Jesus loves you, but do you believe it?
I mean do you honestly, truly, deep down in your gut know that you are lovable and loved so deeply by our God? I know it’s sometimes hard to grasp, especially if you’re facing trials right now. Maybe you’re doubting if you even believe, or you just never gave God a chance in the first place. But that is what’s so, so sweet – no matter who you are, what you believe, or if you accept Jesus’s love, it’s still there. Forever unchanging.
Time after time in the Bible, the Lord chased after even the people that seemed farthest from His grasped and changed their hearts. All it took was an encounter with Him, which He extended and pursued out of His overflowing love for them. Saul was murdering Christians, but God loved Him anyway. So much so that He met him on the road, brought him to his knees, and gave him a new name and story that you wouldn't even believe.
Jesus loves you. This is truth.
He doesn’t have to, but He chooses to. He knows everything about you, loves you with a full heart, and aches for you to love Him back, too.
Maybe you've heard that phrase before - the idea that "God knows you." And if you're anything like me, the concept has intimidated you. God knows my every judging, hateful thought and every moment of sin, lust, and idolatry - why would I ever want to rejoice in that? It solely meant to me that God knew the deepest, darkest parts of me. In my mind, this defined how He saw me. He knew my sin and my flaws - that's how God "knew" me. And yes, that's all true, and it's still a beautiful thought because He loves me anyway.
However, there's more to the story. This means that God knows me and delights in all of what makes me who I am. He knows my favorite color and my favorite song, even when I'm too indecisive to decide for myself. He knows what passions and gifts bring me the most joy, though I seem to forget about them from time to time. He knows what I need before I realize what's missing. God knows me because He loves me. He is beyond time and space and can see into all the world - what is, was, and will be - yet He still looks down at me and sees me as the apple of His eye. I am beloved. I give delight to the Lord just by being who I am, and the same goes for you. God's love for us is not dependent upon our actions, but rather is woven into the fiber of our being - it's something we can never stray from. From your sense of humor and every quirk, He finds joy in it all. Even in the weakest parts of who you are. For where we are weak, His grace is sufficient and He is overjoyed when we invite Him to be our strength.
It is because of God's great love for me that I can turn around and praise His Son, the one He sent to die for me. I receive His love, being filled up so I can pour it back into the world and unto Him. It’s the flawless meaning behind 1 John 4:19 - for "we love because He first loved us."
So realize this: Jesus loves you, just as you are. It may seem like something for kids to say, but weren't we called to have childlike faith in the first place? So set aside your reservations and proclaim this truth today: "Jesus loves me. I choose to let that love in, and there's no turning back."
Thank you, Jesus for continually loving us first.
