By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #323 ~
You need to be loved by God! And I’m talking about knowing and experiencing God’s love in this life, during the end-times, during the great tribulation, and forever and ever.
* Only by knowing God’s love will you be able to love and glorify Him.
* Only by knowing God’s love can you be strong, satisfied, and encouraged.
* Only by knowing God’s love can you have a close, responsive, dynamic relationship with Him.
* Only by knowing God’s love can you live for Him and serve Him.
* Only by knowing God’s love will you be able to truly love others.
If you do not know and depend on God’s love, then you will seek love in the wrong places; you will stray from God; you will sin against God; you will walk “after emptiness and become empty” (Jer. 2:4, 13); you won’t obey God; you won’t spiritually grow; you will look for love from people instead of from God; and you will be sad, lonely, fearful, angry, impure, greedy, covetous, impatient, discouraged, and spiritually empty.
So how does God love you? He loves you in many ways, but first and foremost by Christ’s work on the cross to save you from sin, death, and hell. This dying, sacrificial love of Christ is foundational, setting in motion an eternal life of being loved by God and of loving God. “God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). “We love because God first loved us.” 1 Jn. 4:19
God’s love is wonderfully comprehensive. It’s a fatherly love, a holy love, a personal love, a precious love, a caring love, a great love, an infinite love, an unconditional love, a continual love, a powerful love, an unfailing love, and an eternal, never-ending love. “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6
God’s love for you is multidimensional, like the facets of an infinitely beautiful and valuable diamond. It’s a love that is good (a blessing), forgiving (cleanses you of sin), kind (gives to you), patient (bears with you), attentive (thinks of you), protecting (keeps you safe), providing (meets your needs), compassionate (feels deeply for you), and faithful (continually and eternally committed to you). “You, Lord, are good and ready to forgive and abundant in love to all who call upon You.” Psalm 86:5, 15
God’s love is purposeful, is a key component of the good work He wants you to do. God’s love motivates, directs, and helps you accomplish His plans. “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your love, O Lord, is everlasting; do not forsake the work of Your hands.” Ps. 138:8, 2 Cor. 5:14-15, Eph. 2:1-10
I have summed up God’s love for you. But how can you know and grow in this love (1 Jn. 4:16)? And how can you “keep yourself in the love of God” (Jude 21)? Here are several ways:
* God expresses His love to you through His word. It can be through verses that use the word love. It can be truths that speak about His love for you in salvation. It can be seen in Bible characters who experienced His love, the best example being David as talked about in the Psalms. Ps. 59:16-17
* Through the lives of Christians. Fellowship with believers is essential to knowing and experiencing God’s love for you. Rom. 12:9-10
* Through prayer, by asking God to reveal His love to you. Ps. 57:1-3, 63:1-3
* By faith, by believing that God loves you and will keep loving you. One aspect of walking by faith is believing and expecting God to love you. Ps. 33:18-22
* Through communion, by regularly taking time with other believers to remember God’s love for you through Christ’s work on the cross. 1 Cor. 11:23-26
* Through confession. As you confess your sins to God, He will comfort you with His forgiving love. “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your love; according to the greatness of your compassion blot out my transgressions.” Ps. 51:1, 1 Jn. 1:5-9
* By meditating on God’s work of salvation. Think about being foreknown, chosen, called, born again, justified, redeemed, saved, forgiven, adopted, reconciled, sealed, sanctified, glorified, and a citizen of heaven. Rom. 8:28-39
* By observing God’s work in your life. Declare God’s love in the morning and at night look back and note how He personally loved you during the day. This helps you see God’s goodness, patience, power, protection, provision, forgiveness, and compassion. Psalm 92:1-5
* By remembering and being thankful for how God has loved you, whether it was that day or in the distant past. Seeing and connecting these acts of love helps you understand the way of God’s love, the continuity of His love for you through the years. Being thankful helps you see God’s love, but also solidifies it in your heart. Ps. 77:6-13, 103:7-8
* By experiencing God’s love on earth. God shows His love by giving you good things to enjoy – a growing family, good food, playful pets, stunning sunsets, “purple mountain majesties” , etc. Gen. 1:31, Ps. 119:64
* By obeying God, by carrying out His commands. God reveals His love to you when you do what He wants you to do. John 14:21, 23
* By worshiping and praising God. This most important way to tell God that you love Him results in Him filling and flooding your heart with His love. Ps. 147:1
* By reciting truths about God. I have written out my ABCs of God’s character, and I regularly review them – and they always stir my heart with His love. Ps. 48:9
The apostle John said,“We have come to know and have believed the love that God has for us” (1 Jn. 4:16). Have you come to know the love that God has for you? Do you keep yourself in His love (Jude 21)? Do you walk in His love? Are you being satisfied by His love (Ps. 90:14). I can’t stress enough the blessing, necessity, and importance of God’s love. You need it to love and to live the life God has for you. And in tough times, and in the end-times, and when the Antichrist is ruling the earth and greatly persecuting the church, you must be convinced of it.
Someday soon, you will be in heaven and literally be with Jesus, and it’s then that you will be filled with His amazing, soul-satisfying love. I can’t wait to see Him, to be with Him, to be fully loved by Him, and to fully and forever love Him. Here’s what Job thought about it: “After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Job 19:26-27
P.S. I can personally say that knowing God’s love has been the best thing in my Christian life. I couldn’t have made it without the daily and incredible love of God. Here’s an encouraging article – “The Love of GOD”, and an encouraging post – “The Rapture, a Love Story.”