God Loves You!

By Barry Gilreath, Special Guest Writer

If you do not know or believe this, then please open a Bible and read these Scriptures:  Romans 5:8-9, 1 John 4:8, and Revelation 1:5.

Although, you probably already knew that, didn’t you?  You have heard John 3:16 quoted so many times that you can recite it yourself without a hiccup.  You have listened to many a preacher proclaim God’s love.  In God’s word, you have read of his love for yourself.

But here’s the thing:  just because the love of God is in your head does not mean that the love of God is within your heart!  Many respond to a knowledge of God’s love for them with a “so what” kind of attitude.  The proof of such is found in those who reject the gospel, lukewarm disciples, and prodigal children of the heavenly Father.  To these, the thought of God’s love has become uninspiring – a cliché, an empty platitude.  How tragic.

If we all could only come to appreciate that the infinite Creator of Heaven and Earth has a sacrificial, pursuing, and relentless love for us, then we all would sacrificially and relentlessly pursue Him!

Friend, what about you?  Do you feel God’s love for you reverberate like a love song in the very chambers of your spirit?  Does God’s love for you continually motivate you to lovingly return to Him (1 John 4:19; Matthew 22:37-38; John 14:15)?  If not, then – respectfully – there is so much about the infinite “breadth, length, height and depth” of God’s love that you are failing to grasp (cf. Eph. 3:17-18).

To help facilitate a better understanding and appreciation for the great love that God has for you, consider that Jesus once said to his disciples,

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you” (John 15:9a).

Now, don’t read over that verse too quickly.  Please read it again – thoughtfully and prayerfully.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you” (John 15:9a).

According to Jesus, His love for us (his disciples) is akin to God the Father’s love for God the Son!  Isn’t that both humbling and awe-inspiring?  Who are we to merit such a love?  The fullness of this love requires an eternity to fully understand and appreciate.  For, this is an eternal (Jn. 17:24; Psa. 103:17) and gospel-redeeming love, centered upon the death and resurrection of Jesus (Jn. 10:17; Rom. 5:8).

So, yes, God loves you!  It is far more than a bumper sticker; it is the sacred truth!  Would you today give careful thought to the immensity and practicality of his love?  Then, would you yield yourself in obedience to Jesus Christ, who has said,

Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:9b-10).