Advice for an Agnostic: Why have I never felt God's Love?

I grew up in a family that actively practiced Christianity. As a kid, we went to church on Sundays. I was taught to accept Jesus Christ into my heart, love my fellow man, and ask forgiveness for my sins. As a teenager, I was rebellious and shunned everything I was taught by religion. As I grew older I began trying to accept God again, and now, as a thirty year old man, I look back and realize that I've never felt his presence in my life; God has always been academic to me.

So, my question to the believers (in Jesus, in Allah, or those not associated with organized religion who just believe in something higher than themselves): Why have I never felt God's love? If he exists (and at this point in my life I'm not certain), what does it take to feel like he's something more than just words in some old book?

I don't know if this will help. Where have you looked for God's love? I suppose many will poo-poo some of my thoughts here, but here goes.
Look into a small child's eyes before he learns to hate...I see His love there. Go and volunteer in or visit a nursing home. It's sad but the folks there are so starved for love, that by showing your love, you are sharing God's love... He lives in you if you let Him.
I live on a farm and see what I call miracles all the time. We had a cat...Halloween, cause she looked like a halloween cat, anyway...we literally picked her up out of the street, her mom and siblings had been run over and she was just hours born. We fed and nursed her to health and maturity. We had no other cats, but ya know what? She later had kittens and she knew what to do....how? I say God. Piglets raised in pens, never seeing adults, will naturally nest and sleep facing opposite directions for defense....why? I say God.
God's love can be best seen when we are serving others. Christ taught us that the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. He served his disciples by washing their feet and feeding them at the Last Supper. In serving others, we show God's love...in changing our lives and not being the center of the world...we share God's love.
Again I ask, where are you looking for God's love? It is in you, friend. Just let it out by serving others...a soup kitchen, a food bank, a mission trip, a box of food to the needy family, sharing Xmas with those less fortunate instead of gifts for yourself and family, ... even a dumb ol' redneck in a pickup truck that stops and picks up a blackman walking in the cold dawn light and drops him off at work. Yup, God's love is everywhere and can change the hardest of hearts. By the way, his name is John and we're friends now.

Perhaps you are looking in the wrong place, ...

christianity is blind devotion to a dead belief system. It is the culmination of spiritual knowledge .......... over 2000 years ago.

God is a fluid, living thing, manifesting itself to each individual differently, ... as we surely all have different perspective's.

God or it's nature cannot be defined, labeled, captured in a book, and certainly not developed into a system, because what works for one CANNOT work for all, ... hence is the fallibility of religion itself.


all that we know can be turned upside down tommorrow, and we are limited by our ability to comprehend the absoloute. My only advice is, .... forget everything you know, be reborn unto the world. empty your mind, and allow " god" to show you the way.

the only way is within, carry no notion of what you think god is, tread into the unknown expanses of your mind, for when you seek, he shall find, ... and the circuit is complete.

To be succinct its because most people lie. Not that many people feel anything. The ones who do should be in rubber rooms.

Well maybe you just have!!!!!. God speaks to me in my highest form of thought and also throw other people. You just have to learn how to Liston. But I assure you GOD loves you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think it just depends on your perception. I don't belong to any religion, and nor will I ever. I do believe partly in creation, I also believe in evolution. I believe both can exist together easily, as has been forever.

I can't put into words, my thoughts on "God". I don't believe he's a man with a big white beard, or a sentient being listening to all our prayers... yet, I think all that is creation, is him. Everything that exists, is a bit of "God". Evil, is a by-product of free will and consciousness, a process of learning. A necessary process, otherwise we'd have no grasp on good and evil.

For most of my life, I didn't think anything like that existed, and, it still sounds mad when I type it out or say it, but, from how I feel, and how it feels right, I can't dispute that. I believe I've felt Gods love once or twice, very distinctly, and it was overwhelming. But, much like when you've not had sex in a long time, you begin to forget how fantastic it was lol.

Still, I hope you find what you're looking for, it really is different for everyone :-). It may be best to take a look at peoples experiences, and NDE's, and other things such as that. I've learnt a lot from researching for myself.

god's love is present any time you feel a positive emotion. When you are successful in life, feel joy or ecstasy you are strengthening your relationship with god. When you act according to what truly makes you happy, god is happy. God isn't your father telling you how to behave; he's the best friend you'll ever have or want who helps you when you need it but otherwise let's you learn on your own. We are alive to experience as many different forms [expressions?] of god's love as we can possibly convceive.

If you have been happy, you have known God.

I love these posts.
We are in the realm of pure opinion and that is all me.
You suck, and if you believe in nothing, you, my young friend, will and have already fallen, for anything.
No god? I might say no good or some other quaint thing, but I refrain.
my advice is poor but I ask you to accept it.
become an addict like me, live in and on the street,make your family hate the day you were born, ad nauseum.
and then find the bottom

Go lacking love, and even now, all of these years later, still, I wonder and THEY wait for me to kill again.FIGURATIVELEY

Because your missing your love first.

