The #1 reason I could never be a Calvinist

  There are multiple reasons I could never be a Calvinist, but there is one reason that overshadows the rest: God's love.

  I have blogged about it before, but for years I struggled to believe God loves me. There were a variety of factors that played into it:

Constant bullying at school, causing me to think no one liked me....something I struggle with to this day.

Too many hell and brimstone messages geared to scare people into going to the altar.

Being gay...yeah, that is another perk of same-sex attractions - doubting God's love.

And most likely other factors.

 I always wanted to do right, so I tried off and on for years to serve God. However, it is really difficult to serve God when you are constantly doubting He loves you, or even likes you and cares what happens to you.

 I truly believe had I been raised as a Calvinist, I would have figured I was not one of the "chosen", and just gave up on serving God. However, I knew God would save anyone who came to Him in repentance, so I kept trudging along.

  And then finally I believed. I chronicled that in a blog post a few years back, and will not repeat all of that here.

 Calvinists talk a lot - actually way too much - about God's sovereignty. No matter how many verses you bring up to contradict the horrible theology of election, they will just throw up the "S" word.

 Yet the whole story and message of the Bible is not God's sovereignty, no matter how important it is to Calvinists. The message of the Bible is love. Not sovereignty, but God's love.

 God knows everything. He knew when He created Adam and Eve that they would disobey Him and bring evil into the world. He knew millions of people would not choose Him. He knew He would have to send His only Son to die for the human race....but the Bible says He so loved the world - not just part of it - that He gave His only Son that whoever believes will have eternal life.

 It is there from the start, and weaves all through the Bible. This amazing love God has for us, His creation. We cannot imagine the depths of love that would send Jesus to die for the world, much of which continue to reject Him.

  I cannot fathom how a God that loves like that - who is by definition love - can pick out ahead of time who He will save and who He will send to hell without ever offering them salvation. But God is sovereign!!!! Yes, but above all, God is love. Love sent Jesus to the cross to die, not sovereignty. Love brings sinners to repentance and gives them eternal life, not sovereignty. It is love that stops God from snuffing out everyone who rejects Him. The message of the Gospel is love....not sovereignty.

  A God of love could not pick and choose who He will offer salvation to - or basically force it upon them, according to Calvinists - and never offer it to certain people He picked out ahead of time to send to hell and judge for sins that had no chance of repenting of.

 God is love, and that God cannot fit into the Calvinist box.