The Greatest Love Story Ever!: God & You

By A. V. Barnes

This book tells the story of the gospel from the perspective of it being a love story unmatched by any other in modern times, or all antiquity. On this light-speed journey through the Old Testament to the ascension of Jesus Christ, a bird's-eye view of the big picture of life is conveyed and briefly deconstructed for the purpose of revealing a God who is "hopelessly" in love with mankind. In the pages to follow, you will find a fresh, biblically sound perspective of the gospel that is certain to enhance your life and relationships. Being perfectly loved is for everyone. It is unfortunate that we search for that perfect love in other imperfect human beings because, as we all know, imperfection is incapable of producing perfection, and when our efforts fail to reach the unreachable, we tend to devalue ourselves and each other. The collateral damage produced by our shortcomings is often a misguided perception of God that causes many to flee from our Creator, instead of running to Him. However, no matter what this world tries to make us think, every man, woman, and child is valued, worthy, and eternally loved by God. Many preachers and spiritual leaders talk about God loving us but never proceed with an in-depth exploration of the hows and whys in a way that I believe would be greatly beneficial on a personal level to many who strive to understand God's love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685175382

Book preview

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The Greatest Love Story Ever!

God & You

A. V. Barnes

ISBN 978-1-68517-537-5 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68517-538-2 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by A. V. Barnes

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction Part I

Introduction Part II

Backstory—God, Man, the Devil

Part 1

God vs. Humanity

Part 2

So What's the Plan?

Part 3

Into the Shadows

Part 4

Out of the Shadows

Part 5

The Love Song

Part 6

The Grand Gesture

Part 7

If You Love Me

About the Author

Introduction Part I

First, I want to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to walk alongside you in your quest to live a victorious life. Second, I want you to know that regardless of what you have been through in this life, you are the costar of the greatest love story ever! Now let's delve into why I believe that with every fiber of my being. This book tells the story of the gospel from the perspective of it being a love story unmatched by any other in modern times, or all antiquity. On this light-speed journey through the Old Testament to the ascension of Jesus Christ, a bird's-eye view of the big picture of life is conveyed and briefly deconstructed for the purpose of revealing a God who is hopelessly in love with mankind. In the pages to follow, you will find a fresh, biblically sound perspective of the gospel that is certain to enhance your life and relationships. Being perfectly loved is for everyone. It is unfortunate that we search for that perfect love in other imperfect human beings because, as we all know, imperfection is incapable of producing perfection, and when our efforts fail to reach the unreachable, we tend to devalue ourselves and each other. The collateral damage produced by our shortcomings is often a misguided perception of God that causes many to flee from our Creator, instead of running to Him. However, no matter what this world tries to make us think, every man, woman, and child is valued, worthy, and eternally loved by God. Many preachers and spiritual leaders talk about God loving us but never proceed with an in-depth exploration of the hows and whys in a way that I believe would be greatly beneficial on a personal level to many who strive to understand God's love. I also believe that, with God's help, this book can restore relationships, transform vision, and help us walk together through the trials and tribulations of life knowing that the God of creation loves us now and forever.

Introduction Part II

Why do bad things happen? We get sicknesses we did not ask for, get blindsided by heartbreak, strive to make a living that for some reason never seems to be enough, and what's worse is that it appears that we endure it all and much more for nothing because our reward at the end of the marathon of life is death. If life was just a random sequence of events that equated to nothing more than it is what it is and then you die, we could just go out and do whatever our hearts desire. With no moral compass to guide mankind, we would become vicious savages with no care for anything or anyone because nothing matters anyway. But you and I know there are things that happen beyond nature, science, and the physical universe that demand our attention. The question itself, why do bad things happen, implies we desire good things to happen to us. And that is where we have to pause and contemplate why we have that desire and where it came from? It certainly did not come from science, nature, and the universe. Space, time, and matter do not have feelings and desires. So it stands to reason that we are more than just physical beings in a physical universe. We are something else that goes beyond anything we could have ever imagined, and life is far more than, it is what it is and then you die. Why do bad things happen? Well, that is a question that can only be answered by understanding that life's great complexity begins where it has always begun—a relationship gone wrong with three beings at the center of the controversy: God, man, and the devil.

Backstory—God, Man, the Devil

God: The Intellectual Creator

This thing called life is a perplexing experience. Many scientists believe that life is just an accidental arrangement, a product of luck and happenstance. Nothing I have seen in my life confirms the idea that order comes from chaos. Chaos produces chaos, and order produces order. We see it every day in children. They play with toys for a while, and then those toys are left in the place of last use. After a while there, the minefield of the forgotten toys provides a pathway into the thought process of the child. However, what that random collection of prepubescent delights littered amidst the landscape of your home does not produce is order. Order comes from an intellect manipulating those toys and placing them in a specific place at a specific time. Much like watching those kids ignore their yard full of toys, if that intellectual individual had not come along and utilized their intellectual abilities to organize those toys, what is the probability that those toys would have done that on their own? Zero. Let us go a step further and say the wind came along and blew hard enough to