Jesus Christ the Favour of God
This is a sort of added thought to Eleazar Maduka's post, which I suggest you read here before continuing. He talks about what he calls the "results captivity of the church", and defines it:
The results gospel assumes that God is mainly interested in the things that work. In other words, the proof of God’s abiding presence in a believer’s life or of a believer’s obedience to God’s commands must be seen in tangible, physical and measurable forms. If it works and the results are glaring and intimidating to the onlookers, then it’s the way that God wants it—He is at work.
He recounts his personal experience with this, very similar to mine actually, about how success in school is equated to God's favour and approval while failure or academic struggle is evidence of the opposite. I myself used to believe this, at least until my close friends, who I can say know the Lord far more than I, had quite glaring academic problems. Eleazar says this in regards to the problem with such thinking:
How can we say that God is merely concerned with results when he allowed a messenger of Satan to torment Paul? Did God change when he lifted the head of Joseph from the prison and allowed that of John the Baptist to be cut off?
My close friends have come to me asking questions, about why this happened to them. It hurts to be disappointed like that, by God nonetheless. Failure like that can reorganize or damage your faith. But this then begs the question, what is the sign of God's favour then? What is God's favour? How can we know it?
We believe in the gospel of God's unconditional love for us shown in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. This informs and infact radically reveals God's nature to us and should inform our understanding of favour. Here's a quote from T.F. Torrance [1]:
God loves you so utterly and completely that he has given himself for you in Jesus Christ his beloved Son, and has thereby pledged his very being as God for your salvation. In Jesus Christ God has actualised his unconditional love for you in your human nature in such a once for all way, that he cannot go back upon it without undoing the Incarnation and the Cross and thereby denying himself. Jesus Christ died for you precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, and has thereby already made you his own before and apart from your ever believing in him. He has bound you to himself by his love in a way that he will never let you go, for even if you refuse him and damn yourself in hell his love will never cease. Therefore, repent and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. (The Mediation of Christ, 94.)
God's love as shown in Jesus is unconditional and we are utterly incapable of meriting it. Hence if we are looking for God's favour, there's only one person to turn to: Jesus of Nazareth. He is God's favour incarnated, He's the source and ground for God's approval, and we are to trust and be faithful (Greek: Pistis, meaning loyal) to him. No matter what happens He's forever and from eternity God's Yes to your adoption, and it's because of this that Paul says:
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
If you're struggling with anything, whether academics or relationships. Whether you're being persecuted or picked on, and you're wondering why God is not listening, or if he has left you, I sympathize with you, the last year brought trials that made me question my faith too, but He reminds me that He is ever near. As Paul also said, in a quote that quelled suicidal thoughts in my life: "...the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Gal. 2:20)
[1]. I am forever grateful to Bobby Grow for acquainting me with the theology of T.F. Torrance. His very Christ centered Theology has given me great peace. You can check out his blog here