The LOVE of God is a topic close to my heart. Even as I write, I speak from firsthand testimony of its existence. Despite what I have seen, felt, experienced, and encountered in life, I cannot propose otherwise. The validity, authenticity, and practicality of any proposition or position should not be tested externally but rather from one’s own personal life’s crucible.
What’s evident, even though the LOVE of God is real, true, and unfading, is that the belief that God LOVES you is almost always under severe attack, challenge, and contestation. What I have discovered as I go through life’s woes is that I am kept in a relationship with God not on account of how much I love Him, but because of how much God has LOVED me.
Many times, as a result of what we have faced, we end up believing that God has forsaken us or does not LOVE us anymore. This is due to misconceptions about the ramifications of being LOVED by God. A false belief is equating the LOVE of God to one’s well-being—assuming that if God LOVES me, I will never suffer, experience pain, sorrow, death, misery, loss, or grief. The unshakable truth is that the LOVE OF GOD exists both in and outside of what we may consider suffering.
That which we face, seemingly negating the LOVE of God, is often a result of elements outside of His LOVE. Hence, what we endure cannot, in any way, alter or halt the LOVE that God has for us.
As we unpack the LOVE of God, we must deal with the following questions:
If living in the best condition on earth is not the purpose, then why does God LOVE us? God LOVES because of who He is, how He wants us to know Him, and how He desires to be known through us.
When I asked myself what the LOVE of God is, I found it more difficult to define than I initially thought. The more I tried to define it, the more I realized it does not fit into a single definition. It is dynamic, layered, and multi-faceted. When Paul described it, he outlined what it is, what it is not, what it does, what it always is, and ended by stating that it never ends. Thus, I summarize that LOVE is more than a feeling, similar to fear, hatred, anger, or jealousy. It is more of a Person—and that Person is Jesus.
What’s the benefit to you? Why should one accept the LOVE of God? True benefit can only be appreciated by a heart that longs for God. Any and all efforts from God in demonstrating His LOVE will be despised until one is desperate for Him. Thus, the greatest and highest benefit of His LOVE is being in a relationship with Him.
LOVE is the essence of His person; it remains one of the pivotal elements of our faith. Of all the things one might doubt, the LOVE of God should never be one of them. After all has passed, all is done, and all is seen, His enduring LOVE will forever remain steadfast.
Thus, I conclude—beyond any hint of hesitation—that GOD LOVES YOU.
I love you Lord, I learn to love from you… What a powerful read.
I’ve been in a position where I felt like God doesn’t love me. But this was only as I looked at one aspect of my life which was just not straightening up – no matter how much I prayed. But in time I realized that God had a greater plan for me, a bigger and better plan. I got to learn that sometimes God’s silence is an answer too so I made peace with not knowing… and I started to take life one step at a time – and I can tell you this for sure – I started to see God in those small step. Gentle, yet very present. Subtle and encouraging.
Yes, God loves me.