Does God Like You?
Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel: -1 Chronicles 28:4
In the verse above, David recounts his past and explains how God liked him and made him king over all Israel. Some Bibles translate like as “took pleasure in.” So God took pleasure in David to make him king.
God loves everybody
While it is certainly true that God hates sin, and He detests the things that man does in His sight, God still wills that all men should repent: He still loves them.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. -John 3:16
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. -2 Peter 3:9
God loves everyone, and wants to see everyone come to the knowledge and salvation that is in Christ Jesus: but does He like you?
God’s favor
God certainly seems to have favorites. He said that He loved Jacob but hated Esau. Jesus only showed certain things to a select few of His disciples: Peter, James, and John. God took pleasure in David and made him king over Israel.
God loved everyone, but that didn’t mean that He made everyone king. That didn’t mean that Jesus showed all the secrets and mysteries of His kingdom to everyone. So what sets people apart? Why does God like one person more than another? While it may very well remain a mystery, at least partially, there are still some strong patterns that can be seen throughout Scripture that would point us toward who God likes.
God’s delight
The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. -Psalms 147:11
Quite simply, those that obey God, and love Him with their whole hearts, and show it with their actions, are those whom God takes pleasure in. Someone might say that they are loved by God, (which is true, and was demonstrated on Calvary), but does He like you? Does God take pleasure in what you are doing with your life? Does He like what He sees?
Abraham is a great example of one whom God liked. The Bible says that he became a friend of God. And a somewhat obscure verse in Genesis clues us in a little better as to why God liked Him so much:
For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. -Genesis 18:19
We ought to stop and think: does God like us? Does He like what He sees? When He looks into our thoughts and our desires, when He sees our actions and our motives: does He like what He sees?
When we seek to love and glorify God in all that we do, and walk according to His will, we will be fulfilling our very purpose of existence; for we will be pleasing the Lord.
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. -Revelation 4:11
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