The Love of God

On Sunday night something hit me that had never hit me before: how much God loves me.

I mean, I've been told that my whole life. I've sang songs about it, read verses about it, and listened to sermons about it. That truth is as basic to the Christian faith as Jesus.

But on Sunday it really hit me. God loves me. A ton. And no matter what I do, no matter where I go, no matter what, God loves me.

His is a love that is pure. It is a love without fail. It is truly unconditional. Get it? Unconditional. No matter what I do He loves me. His love for me isn't dependent on anything. He loves me regardless. He loves me unconditionally.

Think of a friend that you treat the same way that you treat God. I bet it's hard to think of one. Why? Because anybody that you treat as poorly as you treat God isn't a friend anymore. They leave, fed up with your neglect, your rudeness and your failed promises.

And yet no matter how many times we fail God, He's still there. Loving us. Wanting to be with us.

Why?

Because He loves us.

God taught this to me on Sunday night. After a period of selfishness, evidenced in my recent posts, I was reminded by a friend that it's not about me, it's about God. And that I needn't worry what other people think, I need to focus on what God wants.

And when I turned back to God, there He was, waiting for me with open arms, ready to hug me and love me again.

There was no condemnation, no judging looks, no "I told you so" or waving of the finger. Instead, there was grace, mercy and two simple words: "Welcome home."

And that love goes farther. God loves us so much that he always has our best interests in mind. No matter what. He is always looking out for us. He loves us so much that sometimes He will allow us to be hurt in order to make us better.

I think love sometimes requires that: hurt. So many relationships that I see don't have that as a part of them, and I think that is because inherently in love we are selfish. We have our best interest in mind, and are unwilling to let that go and hurt someone else, even if by doing that we are serving their best interest. "I don't want to lose them. There's no way I could tell them that. That would hurt them, and I can't risk that. They might leave me."

But God doesn't do that. He loves us so much that He is willing to do whatever it takes for us to become a better person--even if it risks us rejecting Him in the process.

The love of God is bigger than anything I have ever imagined and will probably never be able to comprehend it or explore all that it offers in this life. But I'm so glad that it's real.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. ~ Ephesians 3:18-19