God's love

For many of us, we’ve lived our lives trying to earn people’s love and respect. We have. We’ve tried to accomplish so our Moms and Dads would affirm us. We’ve acted certain ways so our friends would accept us and want to be with us. We’ve learned that this life is all about earning your way – becoming what you need to be to receive the affirmation and love we’ve been created for. Even with God, we often have felt that His love is really conditional. He loves you when you do what He says. He loves you when you don’t sin. Too often, the Church has often promoted this understanding of God’s love.

You can see why so many churches have gone down the path of legalism. Legalism means elevating man-made traditions to the authority of Scripture. The Pharisees did it. We are tempted to do it, too. It makes everything black and white. If you do certain things, God is happy with you. If you don’t, then God is mad at you.

But the following statements are true, and I would venture to guess, they are more important for us to know and believe than so often how the culture tells us to live (even the culture of the church at times).


1. God loves you right now for who you are right now.
God’s love is not a love you get more of when you live right. It is not conditional. Whether you live for Him or for yourself, God’s love for you does not change.

2. He longs for you to experience His love.

He wants you to know His love not just in mind but in experience.

3. God’s love is seen in His desire to help you avoid the consequences of sin.

He knows what it does to you and it breaks His heart. He does not want you to experience sin – not for His sake, but for yours.

4. God longs for you to grow in His love.

God knows that when we grow in our relationship with Him, we are more aware of His love. It is not that His love changes, but we become more aware. We learn to live in His love and let go of our temptation to find this love in other places. We learn that He is the source of love, and our most important relationship is with Him.

5. God is not mad at you.

We’ve learned that when people get mad, they withhold love. They hold it against us when they are mad. We’ve experienced that and we’ve done it to others. God never withholds His love. His frustration/anger are always directed in a way to help us recognize and experience His love. He always takes the consequences of our sin (or the sin of others) and seeks to help it be used for good. And that good is always to be drawn to Him. That is why REMEMBER is such an important word of faith. We forget Him. We forget His love. We forget what we really need. We forget the amazing ways God has sought to express His love, so He tries to help us remember. And sometimes that happens in the midst of the consequences of living outside of His plan (ex. prodigal son).

Does He want us to experience pain and loss and suffering? No. But He will work through pain and loss and suffering to help us remember and return home – where we need to be - where we are loved – where we are known – where there is encouragement to grow.

6. God will always forgive when you confess.

There is no unlovable person. There is NOTHING that you have done or have had done to you, that will keep God from loving you. He always has. He always will. Even in the midst of your sin, His love was a constant. AND God’s forgiveness is perfect. When He forgives, it is gone.
He never looks at you as tainted because of your sin. He never sees you as less than He created you to be, and God doesn’t mess up.

Is this the God you know? Is this the God you believe in? Is this the God who you live with and for? Do you really know His love? Don’t just know it in words or phrases that you’ve heard in the church, know it is true and is found in relationship with Him. He longs for you to not only believe but experience it. He longs for you to experience the freedom in knowing the Truth and knowing the Truth is a relationship not an adherence to doctrine. It is Jesus – a living, active person (fully God – fully human) who is with you now.