Faith First Media

God Loves You

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2009 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

I don’t know about you, but there have been times in my life when I felt like God really didn’t care. I’m not gonna lie... there have been times when I’ve wondered if he’s even there. In Psalm 8:4 it says “What is man that you take thought of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” I thought that from God’s perspective, the whole world must just seem like a little speck of dust, and I really did not feel very significant.

The reason I felt this way is because I didn’t really grasp just how much God values us. We’ve all heard the phrase “God loves you” a million times. I’ve seen it on t-shirts, magnets, coffee mugs, stickers, bumper stickers. It’s everywhere. And we’ve heard it so much that it’s easy to take it for granted. But if God does love you... that’s a big deal.

People get so excited when they fall in love with another person, but no matter how much another person might love you, that’s nothing compared to how much God loves you. We need to put things in perspective. We’re talking about the God who made the universe, loving and caring about you. No matter how insignificant you may feel, the truth is that you are valued by God. That’s a big deal.

Do not ever forget how significant you are to God. Because if you do, it will really put your faith in danger. The fact that God loves and values each one of us is the very foundation of our faith. It’s expressed in the number one most quoted verse of the Bible:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

--John 3:16

This is the proof that God loves us. He sacrificed his only begotten Son for us, and his Son willingly went to the cross to take the punishment we deserve for our sins upon himself, so we can receive forgiveness if we follow him.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

--Romans 5:6-8

What this is saying is that when Jesus died on the cross, it was the ultimate expression of God’s love for us, manifested through his Son Jesus Christ. The God of the universe sacrificed his only begotten Son for you. The Son willingly went to the cross to pay the penalty for your sin, out of love for you.

It says here that “peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die” or in other words, maybe if you really loved someone, you would be willing to die in order to save them... if it came to that. And that’s the ultimate expression of love - what more can you do for someone than give up your whole life for them? And there have been times in history when people have sacrificed their lives to save a friend. It’s happened before.

But God’s love is even greater than that, because Christ died for us while we were still sinners and in fact, it says in verse ten that “when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” Maybe you would dare to die to save your best friend, if you had to, but how many of you would die to save the life of an enemy? That’s the kind of love that God showed us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus died to save sinners who were enemies of God, not because they deserved to be saved, but because he loved them.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

--Romans 8:38-39

Neither death, nor life... that pretty much sums up everything in existence right there, doesn’t it? But it goes on to list all these other things that will not separate you from the love of God.

Remember when I told you at the beginning that there was a time in my life when I didn’t think that God cared about me? That seems ridiculous now that I just read these verses. I thought, as it says in Psalm 8:4, “What is man, that you are mindful of him?” but the very next verse says “you made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor”!

The Bible makes it so clear that we are significant to God. How could I lose sight of it? I lost sight of it because I was relying on other people to feel good about myself, and the truth is, there will be times when other people are going to let you down. In your life, you’re gonna have friendships that you think are going to last forever, and they’re not. People change. Life is hard. If you rely solely on other people for support, there will be times when you’re going to be disappointed. People aren’t perfect. But the love of God is perfect. God loves you more than your friends love you. He loves you more than your family loves you. He loves you more than your boyfriend or girlfriend loves you. Don’t ever forget that you are valued by God. You are significant. He loves you and he has a plan for you. It says in Matthew 10:30 that God has every hair on your head numbered. He knows everything about you. He knows you better than anybody else. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows your likes and your dislikes, he knows your secrets, he knows your abilities and disabilities, and he has a plan to use you to accomplish his work, if you only choose to follow him.

Even though I went through some difficult times that weakened my faith at first, in the end my faith was strengthened because I learned to rely on God, and I became a stronger person. Don’t ever forget how valuable you are to God. Because if you can grasp just how infinite the love of God is, you will have strength through even the most difficult trials. You will have confidence that you never knew you had, because it won’t matter anymore what other people think of you, if you know what God thinks of you. Romans 8:31 says “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Even if everyone else abandons you, and even if no one else loves you, you can still be confident, and be strong, and be joyful, because God loves you, and that matters more than anything else because God can provide fulfillment in your life that no one else can, ultimately leading to eternal life with him.

I don’t know about you, but this motivates me. It motivates me more than any fire and brimstone sermon ever did. Because if you really grasp how much God loves you, and how significant you are to him, the natural response is to want to love God back, and serve God. Just think of the ultimate expression of God’s love that was manifested to us through the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. Imagine that you’re about to be shot, and your best friend jumps in front of you and takes the bullet for you. And in his dying breath, he gives you a command. Wouldn’t you follow his command, whatever it is, just out of respect for your friend, and the incredible sacrifice he made for you? That’s how we should live as Christians. In other religions, people follow a bunch of rules and rituals so they can get to heaven or nirvana, or whatever the reward may be. But we follow the teachings of Christ not for selfish gain, but because Christ sacrificed so much for us - it’s the least we can do for him. Jesus sacrificed his life for us, so it’s only reasonable that in return we should sacrifice our lives for him, not by dying, since really wouldn’t achieve anything, but by living for him. We don’t live for ourselves. We live for him. As it says in Romans 12:1, “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable, unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

You are significant. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that are you are not significant, because even if no one else ever values you, you are valuable to God.

See Also:

• What must I do to be saved?
• Why did Jesus die?
• Basic Christian Beliefs Database