy to read style’ statement blessed my socks off. That is exactly what I work hard to do – fun but serious and very approachable.
Love you, and God bless you. Rex
I LOVE GOD NOT LIKE
I enjoyed the dialogue about loving God for who he is to us..
I love this! Just the simplicity of loving God and the people who love and adore Him!
Beautiful post. Thank you so much.
Your Comment * what a lovely and unfeigned writeup, keep the fire burning sir
I love God. I want to be with him for eternity. I want to faithfully walk with him here on earth.
Often times I feel stuck, but I believe he will show me which way to go. I pray for discipline to study scripture so I may know Him better and more. I pray for the courage and the strength to go the way He leads.
I want to be with him and not just escape hell. I love my Father.
I absolutely understand what you are saying and have no problem with the intention. However, you set up a false dichotomy between bringing justice on earth and God choosing a just people for the next world by referring to our destiny as “Heaven”. The idea that we are intended for a disembodied heaven is Gnostic and not biblical.
The biblical witness says that we are destined for life with God on a renewed earth – 2 Peter 3:13 “we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells”. This vision is not set in opposition to the call for the people of God to be righteous/just, but is the ultimate context for it. We are to be righteous/just because we are destined for a new creation which is defined as the dwelling place of righteousness.
Revelation ends with the vision of the heavenly city coming down out of heaven to earth – and we are specifically told that the dwelling place of God will be with humanity – not the other way about. Jesus was resurrected into bodily existence – yes, a “spiritual” body, but not a ghostly one – and we are destined to be like him, persons resurrected into transformed bodily existence on a transformed new earth.
Of course, our ultimate destiny in Christ is a totally restored relationship with God and there is a sense that eternal life is nothing other than that relationship. But God created us as embodied creatures and salvation means the restoration and completion of God’s original intention, not its abandonment for a disembodied existence in “heaven.” Of course, many people use “heaven” to encompass a wider vision which includes our bodily resurrection and the existence of the new heavens and new earth; if that it the case in this instance, then I apologise. However, too many people speak simply of “going to heaven” as the full description of our eternal destiny, without taking into account the full biblical witness. For more information see “A New Heaven and a New Earth” by J. Richard Middleton.
To be clear, I am a Trinitarian, Bible-believing evangelical and have gained these views from Scripture, not from the cults, etc.
Karoly – Thank you for your comments. I too believe in a physical new Kingdom as you reference in 2 Peter 3:13 (it is also in Rev 21, 22). See this article – A City Filled with Overcomers. I speak of ‘going to Heaven’ as the common vernacular. Our time in Heaven is an interim time. Also, I do not understand where you get the ‘bringing justice to earth’ thought. I don’t believe that the Gospel is about bringing justice to earth, but rather, for choosing a just people for the next earth. We love you. Rex
Yes, our Wonderful Heavenly Father has given us everything that we need and much more then we ever deserve – HIS one and only son – Jesus Christ, who is our PRECIOUS Lord and Saviour….HalleluJAH, BLESSED BE HIS Holy name forever and ever
AMEN and AMEN
Szia
I love You JESUS xoxoxoxooxo
xxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
YOU WERE MEANT TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART ALL YOUR STRENGTH AND ALL YOUR SOUL. HE IS YOUR ALL SUFFICIENCY HE WHO HOLDS YOUR SOUL IN HIS HANDS YOU LIKE HIM????
Jayane – I just understood your comment. Of course, I love Him, with my whole heart. But I also like Him and I like being with Him. Rex
I still do not understand you using “like” to describe your feelings or any feelings associated with Jesus as “like”. I Love ice-cream I can not describe my feelings towards ice-cream as “like” I can eat tons and tons and never get fed up. If I liked it Yes I would eat my fill, but I would not eat it all the time. I can eat ice cream anytime and all the time because I Love it. I love my son and sometimes I like him and sometimes I don’t But I LOVE HIM.
It really hurts me to hear you describe any feelings towards Jesus as “like”. I THOUGHT EVERYONE LOVED HIM.
well Those that are His own.
Joan – Relax, of course, I deeply love Him, and I love spending time with Him. But we say that all the time and I honestly don’t know what we really mean by it. We say we love Him but we don’t spend much time with Him, or we don’t love all of the things He loves.
I just wanted to say it in a different way that might speak to people about how they look at Him and what they think about the things He likes. I like/love sitting and talking with my Divine Best Friend every day.
I love you too, and I like hearing from you. Rex
“If I had the choice between God’s holy Heaven and the world’s image of a bliss filled utopian Age of Aquarius Nirvana future, I would choose Heaven hands down. ”
THAT PART!! YES INDEED!
Gretchen – Thank you so much for your kind words. We love God and we love you. Rex
Rex,
You go ahead on and preach this word! This was one of the most inspiring posts I have ever read. I LIKE GOD TOO! I GET A KICK OUT OF HIS BLAZING GLORY AND FAITHFULNESS! HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER! I love this site and just wanted to encourage you to keep the faith and keep up the good work for the Father in Jesus name. I mean this confession and profession of faith blessed me. Let me tell you Rex:
I was unemployed. Educated and didn’t have money to buy my next meal, but God fed me my daily bread, paid my bills and kept me warm and safe. I lacked nothing with the exception of paper in my bill fold. God is a God of MIRACALES. How I was unemployed and remained housed with lights, gas a car and health insurance is by the grace of God. I, in the vain of my favorite preacher man R.W. Shambach, said to the devil YOU WILL NOT STEAL MY JOY NO MATTER. I HAVE NO JOB, BUT I GOT A MOUTH AND I WILL PRAISE AND PRAY. I did and you know how the story goes with our Father. I am typing this from my office. Your girl, again, was given a job, not just a job, but the opportunity for a career change after 40!! I was turned down so many times I cried and told God I must have some sin or something I am missing. He said keep praising me. I arose early for 6 months, with no where to go because all of my child support went to bills in my state of unemployment. I was sad and becoming discouraged, but God said praise me for it. I did to. I decided to get relentless in getting my joy back. Jobs come and go, but the joy of the Lord will always be my strength. I tell you he had me sitting for 6 months to bring me to a place that I cannot be moved. He even had people who had turned me down for positions call me back and ask would I consider the position now. God prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies. God is faithful. It may take a day or a year, but keep trusting him. Praise him in adversity and the payout is gold. REAL GOLD, not where the moth and dust corrupt. God can make an empty gas tank run like it was full. I am a witness! Be blessed!
