Have you ever wondered, “Does God love me?”
Many of us have asked this at least once. Especially when wonder why bad things like pandemics happen, we sometimes question our faith or who God is.
The answer is simple: God loves you.
The fact that God loves you is known by who He is.
Who is God?
God is:
- Eternal
- Unchangeable
- Present everywhere
- Sinless and hates sin
- Fair and impartial
- Faithful
- Kind and desiring your welfare, merciful, gracious, showing undeserved kindness
- Forgiving
- God is love (1 John 4)
In your daily life you may sometimes feel like God doesn’t love you. But, it’s important to note that the fact that God’s love for you is not determined by how you feel at any given moment.
Our emotions, while valid, are not facts. It’s important for you to not confuse your feelings with the reality that God loves you.
“This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about — not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.” – 1 John 4:9-10 (The Message) .
Why does God love me?
Sometimes it’s easier to understand why God may love a friend who spends their time volunteering and attending church than why He would love ourselves. God’s love is not something we earn. It is given to us freely, as a good father naturally loves his own children.
Why God loves us:
He created you (Colossians 1:16, Psalm 139:13, Jeremiah 1:5).
God created you. As a human being you are the most important of all visible creatures. Before you were conceived God knew you and loved you. You are one of a kind. Stop and think about this, no one else has the same fingerprints you do.
He knows your heart (Acts 15:8). God knows your desires, your hurts, your shame, your passions — everything about you. And He still chooses to love you. As a parent continues to love a child, so God continues to love us.
NOT why God loves us:
- Success
- Appearance
- Acts of service or volunteer work
How much does God love me?
Have you ever loved someone so much you’d be willing to die for them? Well, that’s how much God loves you. God came to earth in the form of a human, named Jesus, who lived and died on a cross, to act as a sacrifice for our actions against God and others.
But, who is Jesus, anyways?
Jesus was God in human form. Jesus came to this earth to show us God’s love and rebuild the relationship with humans and God.
God has unconditional love for us. This means that no matter what we do, God will still love us. He is forgiving and merciful. More than anything, God desires a relationship with us, that we would ask for forgiveness of our wrong actions, thoughts, and desires and live in a relationship with Him.
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the story of a Shepherd who went out to find a lost sheep. He kept looking for that lost sheep until he found it. The shepherd put the sheep on his shoulders and brought it home.
Jesus uses this story to illustrate God’s willingness to find us wherever we are at in our life, no matter what we may have done. God does not abandon us to our foolishness, but he comes and finds us and brings us home, calls us to repentance and to faith in the Gospel. He never gives up.
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a story of a son who took his father’s money and left home. The son returned home with nothing, ashamed of what he had done. But the father celebrated when he came home and forgave his son for his actions. This story of the lost son is how God views His relationship with us: simply desiring us to have a relationship with him.
Does God love everyone?
But, does God love everyone equally? Does He choose favorites?
Yes, God loves all people.
God’s love for all people is expressed the same way to every person. John 3:16 tells us that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus died for all people (2 Corinthians 5:15; 5:19, 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 John 2:2).
Jesus, God in human form, lived on this earth. He understands loneliness, sadness, hurt and pain. He understands that we make mistakes. But, Jesus Christ alone is the reason all people have the opportunity to know God.
God loves everyone, and wants to have a relationship with each and every one of us.
If you’re interested in getting to know more about who God is, check out our adult Bible studies at Shepherd’s Gate Church. If you are in need of prayer or any other need, contact us so we can connect with you.
