Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful, for I have taken refuge in you; in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge until this time of trouble has gone by. (Ps 57:1)
In 1975 a band named the Ohio Players released a song called “Love Rollercoaster”.
Later the Red Hot Chili Peppers were to make it into a hit.
Later the Red Hot Chili Peppers were to make it into a hit.
Any good love affair is a rollercoaster. They love me, they love me not. Fighting and then making up.
Going through the struggles to make love work.
If there is no love affair with God, what are we doing here? As with any love affair, there will be
the rollercoaster. Does God love me? Does God love me not? Why is this always so difficult?
They write of doubt and mixed feelings about our faith extensively, even from
within the faith, and while they say their prayers.
They are on some kind of intellectual rollercoaster with God.
This ambivalence is good! It is healthy and completely human.
There is nothing in our faith which says that the rollercoaster of
God’s love should be easy. Yet there is a clue in John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world he gave…”
Let’s stop there, and think about it for a while.
When we keep giving, so does God. What did God give that showed us love? Pretty well everything, as far as I can tell.
— John Matheson