“We love (God), because He first loved us."
One of the most difficult things in the Bible for me to fully grasp is that God loves me. Don’t misunderstand me, I believe and know that He loves me, because God is also the God of grace. I did not earn that love, and I do not deserve that love. I think, perhaps, that I have just spoken for you. If you read the Bible at all, you have to come in contact with the fact of God’s love. In this article, I want to deal with the fact that God loves you. God loves us in spite of the fact that we do not deserve it. That fact is made plain in the Bible’s story of God’s acts among us, beginning in Genesis and going through Revelation. We can read Bible history and secular history and know that we do not deserve the great love that God has for us. The Bible shows us that even its great heroes were flawed human beings – every one of them. Abraham, about whom the Old Testament is about after his call in Genesis12, was shown to be a flawed human being when he absconded to Egypt out of God’s will and lied about Sarah his wife and referred to as only his sister. (You can read about it in Genesis 12:10-16.) David, called “a man after God’s own heart,” sinned with Bathsheba, and trying to cover it up, lied and had her husband killed. But God loved Abraham and He loved David. No matter how flawed we are, He loves us. We can’t let the fact the fact that we have sinned keep us from accepting God’s love for us. God loves us because He is the God of love, mercy and grace. In 1 John 4:8, John tells us that “God is love.” The very essence of God is love. God is also the God who disciplines us, but that does not mean that He does not love us. (Read Hebrews 12:7-13 to get the biblical understanding of God’s discipline.) The Bible plainly shows the wrath of God, but it never tells us that “God is wrath,” but it does tell us that “God is love.” He is the God of mercy. Paul pointed out in Ephesians 4:2 that God is “rich in mercy.” Throughout the Bible, we see the mercy of God at work among His flawed human beings. God has not ceased being “rich in mercy.” He is the God of grace. Grace is defined as “unmerited favor.” Which means that in spite of our sins, God will forgive us and use us. If I did not believe this, I would stop preaching. I know that I do not deserve all of the blessings that God has put in my life, but, by grace, He has blessed me, and I accept the blessings of God, because I know that He is the God of grace. The greatest biblical proof we have that God loves us is Jesus Christ – period. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) In Ephesians 2:4-7, Paul passionately pointed this out to us: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, 5. Even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us (made us alive) with Christ. (By grace are you saved.) 6. And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 7. That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” I have written all of this to show you that God loves you. Jesus died and rose for you. By faith, Jesus is either a part of your life, or He will be if you will put your faith and trust in Him. Believe it!!!!! Bro. Joe
1 Comment
Margaret M Jones
3/22/2016 08:47:30 am
What a powerful message! I don't understand how God could love me, the sinner that I am, but I am so thankful. "AT THE CROSS", Romans 5:8
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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