When his friend needed relationship advice recently, Nigerian gospel singer Nathaniel Bassey leaned on the love of God to guide him.
“Over the weekend I had to counsel a friend. And while doing so I made this statement,” he shared on Instagram. “You see God is a God of Love. In fact, HE IS LOVE. And His word says He so loves the world.”
Bassey reflected on John 3:19 and how God gave His only son to the world. He also spoke about the importance of the free will that God gave people.
“As a younger Christian, I used to ask why God who has all POWER, unlimited in might and ability could not just prevail upon man (men and women) to believe, accept and love Him,” he wrote. “Why He wouldn’t just snap His fingers and all men are saved. But as I grew I began to discover that this would violate His very core nature of Love.”
He used scripture to further illustrate the way that God shows his love through the free will that He gives people.
“I noticed in verses like Rev 3:20, How He stands at the door of the very ones He CREATED knocking, and waiting to be asked in. The one we call THE DOOR, waiting at the door,” he wrote. “And that’s because, if it’s Love it has to be by choice. If He forces His way in, then it’s not love.”
So how does this relate to Bassey’s friend? The worship singer explained how the gentleman was struggling with the fact that a woman did not share the romantic interest that he did and looked at the situation through the lens of scripture.
“That’s why He made man a free moral agent. Even angels don’t have such a privilege,” he said. “So back to my friend. He’d been on the case of this sister for some time, whom He claims to really love. And feels so convinced she is God’s will for His life. But sadly, the sister doesn’t feel the same.”
Bassey’s friend has been pushing things a bit too hard with the woman but the minister of music reminded him about the difference between love by force and by choice.
“So I said to Him (A very great guy), You know, If it’s BY FORCE, then it’s not IN LOVE,” he wrote. “Even when people influence people to love them, and they seem to do, somewhere in their hearts, they’d lack that fulfillment, knowing TRUE LOVE must be by CHOICE.”