If I were to tell you that "God loves you," you might say, "I know, I saw that on a bumper sticker." The question might be better stated ... "Do you believe that God loves you?"
Does God love me, and if so, why?
You might have thought really hard about that question and come to the conclusion that you really don't know. I would venture to say that probably many people, even very religious people, if they were really honest would say they thought that God's love for them varied, dependent on whether or not they were pleasing Him with their life at any given moment. And this would be on the basis of how they were behaving, bad or good and to what degree. God's love would correlate directly to their performance. That sounds reasonable doesn't it?
I'm going to tell you something that could potentially revolutionize your perspective of God's love. You ready?
God loves you because that's who he is.
God is love. God has chosen to love you because of who He is, not because of who you are. God's love for you is not based in any shape or form on your performance or accomplishments. God loves you because He is love, not because you deserve His love. Do you want to know something else? God doesn't stop loving you based on your behavior either. Even if you are selfish, deceitful, sinfully wicked or despicable, it has absolutely no effect on the fact that God loves you. Now isn't that amazing? These verses are a sample of what the Bible says about God's love.
Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
1 John 4:16: "God is love ..."
John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
The Bible is saying that when man was at his very worst state, Christ Jesus died on the cross, shedding His blood, paying for the sins of the whole world. Because God loves you, do you know that your sins, all of them have already been paid for? The punishment for the sins of the whole world was taken by the Lord Jesus Christ. God loves you with His infinite, incomprehensible love. Now the question is still ... will you believe it and receive it?
Adam Barkley is pastor at the First Baptist Church in Minden.
