How He Loves

I want to ask you a question.

And I want you to answer it in your heart, with complete honesty. Not how you think you should answer it. Not so you look or sound spiritual. Don’t answer out loud. Just let this question sink into your heart, and answer it in the depth of your being.

Here is the question – do you know how much God loves you?

Not the priest or the preacher.
Not the person who has it all together.
Not even the person you wish you could be.

Do you know how much God loves you?

Not just when you’re having a good day, and you feel like you are worth loving.
Not when you do something nice for someone else.
Not tomorrow.
Today.
Right now.

Do you know how much God loves you? Do you know the deep, eternal, compassionate, life-giving, healing, transforming love of the One who would rather die than be without you?

God loves you as you are, not as you should be. God loves you deeply, passionately, desperately.

Isaiah 49 says, Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on my hand.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells a story about the redeeming love of the Father: A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, "I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die." So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money on wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs. The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, "At home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man.'" So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming. FILLED WITH LOVE AND COMPASSION, HE RAN TO HIS SON, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son." But his father said to the servants, "Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found." So the party began.

In Romans 5, Paul says, When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

And in Romans 8, he says, And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So how do we respond to this kind of love?

Jesus told another story of two men who came to pray – a religious leader and a tax collector, a sinner. The religious leader had it all together, and offered these beautiful prayers up to heaven. But the tax collector could not even raise his head, he was so ashamed. The religious leader said, “I thank you God that I am not like this tax collector.” But the tax collector simply said, “Have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus said that it was the tax collector who was right with God that day.

You see, we have to acknowledge how much we need Him – that we are nothing without Him. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” What does it mean to be poor in spirit?

Run down. Weary. Broken. Tore up from the floor up. At the end of your rope. Have you been there? God is with you. He is on your side. And His arms are open.

Jesus also said that to enter the kingdom of heaven, we have to become like little children. Now, there are a lot of ways to interpret that, but let me just suggest that a child accepts that she is loved. Can we all be like children? Can we really believe that God loves us as much as He says He does?

The amazing thing is that He promises to meet us where we are. Just like the Father who came running down the road to meet his son, even so our heavenly Father meets us where we are. He’s even been known to show up in the pig sty.

So if you have never received His love, or if you have run away from Him, His promise is: “Whoever comes to me, I will in no way cast them out.”

If you are tired, weary, and thirsty, His promise to you is: “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laiden, and I will give you rest.”

If you just feel broken, there is a verse of Scripture I want you to hear, Isaiah 42:3. This is for you: “A bruised reed He will not crush, and a smoldering wick he will not put out.” What does that mean? It means He’s not gonna kick you when your down.

God knows exactly where you are today.

He knows what hurts you.
He knows your fears.
He knows your past.
He knows everything about you.
And He loves you so.

So if you have made a mess of everything.
If you don’t feel good enough.
If you are at the end of your rope.
If others have turned their back on you.
If you think this is all a bunch of crap.
Even if you say, “God, I hate you. Leave me alone!”
He loves you so.

So right now, just close your eyes, and quiet your heart. Know that Jesus Christ is present at this very moment. He is here right now. And He loves you so.

You don’t have to hide.
You don’t have to pretend.
You don’t have to be afraid.

Be still and know that He is God. And that He loves you so.

May you have the power to understand… how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. (Ephesians 3:18-19)