Returning again to God enjoying His creation. He cannot love us for us, but rather He loves Himself perfectly, and in turn loves us for the image of Him that He has stamped on us. We only show a dim glimmer of God, so it only naturally follows that His love for us is not as full as His love for Himself. The closer we draw to God the more like Him we become, which only leads to more of Him in us to be loved by Him.
Some would say the joy He receives from us is a flaw in His character, placing some level of dependancy on His joy from our existence. But again we must see, He does not take joy in us, but rather in the existence of Him in us. It's only logical to see why He has a special love for man; we bear His image. God loves His whole creation, but it would be ludicrous to say He loves a spider as much as an infant or a tiger as much as a man. Mankind is made in the image of God, therefore there is more of God in mankind to be loved by God. He looks at animals and sees His glory in the creative, complex, and harmonic aspect of them, but they are not in His image.
It only then follows that His love for His children is even stronger. They have been transformed, given a new heart, and now strive to be like Christ. This gives even more of God to be within a man to be loved by God; He sees His image but also sees twinkles of Christ's character in us. What a special love He must have for His children! How that love must grow and intensify the more we die to self and become more like Christ.
NEXT:
PART EIGHT: God's Love For His Creation Part 2
