All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
DOES GOD HAVE FAVORITES?
Does God have favorites? Do some people seem to have much easier lives than others? This seems to be true. However, I wonder if it is actually true.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dong E on
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hi childofgod1994,
your thoughts are very very nice....thnx very much for sharing.
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Permalink Reply by Rita Cullimore on
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Child.
What a GREAT analogy! Thank you for sharing it!
Rita
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Permalink Reply by RoxChelseaGilmore on
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No I think he loves every single person he loves probably even my tutor Anne and Mike
and my mum and dad
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Permalink Reply by AAG Netguy on
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When we experience trouble and hardship in life, our first thought is often that God must be ignoring us, or that he likes someone else better or that he hates us, but what is the Bible's teaching on this subject?
Apart from the nice analogy by "Childofgod" above, the Bible teaches very clearly in Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11, Ephesians 6:9 and Colossians 3:25 that "God does not show favoritism". When it comes to his children, there is not one he likes better than another. Read the Old Testament book of Job and you will see that even though Job was a righteous man who feared God, God allowed his life to be a living hell on earth for a time, because God willed it to be so.
There is a false teaching going about that if God loves you he must make your life go smoothly, that you will never have problems and that you will be financially prosperous. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus said, "In this world you will have TROUBLE" (John 16:33). And he said this to his closest followers, the ones who really loved him and he loved in return!
Consider the Apostle Paul. Here was a man who was completely dedicated to God and risked his life many times over for the sake of Christ. Here is what he wrote:
To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. 1 Cor 4:11-13
So, brother, while some people may have much either lives than others at any given point in time, it is not because God is playing favorites. Difficulties may simply be His will for you right now. But things have a way of changing. I wouldn't be surprised if later people look at your life and say, "Why do you have such an easy life?"
Be encouraged! God loves you!
Greg
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Can God change people`s lives???
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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Roxliverpoolfan,
Yes.. God changes people's lives...
Have you never heard or understood? Don't you know that the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. Isaiah 40:28,29.
He is the Creator....when a person repents of sin and submits in obedience, God changes them from the inside out.
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Permalink Reply by ScribeD on
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Yes. As a disciple of Christ you can stop being a victim and become an overcomer.
23 years ago, I asked this same question. I was at a point of total despair. I began to follow Christ, by praying a prayer of surrender. Today, i have challenges, but I am being given the ability, constantly, to overcome those challenges. Over the 23 years since, Jesus has not merely changed my life, he has transformed it completely.
The Gospel is like a wonderful beautiful collection of Russian Dolls. Do you know those kind of artistically painted wooden dolls that you open one, and find another inside? And then another inside that? The Gospel is like that. It is a wonderful gift from God, when you open it, you find that it has a beautiful gift that has more gifts inside. The only difference is that each time you open it, the gift you find inside is larger, more beautiful and more amazing than the one before.
Following Christ is not merely about changing circumstances. It is about learning to live completely differently, completely new. But, we learn to receive that original gift by surrender; a trusting surrender to a merciful God. And each new gift comes from surrendering more, trusting more, believing more and obeying more. As we do this, we receive more gifts, more blessing, more beauty, more victory.
The point is to really live it, not merely pretend to live it. The pretending just ends in heart ache; but the real life walk of faith never ends, it is a world of blessing and joy.
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Greg... I chanced upon this reponse today...thank you! It was timely for me.
Dong E,
God allows certain trials for many reasons...here are a few that I am learning
1) We will learn to trust in Him and come to Him...depend on Him for all things. He answers prayer, and our faith is increased.
2) Others will see our faith and be encouraged.
3) He wants to be in continual relationship with us... He wants to carry us. Our Savior wants to hold us.
4) He strengthens us to endure, HE shows us His love and faithfulness, His Mercy and Grace.
5) Our trials give us the opportunity to share the gospel more than any other time in our lives....Amen!
In our trials, we know that Jesus has overcome the world....He can certainly strengthen us. He will never leave us or forsake us.
God Bless
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Permalink Reply by deedee310 on
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I often wondered this alot myself. Especially when I see people who are not serving the Lord, who are not trying to serve the Lord, and even atheist who have easy lives. I look at a lot of people who try to serve God and honor him with their lives and they have a hard time in life. It seems as though God's people should not have anything to worry about and that God should take care of them and their problems. Then I looked up scriptures that had to do with this subject and I noticed that Jesus told us that it would not be easy for us in this life. We would face trials, tribulations and hard times and that he be with us all the way through them. Scriptures also tells us that God will turn our bad situations around for our good and his glory. The bible tells us to trust God in all situations (even though this is very hard, especially when the situation looks bad) and he will take care of us.
This is something that i have to continually practice and tell myself.... Trusting God is something that I have to continually work on.
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Permalink Reply by Theresa on
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Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
I asked the Lord this question this morning as I came back from dropping my daughter at school. My life is not free from challenges but overall and the real deal is that my life is so much easier than others, I asked the Lord this question, why? He answered me with this verse, bless His name forever.
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Dear Therese,
I am writing this response to you because I am trying to understand.... I am reading it, like you have an easier life because you control your tongue?? This can't be right! The reference to us controlling our tongues doesn't really have anything to do with having an easier life...it has to do with other people, not ourselves. We must always encourage others, speak blessings not curses...learn when to not respond if we will encourage an argument. etc... The focus is 'others' not 'ourselves'. We are to speak so that 'other' people will be encouraged and blessed...putting our own needs aside. It is a life of sacrifice.
If it means as you seem to be suggesting, then how do we explain young babies who have a hard time with their health at birth? Have they brought that trouble to themselves because of the words they spoke? of coarse not!
God has no favourites...certainly we do bring trouble on ourselves many times, but....Jesus has promised us that trouble will come....to each one of us at some point! He tells us to 'take heart' because He has overcome the world! John 16:33. Those kind of troubles that Jesus is talking about have nothing to do with what we have brought on ourselves by our words... Perhaps I have just read it wrong.. If so. please correct me so that I can understand it better what you have wrote.
Blessings, Carla
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This should answer the first question, does God have favorites?
This verse here tells me that God has no favoritism and God our Father in heaven loves everybody. Acts 10: 34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. 35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
Luke 15:11-32 tells me the story of the two brothers and their Father who loved both of them just the same, it is an interesting thing in this story how the older brother was demanding his rights to be of more importance to the father than his younger brother and how the dad pleaded with him and assured him that he loved both of them just the same.
Do some people seem to have much easier lives than others? Like I responded earlier, it seems to me that some have it lot easier than others, true. (this is my opinion).
To me, the lifestyle we choose to live and the everyday activities we do can cause our lives to be easy or hectic.
Our words can and are able to have an effect on us, based on proverbs 18:21
This is me, I choose to bless the Lord and thank Him no matter what, whether it is raining outside or snowing, whether the sun is shining or not. I choose to rejoice in the day I am in because the Lord has made it.
I believe with all of my heart that when we thank the Lord and focus on Him, not on ourselves, when we see that we do have so much and way more than what we deserve (no matter how our family situation is), we can honestly say that our lives are so much easier than others.
Carla :)
I do not have answers for why children suffer and why adults afflict abuse and pain on them, I know there is a devil that wants to hurt, rob, steal and destroy and I know that I can be Jesus feet and hands to a suffering world, then I know I am NOT God and I am nothing apart from Him.
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