In my experience, God will choose to reveal himself to you in a time and place of His choosing. For me it was when I had reached the total end of myself. I believe that He will reveal himself to those who are loving and have a heart for Him. Being truly loving means being patient, kind, and not self centered just to name a few. He knows our hearts intimately and knows when we are just faking it. I pray that the Creator of heaven and Earth may reveal his timeless love that He has for you.

Meditate on this:


II Peter 3:8-9

8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

I think the best advice given thus far, is to empty your mind. Once you shut down your own critical thinking, you can accept and follow the script/bible... as the word of god. The feeling of love you are seeking should kick in shortly after.

reply to post by LiquidLight


You have not felt Gods love because YOU are God and you don't love yourself. If you are waiting for an Old dude with a long white beard and a lightning bolt to forgive you and love you then you have just as much of a chance of Santa Clause loving you as you do for God.

Stop being so silly and wake up, The only thing you'll ever need is already inside of you.The greatest decpetion forced upon mankind is the idea that we are subserviant to someone other than ourselves. Trhe idea that we need to look outside of ourselves to find redemption and forgiveness and Love.

YOU are God, now, forgive yourself, Love yourself, and enjoy being a creator.

Originally posted by The Lord and Savior
reply to post by LiquidLight

 

You have not felt Gods love because YOU are God and you don't love yourself. If you are waiting for an Old dude with a long white beard and a lightning bolt to forgive you and love you then you have just as much of a chance of Santa Clause loving you as you do for God.

Stop being so silly and wake up, The only thing you'll ever need is already inside of you.The greatest decpetion forced upon mankind is the idea that we are subserviant to someone other than ourselves. Trhe idea that we need to look outside of ourselves to find redemption and forgiveness and Love.

YOU are God, now, forgive yourself, Love yourself, and enjoy being a creator.

I bet you have never felt God either. If you believe you are God.

We are not Gods. We are a creation of the source we call God.

God is not a old man with a white beard. God is not even a man.

God created us as humans in he's image. But its not our human shape that is in Gods image. Its our thinking mind that is created in the image of God.

What this should tell us is that the source that created us can think. Just like the elements that we are made up of gives us the ability to have a creative mind.

[edit on 27.06.08 by spy66]

reply to post by spy66


Well thanks my friend, Glad you could clear that one up for me.
Can I ask you where you recieved your information from?

Originally posted by The Lord and Savior
reply to post by spy66

 

Well thanks my friend, Glad you could clear that one up for me.
Can I ask you where you recieved your information from?

Well i couldn't Google it if that's what you ask.

If you understand a bit of science and can add things up on your own, you should be able to put the same pieces together as i did.

Its all about understanding what you learn from what you read.

Just about every one can read. But only a fraction understand the words that they read. But every one who can read have one thing in common. They all think they understand the words that they read.

Your understanding of what you have read. Is that God is a man. Just like we are. That's the image you have learned from what you have read.

You know God is not a man. But still that's the information you share with us. And you know its wrong.

Why do you share with us information you know is not true?

[edit on 27.06.08 by spy66]

1000% perspective.
If you want to feel true love you must be selfless, never thinking about yourself. Greed is the folly of mankind.
You can feel 'God's love' when you help someone you dont know, give a homeless person a jacket, stop to help someone whos car broke down, even though youll be late for work. SO long as you are self-serving you will feel empty.

Also, belief is just that, if you believe it, it is true, because your mind is your only filter. I wonder about insane people, they think they can fly. I bet if we got inside their mind they actually ARE flying. Belief is powerful.


reply to post by spy66


Couldnt have said it better myself!

Originally posted by The Lord and Savior
reply to post by LiquidLight

 

Stop being so silly and wake up, The only thing you'll ever need is already inside of you.The greatest decpetion forced upon mankind is the idea that we are subserviant to someone other than ourselves. Trhe idea that we need to look outside of ourselves to find redemption and forgiveness and Love.

YOU are God, now, forgive yourself, Love yourself, and enjoy being a creator.

You hit the nail on the head

i have always felt god since i was a child some times though when i go through bad times and sometimes feel he has turned his back on me it is not untill the bad times are past and i look back and relise he was with me all along keeping the worst of it away from me i think you should keep on seeking and one day you will just realise he is there and he loves you

A lot of good advice here, except I take offense at the suggestion that I haven't felt God's love because either 1) I don't love myself, or 2) don't care for anyone besides myself. Neither is true; I help others every chance I get, and I'm also quite happy with the person I am.

Overall, though, good advice. Thanks everyone.

[edit on 1/16/2010 by LiquidLight]

It might be worth considering that if you have never felt gods love it might simply be because god does not love you, or anyone for that matter.

Religion likes its followers to think god is pure, just, benevolent etc, but look around at all the cruelty and hate..

I would certainly understand if god did not love our species.
I wouldnt be surprised if he hates us.

Anyway you've come this far without feeling his love, you dont need it now, just live your life as best you can, and at the end if hes real and loves you he will forgive any shortcomings, and if not... Meh.. At least you enjoyed your life.

Just my two cents.