The garden of Eden taught some hard and sad lessons, including that we wouldn’t trust God without testing Him first. Parents warn their kids not to touch a hot pan, but don’t they/we ultimately want to know for ourselves?
Bieber had it right:
“I got to learn things, learn them the hard way.
Gotta see what it feels like, no matter what they say..”
(“Ill show you” Justin Bieber, Purpose album)
(Sure, some lessons we never want to learn firsthand, but maybe that’s because we saw the result in the life of another…)
A verse says “God is Love,” but would we believe it without seeing, tasting, touching? Even the word “Love” lost its meaning.
We need a pie to understand: If there is one piece left, and both you and your child want it, do you eat it and leave your child longing? No. You probably set aside your desire and offer the last piece.
But what if you’re the child and God is on the other side of the table? He may offer the last piece, but being God He could also just speak or snap a finger and make more.
If there was never a last piece of pie, there was never really proof of love. No true act of kindness or self-sacrifice because nothing was ever on the line…
We give freely when our finances are flowing, but what if our account is empty? If our health or time is compromised do we still say “yes” to every demand? We start making choices. Our love starts maturing, sometimes a painful process.
Not just limits in resources, but limitations in people calls us to deeper love…
If our children never made us crazy, we wouldn’t understand Unconditional Love. We offer up our lives, not because they behave well, but because we Love them.
If everyone was perfect we’d never press out patience, kindness, or gentleness. If everyone got along we’d never understand the depth or richness of Love. 
When there is a limit we start making sacrifices. In these sacrifices we see love– ground up and pressed out, like coffee. And God is after the Real Deal, not some superficial, watered-down stuff.
Love is being fleshed out all over the universe–through you, me and every other human being on the planet. See Love, see God.
Has your “love” been tested lately? If you feel you failed, don’t be discouraged. There’s something so precious inside of you all Creation longs for it’s revelation (Romans 8:19).
More reads:
-On Love being tested: Loves Performance on the Test Drive
-On Testing God: When Divine Kids get a Planet to Themselves–Bad House Party
-See also #WildKidsWildGod series exposing untamed Love for a not always loving humanity.
-More on God’s Heart glimpsed in daily life with kids: “Anything for the Kids–Why I didn’t Buy that Nice Jacket..”
note: I use He/His pronoun for God, but fully recognize God with a male/female ‘identity’ (for lack of better word). This is evidenced by humanity and throughout the bible.
Two-part post on Transgender God here.
