We are not worms, barely tolerated by God. We are so loved! Not despised by God. He should be far angrier with us than He is. His generosity to us is beyond measure. Yes, He disciplines us (not pleasant!), but it is to mature us and pull us back to him. Yes, He allows suffering, but has arranged it to build our character, producing endurance (see Romans 5:3).
Sidebar: I am routinely asked by my agnostic and atheist friends to explain why suffering exists if God is good. I have borrowed the statement, “Yes, Christians must explain suffering, and non-believers must explain everything else” before sharing what the New Testament tells us about suffering.
We learn in the first chapters of Genesis that God created the world as a good thing. He created humans to rule and steward it as His agents. This is why we’re created in the image of God. He declared Adam (the Hebrew word for human) as ‘very good.’ All creation – including Adam as intended– reflect the glory of God and praise Him continually.
If God hates us, or barely tolerates us, why would He tell us that we’re individually hand-made (Psalm 139:13)? Why would he lavish grace (Ephesians 1:8) and blessings on us?
This is a lie.
You cannot fulfill your calling if you believe God hates you and therefore you should hate yourself.
