When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps 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. —Romans 5:6-8 (NLT)
“What makes him special?” asks the radio personality. “I love him so much. He gives me roses,” she shares. “And he’s so thoughtful. He’s always asking me how I feel. He makes me feel like a princess.” “Why do you love her?” he asks another caller. “I love her because she makes me feel so good,” he says. “When I’m with her, I feel important and special.”
Hmmmm … although these are very normal responses, I’m struck by the fact that human love is often based on how someone makes us feel. When we’re asked why we love that someone, our common response is about how nice they are to us, not what is intrinsically valuable about them. Being naturally self-centered, we gravitate toward those who especially like and adore us. That’s natural.
You know what is unnatural and actually unfathomable? God’s love. That’s what. God does not love us because we are attentive to His needs and we make Him feel special. It’s not what we give Him that fills Him with a love that is wide and long and high and deep and surpasses understanding (from Ephesians 3:18-19). Nope. While we were utterly helpless and lost, while we gave Him exactly no time or thought, He loved us. In fact, He chose to take on Himself the punishment we deserve for our own evil ways. He loved us that much. Let that sink in. We had done absolutely nothing to “make” Him love us by human standards. We were indifferent at best, openly hostile at worst. And yet, He loved us even then. Actually, before we were even born, He loved us.
That kind of love is incomprehensible. God Almighty, who is complete without me, fully satisfied and whole, chose to create me and love me, even though he knew full well how rotten I would be. Before I accepted Jesus as my Savior, while I was still far from Him, He loved me even then. I don’t have to earn that love. (I couldn’t if I tried.) I don’t have to panic that I’ll lose His love. His love is everlasting. I can feel gawky and awkward and pathetic and inadequate as a Christian all I want. I can be disgusted with the way I often sin the same sin, failing repeatedly to live up to His good standards. But, if I have asked Him to be my Savior and received His amazing gift of forgiveness and cleansing, He calls me His own.* Period. I might be unfaithful to Him, but He remains faithful: “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is” (2 Timothy 2:13 NLT).
Oh, can you wrap your mind around this kind of crazy love? Your heart will be humbled and happy when you grasp that you are just plain loved without having to earn it or strive to keep it.
God’s unfathomable love will be our focus here at Sweet Selah Ministries for the month of February. Each day, click sweetselah.org/quote-of-the-day or visit our social media sites to read a verse from Scripture about God’s deep love for you. I’m calling these Bible verses “Valentines from God,” and I’ll also share a short thought about each one. The goal? That you may truly grasp, from the top of your head to the tips of your toes, that you are eternally loved. Let’s unwrap a valentine every day, shall we? The sheer number of verses telling us of God’s love is an indication that this is a message He wants us to fully know.
Father God, help us to believe what You say about Your love for us. Help us to understand a little more how very wide and high and long and deep that love is! And enable us to love You more and more. With grateful and eager hearts, in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
* If you’d like to learn more about how to trust God as your Savior, click on this gentle message from Sharon, or write her at sharon@sweetselah.org.