How God Loves You

   Have you ever wondered how God really feels about you?  You’ve probably read in the Scriptures that God loved the world so much that He gave His Son that we might be saved; but maybe you’ve wondered how He feels about you specifically.  Maybe you’ve wondered if He loves you specifically, or if He just loves you because you’re part of the “world” in “God so loved the world…”  Sometimes I have wondered that, too.

​    God loves to give us pictures in the natural world that show us truths we can’t see with our eyes.  Think about all of the parables Jesus told to illustrate the Kingdom of God, or the love of the Father.  Since it’s hard for us to SEE how much He loves us, I think He gives us glimpses of His love through other people.  Think of someone in your life that you know has loved you – parent, friend, teacher, spouse, child, mentor.  These are people who have loved you imperfectly.  There were some days when they were self-absorbed or preoccupied or not feeling well. 

     And yet, you knew they loved you because of the way they looked at you, the way they took your hand when you were walking together, the way they spoke your name or called you by a special name. You knew they loved you because they always encouraged you, called just to hear your voice wanted to share life with you provided for your needs and desires.

    No matter how much they loved you, their picture of God’s love is not as big, as grand, as deep, as passionate, as marvelous, as redemptive as His.  And sometimes human love changes through the years due to circumstances, hurts, disappointments, but God’s love does not change (James 1:17).

    These human examples of love are pictures (parables) of how God loves you.  Imagine Him looking at you the way your grandma did, encouraging you like your favorite teacher, holding your hand like your lover does, calling you by a special name He calls no one else.  Imagine Him calling just to hear your voice as you answer, leaving little gifts in your day because He knows you’ll enjoy them, sharing something funny with you so He can hear the sound of your laugh.  Imagine Him wanting to share every minute with you.

     That’s how God really feels about you.

     Or if you’re having a hard time recalling someone else’s love for you, think about your love for that newborn baby, or when you first realized you were “in love”.  Do you think God could love you any less than you have loved others?  “See what great love the Father has LAVISHED on us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1).

    The Scriptures don’t just tell us that He loves us lavishly.  It tells us that He IS love (1 John 4:16).  As we think about God’s love while reading the famous “Love is…” passage (1 Corinthians 13) we see that He is patient and kind with you.  He realizes it takes you (and me) a while to learn something, to understand truth.  His love for you is generous, not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. 

    Can you imagine Him being rude?  He seeks to honor, not dishonor you.  He’s on your side.  He isn’t easily angered and He keeps no record of wrongs.  That means He doesn’t keep bringing them up to throw in your face after you’ve repented of them.  If you hear a voice that does this, rest assured it is not the voice of the One who loves you.  He is not secretly happy when things go badly for you; rather, He rejoices when people see your true worth.  He is protective of you; He always hopes that you will return His love, and always perseveres to bring good to you (1 Corinthians 13:4-7; Romans 8:28; Philippians 1:6).

     That is how God feels about you, His daughter.  That is how God feels about you, His son.
“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love; with unfailing love I have drawn you to myself” (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT).

BB

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