God the Father: All Powerful and All-Loving

God, Creator of the Universe

When God began to create everything, he made humans, some as men, the others as women.

Based on Mark 10:6

When you look at a sunset or a baby or the love of a family, do you ever wonder how all this beauty and love came to be? As Christians, we point to God. He made everything. In doing so, he showed us his power and love. He showed us that he is our Father.

How much power does God have? We believe he is all-powerful. God can do anything. Before there was a universe, nothing existed. God freely chose to create the universe. And he did everything by himself to make it. He didn't need help from anyone or anything. Nothing is impossible for God!

Why did God make the universe? More important, why did God make us? Because he is all-loving. He loved us so much, he gave us the power to choose, like he has. This ability is called free will. He wants us to use that ability wisely. He wants us to love him and others the way he loves us.

God gave us the Ten Commandments to show us how. The first commandment is: "I am your Lord and God. You will not worship anything else but me!" In other words, we should put God first in our lives.

Why Should God Be First In My Life?

A person can't make two things first in his life. Either the person will love the one thing and hate the other. You cannot have both God and money as the most important things in your lives.

Based on Luke 16:13

As our loving Father, God gives us a choice. Do we believe him and love him more than anyone else? Do we try to do what he wants us to do?

Or, are we selfish? Do we make something more important than God in our lives?

We've all been selfish at one time or another. So, what will God do when we choose something different than he wants? How will he treat us when we are selfish?

God is all-powerful and all-loving. He will use all his power to show us his great love. He guides everything, from the point he made to universe until the end of time. We call his guidance "divine providence." He invites us to cooperate with his guidance. He want us to trust his will.

But, many people ask: if God is all-powerful and all-loving, why is there so much evil in the world? Can't God take away suffering and death? We, who are Christians, can ask the question in a different way: why did God the Father send his Son to die on the cross? The answer is simple. God allows evil in the world so something better can happen. After all, God allowed selfish people to kill his Son. Then he used their selfishness to conquer evil. He rose Jesus from death to eternal life.

In the end, God the Father shows his power and love in his Son, Jesus. He sent us Jesus to save us. Jesus shows how to live the way God wants us to live. And he offers us the power to live that way. He offers us the Holy Spirit.

Even when we doubt God or refuse to follow him, he still reaches out to us with his power and love. He wants us to change and enter his Kingdom. This is what Jesus told the selfish leaders who thought they knew what God wanted:

"Listen! Sinners who turn back to God will go into his Kingdom ahead of you. For John the Baptist came to show everyone the right way to live. The sinners believed him, but you didn't, not even after you saw how sinners changed!"

Based on Matthew 21:28-32