A Life with Love is Not Violent

There are not many things that the Lord says that He hates but He does say that He hates the soul that loves violence.

The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates. Psalm 11:5

The only time that the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind was when the world was filled with violence. Violence is the expression of evil which causes grief to others and when violence filled the earth then the Lord was filled with grief. God grieves when people grieve. He did not make man for violence. There came to be much violence in the early years of the history of the earth and it grieved the heart of God.

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Genesis 6:5,6

One of the meanings of the word “violate” is “to change”. When someone is violated then they are changed and something within them is destroyed. Violence is the opposite of love. When the Lord looked on the earth, He did not see love but He saw that it was filled with violence. Violence is the outcome of hearts being filled with evil continually.

Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. Genesis 6:11

Mankind had not chosen love but had chosen evil and violence.

God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. Genesis 6:12,13

However, just as in all generations, the Lord looks down upon the sons of men to see if there are any who would choose Him.

For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars. II Chronicles 16:9

The Lord saw Noah and saw that Noah desired to do what is right. There is not any who always does what is right but the Lord is always looking for the ones who want to walk by faith with Him in obedience to do what is right.

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. Genesis 6:8,9

The righteous shall live by faith in the One who is faithful and righteous. Noah found favor in God’s eyes.

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Hebrews 11:7

Since it had never rained on the earth, there must have been much laughing and scoffing at what Noah was doing in building an ark the size of two football fields! It took Noah over a hundred years to build the ark. However, Noah was faithful to the Lord and the Lord was faithful to Noah. The Lord preserved Noah and his family.

and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; II Peter 2:5

The Bible says that when Jesus Christ returns to the earth to judge the ungodly that it will be just like the days of Noah.

And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Luke 17:26,27

The Lord has been patient but when He comes again then it will be too late for those who did not turn to Him when they had the opportunity. Love is a choice and He has given us the choice now to love Him Those who choose Jesus Christ in this life will not be disappointed in either this life or the next life. Those who wait until it is too late will experience weeping and gnashing of teeth. They will be thrown into hell, which is the furnace of fire.

and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:50

Noah did just what the Lord had commanded him. When we don’t do what God has commanded us then we are violating His commandments by not keeping them. When we violate His commandments then we are doing evil in the sight of God.

If they violate My statutes And do not keep My commandments, Psalm 89:31

To violate is the opposite of love. Either we can choose to love and keep God’s commandments or we can go our own way and we will end up violating God’s ways for our hearts have a bent to do evil and the end of evil is violence. All of us have the capacity to do violence if we don’t choose to follow the Lord with all of our heart. Love is a choice and we must choose to love God. In loving God we will love others.