True Love
You may feel forgotten, forsaken, and fearful, no one knowing the difficult details of your life.
You many feel cynical towards True Love, having been abandoned and betrayed, doubting there is such a thing or a person.
You may feel shameful, unworthy, and hopeless because of the things you've done and can't seem to escape.
You may feel like it is impossible to offer vulnerable love that is pure and unselfish, and that it is impossible to find this kind of love anywhere.
THERE IS GOOD NEWS!
God knows EVERY. SINGLE. DETAIL. of your life and LOVES you. He has seen the upbringing that molded you. He has heard the words spoken to you; the words that echo in your mind, leaving you to decipher the lies from the Truth.
He knows the decisions others made that left you bruised and battered, and He knows the decisions you made that have brought heartache and etched scars.
How can you know there really is Good News? How can you know God loves you, not with selfish love, but with pure, selfless, life-giving, life-sustaining love?
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Look at what God's Word is gently whispering to you, beckoning you to behold.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
God loves His creation. You are His special creation.
His love is a giving love: He gave HIS ONLY SON.
His love is an unprejudiced love: WHOEVER believes in Him will have eternal life.
"Surely he (Jesus) has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;... But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5)
Transgressions (pasha): rebellion, sin
HEALED (rapha): to cure, to make whole, to repair
*Greek words in parentheses
God gave us Jesus, who took all the punishment we deserved on Himself.
We are the sinful.
We are the selfish.
We are the broken and bruised.
Yet, He was willingly wounded for our sin and selfishness. He desires for us to come to Him so He can pour His healing love over all of our brokenness. The scars in His hands and in His side will forever and always cry out as a testament of His love.
"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows." (Luke 12:6-7)
God sees every detail of your life. Even the hairs on your head are numbered. Hair that falls to the ground and the wind wisps away.
How much more does He see your thoughts, intentions, desires, and decisions?
How much more does He see your circumstances, the good and the bad?
If God does not forget one single sparrow, then you, who are more valuable, are NEVER forgotten by God.
"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:3-7)
Look at the condition every human being is in desperate need of being rescued from.
Foolish.
Disobedient.
Led astray from Truth.
Slaves to passions and pleasures.
Hating and jealous of others.
YET, in His goodness and loving kindness God saves us!
According to His mercy, by His Spirit, He recreates and renovates us.
Through Jesus Christ, God richly pours out His Holy Spirit on us giving us the Helper and strength we need.
He makes us innocent by His grace, and makes us heirs with Christ for all eternity.
Even if your past reminds you that you were forgotten and forsaken and awakens fear within,
Even if you've been abandoned and betrayed,
and your thoughts taunt you with shame and worthlessness,
Even if your heart cynically cries out "there is no such thing as True Love..."
When you meet Jesus and believe in the most generous act of sacrificial Love EVER expressed in His death on the cross, everything changes. Why? because He is Perfect Love. He is selfless. He is pure. He is just. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
•His love tells us that we are found in Him (Philippians 3:8-9).
•His love casts out fear
(1 John 4:18).
•He forgives our sins and remembers them no more, so we can live unashamed
(Micah 7:19, Psalm 103:2-4, 1 John 1:9).
•His love tells us that we are valuable members of the body of Christ and that He wants to use the gifts He's given us for His glory and our good
(Romans 12:3-6).
•His love tells us that we are His children
(1 John 3:1-2).
•His love changes us to reflect His beauty and His character and bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit
(Galatians 5:22, John 15:1-11).
Look at these examples Jesus uses to describe His character:
A Shepherd (John 10:7-15)
"So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep... If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep... I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep."
Jesus wants to save, provide for, protect, and know you!
A Husband (Ephesians 5:25-30)
"...even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body...Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it...For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.
Jesus desires to nourish and cherish you! He is like a husband, except the ONLY perfect Husband, who cherishes His bride, brings her to maturity, and tenderly cares for her.
A Father (the story of the prodigal son who came home, Luke 15:11-32)
"And he (the prodigal son) arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate."
God looks for the lost. He extends His mercy (shields us from what we deserve) and His grace (gives us gifts we don't deserve).
No matter where you are, He can find you. No matter what you have done or what has been done to you, He holds His arms out ready to embrace you, kiss you, and forgive you!
He loves you!
So back to the question: How can you know there really is Good News? How can you know God loves YOU?
God's Word says so. His Word is Truth and can be trusted because He has already demonstrated His love for us.
Not when we did enough good things to earn it, not through any righteousness we possessed, But while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us.
And if you're still unsure...
God tells us to seek Him. He says,
"And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."
The One True God loves YOU!
Seek Him and you will find Him!
Blessings,
Amy
