What God Wants You to Know: God Loves You

John 3:1-17; Romans 5:3-11

I want to start this series of blog posts with the simple yet complicated concept of God’s love for us. Without internalizing this concept, it’s impossible to live a Christian life. That’s why Paul emphasized to the Ephesians that he, “pray[ed] that [they], being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19

    For God so loved the world (John 3:16)

 In the third chapter of John, we read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him will have eternal life." John 3:16 God knew humans would mess up, but he didn’t want that to keep them from spending eternity with him, so he created a perfect plan. And that plan required willingness on both God and Jesus to do what needed to be done to save us from our sins.

So, while we were still sinners, failing miserably to follow the Law, Jesus was born into humanity. He was born in humble surroundings, lived a life with all the same temptations we face, yet never sinned. In his perfection, he went to the cross, where our sins held him. His death was excruciatingly painful and humiliating.

Yet he died willingly to save us.  Three days later, he appeared alive to his followers and commissioned them to spread the gospel throughout the world. He had defeated death to save the world from their sins.

 Christ arrives on time (Romans 5:6-7)

^"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us, sinners.” God’s timing was impeccable, still is. He knew the world was ready to receive redemption. So, Jesus chose twelve ordinary men, taught them the truth, modeled perfect leadership, and then sent them out to work for the kingdom.

In verse 7, Paul writes, “Now, most people would not be willing to die for a righteous person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a good person.” (5:7) I wondered whether a righteous person is good and a good person righteous? Apparently not. It seems that the difference between a righteous person and a good person lies in attitude.

A righteous person strictly follows the rules and moral codes, acting with justice and integrity. They do so to make themselves look good. A good person goes beyond mere rules, acting with kindness, mercy, and compassion. While a righteous person is admired for being right, a good person is loved for their warmth and generosity.

We were neither righteous nor good when Christ went to the cross, yet he went anyway. Christ saw the wretchedness around him, knew it would still be going on today, yet chose to save us. This means we don’t have to clean ourselves up to come to Christ for salvation. We can come covered in the filth of our sins, lost, self-important, and determined to do things our way. But at the foot of the cross, we must give up our will and submit to him. In that submission, we must admit our need for God, seek his will, and obey him.

We know how dearly God loves us (Romans 5:5)

"And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (NIV) Commentator John MacArthur points out, “Poured out refers to lavish outpouring to the point of overflowing. Our heavenly Father does not proffer his love in measured drops but in immeasurable torrents.”

If God loved us so much when we were sinners that he sacrificed his son on the cross, can you imagine how much he loves us when we accept his salvation and live in his will? God's love is even greater than Clara Barton's. During the American Civil War, the battlefield was chaos. Men on both sides lay wounded — bleeding, screaming, dying. Supplies were short. Doctors were overwhelmed. And most people avoided those front lines at all costs.

But not Clara Barton. She ran straight toward the suffering. Clara was a schoolteacher and clerk before the war, but when she saw the need, she became something more — a nurse, a supply coordinator, a fierce advocate for the forgotten. She showed up at the front lines with wagons full of bandages, food, and love. But here’s what sets her apart: Clara didn’t ask which side a soldier fought for. She didn’t ask about politics or uniforms. If someone was bleeding, she treated them. Union or Confederate, black or white, friend or enemy — they were all children of God in her eyes.

When Jesus found us broken, He didn’t ask what side we were on. He didn’t wait for us to deserve help. He bandaged our wounds and bore them Himself. Romans 5:10 says, “While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son.” It's the kind of love that crosses battle lines, and that shows up in the mess.

  Holy love vs. human love

God's love is so much greater than human love can ever be. We don’t love people simply because they exist; we usually need to feel some kind of attraction to love them. Our first inclination is to look at their outward appearance. If we find that appealing, we might strike up a conversation to see if we think alike. Over time, we will determine if the other person is worthy of our love. If they aren’t, we’ll dismiss them and move on to someone we do love. Human love is very wishy-washy. You see that in politics. If the politician is doing what we think is important, we’ll support them. But if the politician embraces a concept, we disagree with, we will reject the very person we supported just days before.

God’s love is not like that. God loves us today, tomorrow, and forever. There is absolutely nothing that will cause God to stop loving us. With God’s love, we received the Holy Spirit to help us live lives that glorify God. As Jesus told his disciples, the Holy Spirit is our helper. He convicts us of sin, teaches us God’s will and ways, fills us with his joy and peace, and produces the fruits of the Spirit in us.

It's the Holy Spirit who speaks to us when we pray, or who prays for us when we don’t have the words. There are two things that I believe are paramount to the Christian life: prayer and the Holy Spirit. I will talk about them probably more than any of the other Christian disciplines.

It's how we do God’s work. It is through the Holy Spirit and prayer that I knew a year ago I would be serving as pastor to a church. God had put on my heart the desire to serve a church as the lead pastor once more before I retired.

I longed to lead a congregation, so I suggested where I wanted to serve. I set up criteria for the church I wanted to lead. I even gave God some suggestions. Early in March, I was getting impatient to get my own church. That's when I let go of my criteria for the perfect church and told God to send me wherever he wanted me to go.

That's when the Holy Spirit whispered in my ear, “That’s what I was waiting for.” I knew then God had a church for me, so I waited in confidence for his call to the church that was perfect for me. Because I know without a doubt that God has called me to the church where I'm serving, I am excited for the future.