You are loved (Column Version)

I can say for certain today, “I am loved.”

I hope you feel the same. Maybe you don’t. But nonetheless, you are loved. The Bible says it over and over again. No matter if you feel loved much or hardly at all, stay with me. There is greater love waiting to be revealed: the love of Jesus.
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“Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so…” Indeed he does and he loves you too. Many years ago, the Apostle Paul said, “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is” (Ephesians 3:18).

You are loved because Jesus says you are.

In the book of John, Jesus says, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love” (John 15:9). If your life has anything to do with the words of Jesus, you should be living a great life. When Jesus says he loves you, he definitely means it. The words of Jesus pierced people’s hearts and healed people’s lives, so his words can impact you too.

You are loved because Jesus lived it.

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). Jesus died on a cross for your sin because that is how much he loved you. The good news is that he still does. He has given you the opportunity of accepting the love that he dedicated his entire life to living. Don’t focus on your sin and positions. Jesus died so things like that wouldn’t separate you from the wonderful love of God.

You are loved because Jesus taught it.

Jesus once told a story about a father and his two sons. “The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his two sons. A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve” (Luke 15:12-14).

As it turns out, the younger son’s plan didn’t work. He thought the life away from his own home with money would make him happier, but it just brought him to a horrible, barren place in his life. “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him” (John 15:20).

The father had a celebration for his son’s return. At the time, it didn’t matter what he had done. No matter the sins, he was home! Jesus taught this story because he has the same heart.

You are loved, but God wants you to love also.

You will never understand God’s love perfectly on this earth. In fact, Ephesians 3:19 says, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” But when you live a life of love like Jesus, you get to understand his love toward you more!

God wants you to be his. He desires your obedience and love. He sent Jesus into the world so you could have the opportunity to be his disciple and experience love in ways beyond initial thoughts and desires. When God speaks of love, he speaks of a love that is so much greater than you can imagine. Whenever you experience God’s love in your own life, the call to live a life of love with Jesus becomes a little easier.
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You are loved by the creator of the universe. There is no other love in the world that is able to take the place God has to love you. It doesn’t matter if you feel loved or not—you need God’s love.