Absalom was a son of David. He was a cunning fellow who rebelled against his father. For his sake, David fled Jerusalem and he took the city. Then he slept with his father’s concubines and went out to war against his father to put an end to him. In that fateful battle, he got trapped in a tree and David’s men found him and of course with all pleasure and thinking they were doing David a favor, killed him. When David heard of the death of his rebel son Absalom, he was bitter and wept sore. For the followers of David, the death of Absalom was a piece of good news; nothing could be more pleasing than that. But for David, because of the father-son relationship between him and Absalom, he did not wish death for Absalom; hence, he was grieved when it was reported that Absalom has been killed.
It was God who made all mankind. Yet God does not force Himself on us and forcibly demand our devotion. Every human is free to either choose to follow Him or not. If you choose not to follow him, God has nothing to lose: His power and authority as God do not change.
For those who chose to come to God by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, they, at once, entered into a relationship with God. A relationship that is highly valued by God Himself that He seals the relationship with His Holy Spirit; that is, He gives His Holy Spirit to the Christian as a seal of the relationship.
Also, if a Christian, for whatever reason, decides to abandon Christianity or stops following Christ, God does not reduce in power, nor increase in power, nor become less of a God, nor more of a God, nor lose any of His attributes. Yet still, God has so much to lose if a Christian apostatizes; this is due to His love for us, His desire, His plans for us, his relationship with us, and how highly he esteems us.
When a Christian apostatizes; that is, abandons Christianity or stops following Jesus; this is what God loses:
What God the Father loses when a Christian abandons Christianity
The Father loses a beloved son
According to John 1:12, those who received Jesus were made children of God. Other verses such as Romans 8:15, Rom 8:16, and Rom 8:17 confirm this spiritual phenomenon. Every person who accepted Jesus to become a Christian was automatically promoted from being a creation of God to a child of God.
Therefore, when a Christian and child of God abandons Christianity, to God, it is everything like losing a child; it pains like how a person feels if his child is killed by a car or dies of a disease, etc. When a Christian abandons Christ and Christianity, God the Father loses a beloved son or daughter and it hurts Him so much like how it would have hurt you if you were to lose your child.
The Father loses a light and a source of glory
The Bible says, ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. … Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house ( Matthew 5:14-15).’
A Christian is a light in this dark world, meaning unbelievers get to see and experience the nature and goodness of God through a Christian’s good deeds. And this brings glory to God. When a Christian abandons Christ and Christianity, God loses a light and a source of glory.
The Father loses His heart’s desire
According to 2 Peter 3:9, one of the desires of God is that none should perish. Salvation is given by God through His son Jesus Christ. So long as you are in Christ, you are saved and you become part of the fulfillment of God’s desire of saving all mankind. However, if a Christian abandons the faith and he is on his way to perish, he has ruined God’s desire of saving him.
The situation is like a parent who invested in his child’s education with the hope of raising him to become successful. Then along the line, the child left schooling and took to drug abuse; hence he shuttered the desire of his parent to raise him to become successful. In the same way, God’s desire for a Christian is ruined if that Christian apostatizes. To God, apostasy is a loss of desire.
The Father has a new enemy
Scriptures such as Romans 5:10 makes us see a picture of the relationship between God and the unbeliever; the unbeliever is described as an enemy of God because he offends God all the time with his sinful life. However, if an unbeliever believes in Jesus and becomes a Christian, he is reconciled to God and no more an enemy. Also, a Father-son relationship is established between him and God. However, if that Christian willfully abandons Christianity, he remakes himself the enemy of God that he once was. This situation is like breaking up with your best friend and becoming sworn enemies. God has a new enemy when a Christian apostatizes.
The Father loses a co-worker
According to 1 Corinthians 3:9, Christians have the privilege of being God’s co-workers. Christians work with God. This is like how, in an institution, the manager and his staff work together to achieve a common goal. God and Christian work together in areas such as evangelism, parenting, discipleship, etc. God and Christians work together to win more unbelievers for Christ. Christians preach the word, and God convicts the person of sin and touches his heart to accept Jesus into his life. When a Christian abandons Christianity, God loses a co-worker.
What Jesus Christ loses when a Christian abandons Christianity
Jesus loses a friend
According to John 15:14, disciples and Christians are friends of Jesus Christ. Jesus once told His disciples, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you (John 15:15).” Therefore if a Christian apostatizes or stops following Jesus, Jesus loses a friend.
Jesus loses a part of Himself
Jesus Christ regards His followers as part of Him. In John 15:1-5, Jesus used an allegory to describe the relationship between Him and His disciples. Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: …(John 15:5)” When a Christian abandons Christ and Christianity, it hurts Jesus like how it would hurt you when you lose your hand because Jesus regards every Christians as an important part of Himself. So Jesus loses a part of Him when a Christ apostatizes.
Jesus loses a part of his body
According to 1 Corinthians 12:27, Christians are altogether called the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12 which describes the body of Christ, some Christians are referred to as the foot, hand, ear, eye, etc. Therefore when a Christian apostatizes, Jesus has lost a part of His body – a hand, a foot, a leg, etc.
Jesus loses a person who loves Him
Jesus, God the Son, loves Christians – very true. And Christians also love Jesus. Jesus once told His disciples, “If you love Me, keep My commandments (John 14:15)” In fact, every Christian – true Christian – automatically loves Jesus because one of the requirements of following Jesus is obeying His word. Therefore when a Christ, for whatever reason, abandons Christ and Christianity, Jesus loses one of the people who love Him.
What the Holy Spirit loses when a Christian abandons Christianity
The Holy Spirit loses a home
It is written: ‘What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own (1 Corinthians 6:19)?’ And it is also written: ‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you (1 Corinthians 3:16)? If a Christian’s body is a temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells, then what do you suppose will happen when a Christian abandons Christ and Christianity? Of course, the Holy Spirit has lost a dwelling place, a home, and a temple.
The Holy Spirit loses a pupil
It is written: ‘But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:26).’ Every Christian is a pupil or a student of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is supposed to teach you the word of God, guide you to understand it, and help you to remember to apply it in your life. The Holy Spirit provides these services to Christians with pleasure; He loves His job and loves His pupils. It is sad when a Christian abandons Christ and Christianity, for upon doing that, he also abandons the Holy Spirit’s classroom and the Holy Spirit loses His beloved pupil.
Conclusion
By now you should know why the devil will do anything possible to get in the way of Christians to make them apostatize because he knows that God – the Father, the Son, and the Spirit – has a lot to lose. If we think God does not lose anything at all when a Christian abandons Christ and Christianity, then that would mean that Christians are of no value to God. God also suffers a loss, but not that His nature, power, and authority are altered; no, He still remains who He is. However, when God loses you, a Christian, to apostasy, He loses a friend, a son, a student, a coworker, etc.
Moreover, apostatizing is always a choice. God Himself has done everything possible to ensure that Christian will remain in Him and not fall away. Sadly, many Christians are apostatizing due to moral lapses, cowardliness, love for the world, the love of money, etc. Though a Christian who apostatizes loses eternal blessings, God also has something to lose.
Food for thought
- What does God lose if you apostatize?
- Would God lose you just as He has lost others?
- What would you do to avoid apostatizing?