Embracing God's Love
Have you ever questioned if God really loves you? If He really cares?
I know I have. Especially when I'm going through a hard time.
I remember many years ago I was experiencing an unusually hard day as I was caring for my two young sons with special needs. I was frustrated with my children who had missed their nap because we had been at an appointment that lasted way longer than it should have and now they were fussy and tired. I spent over an hour on the phone with a doctor’s office and insurance and still hadn’t gotten the issue resolved. I felt like I hadn't crossed a single thing off my to-list that day (except for that long appointment and keeping the kids alive) and so I asked/demanded God, “Where are you in all of this? Do you even care? Are you really a good God?” I desperately wanted to be alone with God, but the kiddos needed dinner and attention. And then, when bedtime rolled around my young son shared something with me that made me realize just how very much we are loved.
God Gave Us Jesus
After my older son, about four years old at the time, was all snuggled in bed and we had read his book before bed, we prayed together. Sometimes I did the praying, sometimes I did it fill in the blank style as he could only say one or two-word phrases at the time. I decided to go with the fill-in-the-blank prayer.
Me: “Thank you God for ____.” He said his name in response. “Me,” I corrected. “And thank you God for _____.” “Eesus!” he said with a grin.
I choked back tears as I told him, “Yes, thank you God for Jesus.” I’ve never had any indication that he understood anything relating to God, Jesus or Bible stories, except for identifying “baby Eesus” at Christmas time. I’ve never prayed before using the words “Thank you God for Jesus.” It was his own spontaneous thought and it filled my heart with hope and joy.
We finished our prayers and I kissed that precious little guy goodnight and as I left his room it hit me: God had answered my angry prayers through the mouth of a child who would need years of speech therapy to be able to talk like his peers. I had demanded God tell me where He was and why it felt like He wasn’t caring for us. And He gently reminded me that He loved me and my children enough He gave us Jesus.
“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.” 1 John 4:9
Oh, how amazing, how incredible is that?
God's Love for Us is Extravagant
After his baptism, Jesus came up out of the water and the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” (Matthew 3:16-17).
Jesus hadn’t yet done a single thing, ministry-wise, and yet God was proud of Him and loved Him. He called Jesus His beloved Son. He found great joy in Him.
And I realized that thought was true of us too:
- Before we were able to do a single thing that might bring God glory, He fearfully and wonderfully knitted and created us together in our mother's womb. (Psalm 139:13-14, Isaiah 44: 24, Jeremiah 1:5)
- God is love and He won't let anything seperate us from that love. (Romans 8:37-39, 1 John 4:19)
- God delights in us and rejoices over us with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
- God's love toward us is perfect. (1 Corinthians 13)
- God found us worth His Son dying for, even when we were the worst of sinners. (John 3:16, Romans 5:8, 1 Timothy 1:15-17)
- God view us as His children and provides all we truly need as the perfect Heavenly Father. (Isaiah 43: 6-7, John 1:12-13, Romans 8:15-16, 2 Corinthians 6:18)
- God's mercy toward us is never-ending. (Lamentations 3:22, Ephesians 4:32, 1 John 1:9)
- God holds us close to His heart and guides us. (Isaiah 40:11)
I could go on and on, because the Bible is a treasure trove filled with reminders of how much God loves us, cares for us, provides for us, rescues us, protects us, and so much more.
Yes, my friend, God loves us extravagantly, beautifully, perfectly. He loves us more than we could ever grasp this side of heaven. May we embrace that love. Savor it. And live fully in it.