I AM LOVED BY GOD

“Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark (ship).” – William Shakespeare.

The Bible tells us repeatedly that God loves us and has given us plenty of evidence to back up His words. He created us. He provides for us. And He forgives us, even though we are rebellious. He even went so far as to send His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us while we were still sinners. God did it all because He loves us.

But even though the Bible tells us God is love it is hard to fully grasp that truth. How do we fully understand that God loves us with an enduring, sacrificial, infinite, and unconditional love? We frequently seek to understand God’s love through the love we have for our children: we love our kids even when they challenge us with behaviors that are not very lovable. God’s love is like that. But it goes deeper than that. When sin threatened our relationship with Him, He sacrificed His own son to restore that relationship. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

He loves us because we are His. We were created for a loving relationship with Him. God’s love knows no bounds; it is unconditional. He doesn’t say if you behave well and do these things I will love you. Rather, “…God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8) He never gives up on us, and we can come to Him at any time.

Such love is beyond our ability to grasp with our minds, but it is not beyond our ability to experience with our hearts. The more we study it, the more we understand it, and the more we realize, we will move steadily beyond our understanding. But it does not mean that we cannot have confidence in the fact that God unconditionally loves us. Know it, cling to it, and remember it; don’t underestimate the love of God for you.  No one is immune to it. Everyone will experience it to some degree. And no matter who you are, your life is changed because of it.

The Lord loves you. He says so again and again in the Bible. Don’t take our word for it. Read His Word for yourself and see how deep and unconditional God’s love is for us.

Discussion Questions

1. What is your definition of “unconditional love”?
2. How often do you try to grasp the love of God?