“This is the cause why the Lord loves the creature, so far as it hath any of His image in it; He loves His elect because they are like Himself, He beholds them in His beloved son. So a mother loves her child, because she thoroughly conceives a resemblance of herself in it. Thus it is between the members of Christ. Each discerns, by the work of the spirit, his own image and resemblance in another, and therefore cannot but love him as he loves himself.”
    John Winthrop

The first part of this statement causes me to wonder. Does God really love his creature because they are like him? Can a creature be so bold as to say, “God loves me because he sees himself in me”? Could even a child say, “Mama loves me because I have blue eyes as she does”? I really do not think so. It is true that man has been formed after the image of his creator. He is like God in that he is a spirit; he can reason, think, love. Yet to make such a statement, seems rather bold. We know that God relates with us and loves us. He treats us as his very children. Yet, even though we are like him we have treated him worse than anything possibly could treat its creator. Still he loves us. Never does he tell us that he loves us because we are like him. Rather, he tells us we must try to be more like him because we fall so short.  If we fall so short, can we attempt to claim to know exactly why God loves us? How impudent. We can wonder at his love, and stand in awe of him for his love. But to expound as to why exactly he loves us, we should never attempt. This is a mystery to great for us. Instead of standing boldly proclaiming why he loves us, we should fall at his feet in adoration of his undeserved love, praising him for this beautiful mystery. Anything else is arrogant pride.

















Katie Finnell sophomore, 2012