"I know God loves me, but does God like me?" It seems the answer to this question should be obvious. Yet, sometimes it is not clear if God really does like someone. It is, however, clear that God loves everyone. In good old John 3:16 it is written that God loves the world, but loving and liking do not always go together. For example, Jesus says His followers should "love their enemies," (Matthew 5:44). Jesus also says His followers' enemies will hate them (Matthew 10:22) and want to arrest them (Mark 13:11). Now, who in their right mind would like someone who hates them and puts them in chains? It is more than possible that God could love someone without liking them, which is why the question remains, "Does God like me?" Well, what's the answer?
Liking someone and loving them is not the same thing. While love looks past an individual to cross over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), liking directly focuses on an individual. Whether someone likes someone else, is a matter of similarity and preferences. Liking someone usually involves having shared interests or similar traits. People who enjoy watching the same sports, movies or TV-shows will probably want to hang around each other. Additionally, people who admire the same things or think in similar fashion will enjoy each other's company. How much people have in common helps determine whether they will like each other.
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| People often like each other, because they are like each other. In other words, liking someone often relates to how similar someone is to someone else. |
This is also true of God. He likes people who admire what He admires, think how He thinks or act as He acts. This is written all throughout Scripture, but sometimes it is a bit hard to tell. One reason for this is that most Bible verses do not use the word "like" but use a more Biblical term, "delight." When someone sees that God's "delight" in someone is the Bible's way of saying "God likes them," suddenly the picture of God's preferences becomes clear.
God's delight in His people is abundant in the book of Psalms. Take Psalm 18, for instance. In it the author calls on God to save him, and then writes, "God rescued me because He delighted in me," (18:6,19). Why did God delight in the author? Because the author acknowledged God as his savior. Similarly, God thinks of Himself as the great savior, so the author and God share a common belief. Later on in Psalm 149, another author writes, "The Lord takes delight in His people; He crowns the humble with victory. Let His faithful people rejoice in this honor," (4-5). The Psalmist notes that God's people are faithful. God delights in faithful people, because He too is faithful (Psalm 36:5). Even in Psalm 36 it is written that God's people "feast on the abundance of His house; He gives them drink from His river of delights," (8). God delights in those who want to be in His house, because He too likes where He lives (John 14:2). Yes, God delights in others who want to be like Him.
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God likes those who are like Him, but He dislikes those who are not like Him. This is why the Bible says of a truthful God, "The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in people who are trustworthy," (Proverbs 12:22). |
Well, in light of God's delight, why do a lot of believers still question whether God likes them? It might be because they are thinking, "If God really liked me, He would give me this thing, but He hasn't given me it, so He must not like me." God, however, does not want to give us everything we want. Instead, Jesus says, "your Father in heaven [gives] good gifts to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11). This does not mean God will give His people anything, but He will give them the best things they could have. Sometimes, this includes hardships and struggles, because God knows that these things can produce great faith, which is "of greater worth than gold," (1 Peter 1:7). What God wants for us is better than what we could ask of God.
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"Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart," (Psalm 37:4). |
So, the answer to our question appears undeniable. God loves everyone, but He likes those who want to be like Him. This is one reason why God says of such people, "He is not ashamed to be called their God," (Hebrews 11:16). Think about it. When God introduced Himself to Moses as "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob," (Exodus 3:6) God was making Himself to literally be the object of these people. He is gladly connecting Himself to Abraham, an impatient man who often took matters into his own foolish hands. The Almighty is saying He is the one who helped out Isaac, a man who became blind and weak in his old age. God is even relating Himself to Jacob, the same guy who deceived his own brother and father. God is associating Himself with these people who are far lower than Him. By doing this, essentially, God is saying He likes them. This is what it means for God to gladly say someone's name, which is exactly what He will do when He acknowledges the names of everyone who follows Him, (Revelation 3:5). Just imagine how it would be for God to say of you, "I am their God." It would be one of the many ways for God to say He likes you.
Sources
- The Bible (New International Version)
- OpenBibleInfo: God Delights in You
- John Piper: Desiring God Interview (Inspired by)
- Bible Time With Melonie Mac (Inspired by Psalm readings