“…for God is love.” –1 John 4:8b
If we knew nothing at all about God, these four words would tell us everything we would ever need to know. It was for Love that He said “Light Be!” It was for love He formed Adam from the mud and breathed life into him.and it was love that clothed Adam and promised him a Savior after he had sinned.
Love spoke to Noah to build an ark of salvation. Love lit the lamp of faith in Abraham’s heart to believe God’s promise of a Seed that would bless many nations. Love anointed Moses to foreshadow the Deliverer that would come. Love inspired the prophets to declare the coming of a Redeemer.
Love was born in the flesh in a manger and Love hung on a cross on a hillside. Love rolled away the grave stone and Love lives on forever as the Resurrected One. Love welcomes us into the Kingdom with open arms, forgiven and redeemed. Love brings us back to our Father where we sit on His lap and cry, “Abba, Father! [Daddy, God!](Romans 8:15). Love never ends and it never fails (I Corinthians 13:8).
Why is it that with everything He has done to demonstrate His love toward us we still don’t believe it? We may acknowledge the words are true in our heads but in our hearts we doubt His love for us individually. At least I have anyway.
The truth is even when we don’t feel loveable and we know we don’t deserve it, there God is loving us anyway. Doesn’t He know what worthless, useless sinners we are? I guess He’s forgotten. Maybe we should too. Because if we start believing it, the Love that changed the world will change us also.
(originally published 5/30/13)