Gretchen, I can’t tell you what an encouragement your reply to Rex’s “I Like God!” article was and is for me – it was masterfully written from a clean, redeemed heart. Hope I get to thank you in person, sometime down through Eternity … or next week would be fine, too! 😉 God bless you and CONGRATS on your new job! God is no respecter of persons, and I’m looking forward to the wonderful new job that your Father and my Father creates for me! I HALLAL HIM!
Rebecca Rose
Love you Rex your message is powerful.
Dear All, my 45 year old son is looking for a job. He was 2 chapters away from having his Ph.D at Regent University when he ran out of loan money. For a few years he got off track and, I think through depression and fatigue and during those years got 2 DUIs in Tn. He has done jobs which require him to work 60 and 70 hours a week for years at the lowest pay level and can’t seem to “get a break” with a decent company because of his record. Now, one is available but others are also being considered. He is intelligent, hard working and doing everything he can to get this and other jobs. Please pray with me about this. He is supposed to get an answer about the job this week or Monday at the latest. He worked there for 3 weeks in a temporary position and has 2 supervisors “batting” for him. They told him he did the job “almost perfectly,” and really want him to have a full-time position. Please pray that God will grant him favor with this other supervisor and bless him with this job. He has tried so hard. I appreciate your prayers so very much. Thank you, Rex, for all your encouraging words. I read sections every day of your work and Love the Lord with all my heart. Thank you for being here for me. I have leukemia, but, I’ll be just fine. Thank you for your prayers. God bless you all. Kate.
Kate – Father we reach into Heaven on behalf of Kate’s son. We are agreeing and believing for the supernatural favor of God to lay on him in Jesus Name. We thank you for the mercy and grace of God all over him and his situation. We speak a profound blessing on him in Jesus Name. We also speak peace and wisdom on all his dealings and negotiations on the new job in Jesus Name. There is an attractive pull on him that is irresistible. He will get this job with good pay in Jesus Name.
Kate, we love you and we speak healing to your body in Jesus Name. I curse any and all discomfort in Jesus Name. You ‘have been’ healed by the power of God in Jesus’ Name and in His blood.
We love you and we love your successful and fulfilled son in Jesus Name!! Rex
Kate!
Tell him to begin thanking God for his position. Have him make a list of things he wants that are probably impossible to get and ask God for them. Praise and worship God as though he has the job. God kept me unemployed for just over 6 months. If I had taken another position, I wouldn’t be in the enriched, career driven, Christians in the office praising God office I am in now. Tell him waiting is not a “no”, just a “not right now”. I am a witness. I just began work THIS MONDAY. I thought God was punishing me and he was making me build faith, character, determination and TOTAL reliance on HIM. I used my child support to pay bills and keep a roof over our heads, etc, but some days there was little food. I had NEVER been in the position that I was in 6 months ago. But there is a God in Heaven that never sleeps nor slumbers and he has the job preparing for you and waiting. Praise God for the job. He has plans for us, and they are good. Hold on! <3
Rex, you have inspired me. I had that zest to attend church every Sunday and loved visiting other churches. Lately I got depressed and stopped enjoying almost all things, but I still attend Church. It is my safe haven. I am asking all to pray for me as the spirit of depression and anxiety moves out of me. In Jesus’ Great Name! AMEN!
I love the simplicity of this. This is how the gospel should be seen. It pulls a chord in me. God bless you. Thank You Lord.
Ndidi – Thank you. His plan is simple and elegant. God bless you. We love you. Rex
I have learned the hard way and over time to like God and desire heaven just as you have described. I loved reading what you wrote. It goes straight to where my heart is today. Praise God for being my best friend too!
Thanks for the post! I Love God and all His Children!
Thank you Rex, you vocalized my feelings so accurately! I love God! I like being with Him! He makes me happy! I want nothing more, than to be with Him! He is everything to me!
Love from Texas
Evie Rice
Thank you Rex. So happy to see a new post. I hope you are doing great.
Love you Rex and stay strong in your love for God. You have no idea how this site has helped me over the years. Practically built my Christianity from scratch. Thanks. May the Lord bless you and all the readers of this God inspired site.
Michael – Oh my God. I did not see your note. I am so happy. God bless you. We love you. Rex
Yes; I love God too. It is interesting to see how I got from being Christian in name only to being ardently Christian. I believe that many things helped me along the way, but none so much as praise music. It seems like music put passion into my friendship with God. I sing, and I have taken on the spirit of the songs I listen to and sing. I stopped listening to rock, which is what I grew up with. It serves no purpose compared to praise music.
I see myself in this. I grew up without real love for music, but then rock music came along, thank God, he took me out of that ditch too. Wooooooow, I thank You Bro Rex, that is a tremendous PIECE, Wooooow. I pray for such a longing for God, God bless you Bro.
Thank u and God bless you
Glad to see you back again Rex.
Thank you for writing about our relationship with God in this perspective.
Agreed! I remember the day I realzed what a privilege it is to be able to worship God and I am so thankful for it. Blessings