Some men would object, "Does not God love everyone?" A proper response to this is, yes of course. All of mankind is created in the image of God. God, in view of Himself must love all of mankind. Not for mankind's own sake, but because God loves Himself and must therefore love the creatures that bear His image. Again, He loves the Him within mankind, not mankind itself.
The whole idea may sound cold to some, but a question must be asked of those who object to this idea: What about mankind makes us worthy of God's love? We have already answered this: God's love for Himself and the existence of Himself within mankind is the only thing making them worthy. Anyone who objects to this may search endlessly for any quality in sinful man worthy of God's love.
Would it not be logical to say that God would have to dishonour Himself by loving something lower than Him with no rhyme or reason behind His love? God would irrationally love finite creatures despite the unoworthy nature of their sinful existence. Some will say, "You are contradicting the mercy of God! He gives not based on merit!" This is true, with respect to His grace, not His love. Love is seeking the beheld thing's ultimate good. God perfectly loves and honors Himself by seeking His ultimate good which includes saving sinners through the redemptive work of His only Son. Mercy comes into play when we view the worthiness of man receiving a perfect sacrifice in his place. Man deserves hell and Christ paid the price for him; that is mercy. However, we are speaking of God's love for His creatures in this section. To which we have already concluded that there is nothing within man worthy of God's love.
To love something also means you have an intense desire for it or attraction to it. That is how this section should be understood in reference to the word love.
NEXT:
PART TEN: Longing For Christ
