God Loves You
If you've been a Christian for a while or you grew up in the church, maybe you've heard this a thousand times, at least. God loves you. You've heard John 3:16. You know God loves you so much He sent His Son to die for you.
But maybe you only know this in your head. Maybe you're staring at yourself in the mirror and hating the way you look, or you're basing your self worth on grades or friends or popularity and feeling down about yourself. And you know, God loves you, but you don't know how to apply that to your life.
Today, I'm going to try to break down this sentence word by word. You might be thinking, Nicole, it's only three words, what's there to break down? Well, let's find out.
1. GOD loves you.
God. Not anyone else. The God who created the universe, the stars, the galaxy, and everything in it, loves you. The God, who is our Father, our Creator, and our Judge. The God who is loving, holy, and powerful. The God who knows everything about you, sees everything you've done and knows your every thought, loves you.
"You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."
—Psalms 139:1-12 NIV
God knows everything about us and STILL loves us. If God can know every bad thing we've done, ever rude word we've spoken, and every terrible feeling we feel about ourselves but STILL love us, what a great God He is! God's love, then, isn't based on our behaviour but based on HIS love, HIS character, and HIS goodness.
God is eternal. He is everlasting. So therefore, no matter what we do, God still loves us. His love is unchanging.
2. God LOVES you.
God LOVES you. What is love (cue cheesy music)? What is biblical, godly love?
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."
—1 Corinthians 13:1-8 NIV
Paul writes here to the Corinthians telling them that love is the most important thing. He's telling them that no matter all the good things they do or the charitable deeds they carry out or how noble they are, they need to put LOVE above all else. God's love for us is kind, patient, not envying or boasting or proud, not selfish or dishonouring, not easily angered, not holding grudges, not delighting in evil but rejoicing in the truth. God's love protects us, allows us to trust Him, persevere through everything, and allows us to have hope in Him.
God's love doesn't always FEEL comfortable. It's so powerful, how could it just be something that feels good all the time? Yes, God's plan for you is good. But His love can look different depending on what season of life you are in. His love might be convicting you of sin through the Holy Spirit, and that might be uncomfortable. Or His love could be bringing you peace in a difficult time. God's love is willing the best for you, always.
3. God loves YOU.
That love cannot be taken away from you.
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
—Romans 8:39 NIV
God loves YOU. He knows you, He loves you, and He cares for you. You are His precious possession and His child. You aren't the sum of your actions, your appearance, or even your dreams and hopes. God's plan for you is so much bigger than any of that: His plan to redeem you, bring you close to Him, and have
you walk beside Him.
And now that we know how much God loves us, we can't just sit with that love and do nothing. If we really know how great it is to be loved by God, we will be eager to share that love with others and let others know how much God loves them too.
I hope this helped you gain a deeper understanding of how much God loves you!