God makes us love Him?

[Fenris]

The NT is based on a new heart that is already in love with God...

Deu 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

Context. Why not quote the whole chapter?

[BroRog]

JOHN 6:65 CEV-EN

Then Jesus said, “You cannot come to me, unless the Father makes you want to come. That is why I have told these things to all of you.”

God makes us love Him?

Yes, the Father "makes" them come. This idea offends us because we think about how WE would do it, i.e. we would coerce or force them against their will to come. But the Father is not like us. One of the reasons why Jesus called him "the Father" is because the term contains the idea of "originator" and with regard to God, he is the creator. Jesus understands that nothing takes place unless the Father is creating it. And so he points out that unless the Father is creating a person coming to Jesus, a person doesn't come to Jesus.

Now, we will get confused real fast if we hear the phrase "cannot come" in terms of permission or authority. It would be easy to hear Jesus say, "Some of you would like to come but because the Father won't allow you to come, you can't come." But Jesus isn't suggesting that we need permission from the Father before we can come. The general invitation goes out to "whomever will call on the name of the Lord." If you want to come, then come. Permission has already been granted to anyone who wants to come.

And neither is Jesus talking about ability as if to say, "You are naturally unwilling to come and therefore unless the Father tweaks or tampers with your will, you won't come." Again, this wouldn't be The Father creating them coming, this would be the "Really Big Repairman" in the sky who finds human beings ill-equipped to make a beneficial decision. I don't think Jesus is saying that people are unable to come due to some mental/psychological/emotional/spiritual flaw that needs to be fixed before a man comes to Jesus. The God of Jesus is much, much bigger than that. God isn't the fixer; he is the creator.

[Noonzie]

Yes, the Father "makes" them come. This idea offends us because we think about how WE would do it, i.e. we would coerce or force them against their will to come. But the Father is not like us. One of the reasons why Jesus called him "the Father" is because the term contains the idea of "originator" and with regard to God, he is the creator. Jesus understands that nothing takes place unless the Father is creating it. And so he points out that unless the Father is creating a person coming to Jesus, a person doesn't come to Jesus.

Now, we will get confused real fast if we hear the phrase "cannot come" in terms of permission or authority. It would be easy to hear Jesus say, "Some of you would like to come but because the Father won't allow you to come, you can't come." But Jesus isn't suggesting that we need permission from the Father before we can come. The general invitation goes out to "whomever will call on the name of the Lord." If you want to come, then come. Permission has already been granted to anyone who wants to come.

And neither is Jesus talking about ability as if to say, "You are naturally unwilling to come and therefore unless the Father tweaks or tampers with your will, you won't come." Again, this wouldn't be The Father creating them coming, this would be the "Really Big Repairman" in the sky who finds human beings ill-equipped to make a beneficial decision. I don't think Jesus is saying that people are unable to come due to some mental/psychological/emotional/spiritual flaw that needs to be fixed before a man comes to Jesus. The God of Jesus is much, much bigger than that. God isn't the fixer; he is the creator.

Yes.. the problem is that we won't come. And it is only by His grace that He changes us. The problem people have with this is that they think they are good and have the ability to do good. God teaches quite the opposite from His word.