The Bible talks at length about God’s love for His people. However, many of us often wonder why God loves us, especially when we often feel unlovable. Understanding the motivation of God’s love for us can help us rest in the promise of His unending love, even when we feel so unworthy.
“Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending
Reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down
Fights ‘til I’m found
Leaves the 99
I couldn’t earn it
I don’t deserve it
Still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending
Reckless love of God”
-Reckless Love/Cory Asbury 2018
There have been hundreds (if not thousands) of songs written about the love of God. The idea that God unconditionally loves us should always leave us feeling awestruck and thankful for the fact that He truly cares about each detail of our lives. Most of us can relate to the line in this Cory Asbury songs that proclaims, “I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it.” Even on our best days, we generally feel unworthy of God’s amazing love.
Understanding the motive behind God’s overwhelming love for us can help us to rest completely in the promise that His love is never-ending, unconditional, and perhaps, a little reckless.
He Designed Us
Genesis 3:27 (ESV)
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
All of us are descendants of Adam and Eve. The world’s first two humans were the only thing that God created with His own hands. Up until this point in creation, God had simply spoken everything into existence, but when He got to humanity, He took the time to design us and make us with His own hands. Additionally, He created humanity “in His own image.”
Have you ever made something? I’m not talking about putting together a piece of furniture that came with directions. Have you ever created something from nothing? Perhaps it was something that you built, a song that you composed or a painting that you created. Your attachment to that item stems from the fact that you created it.
When God looks at you, He sees something that He handcrafted. His love for His own creation isn’t tied to some sort of ego. Instead, it is based on the fact that He sees Himself when He looks at you. In the same way that you look at your own creation and see elements of yourself, God sees bits and pieces of Himself, His Son and the Holy Spirit in you.
God loves you because You are His own personal production. Yes, you got some genetic traits from your parents, but guess what? He made them too! If you ever wonder about the depth of God’s love for you, remember that You are His own personal production. If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. He made you and He loves you!
His Love is Forever
Psalm 136:1-3 (TPT)
Let everyone thank God, for he is good, and he is easy to please! His tender love for us continues on forever! Give thanks to God, our King over all gods! His tender love for us continues on forever! Give thanks to the Lord over all lords! His tender love for us continues on forever!
The 136th Psalm is unique, as every verse ends with a declaration that God’s tender love for us continues on forever. While we only pulled three verses from the Psalm, it’s definitely worth sitting down and reading all 26 verses.
Part of the reason that God loves us is simply because His love is forever. Humans have a natural tendency to put conditions on love. We love friends until they do something that we don’t agree with or something that causes us some level of pain. At that point, our love either slowly fades away or abruptly ends. There are even cases where love between family members can fade away. Try as we may, we often put conditions on the love that we have for other people. Tragically, marriages end every day because the parties involved say that they “fell out of love” with one another.
God’s love doesn’t work that way. No, His love endures forever. If you have a child, you may have a better understanding of this concept. Even when your child misbehaves, you love him or her. Why? Because they’re your child!
In the same vein, God loves us because His love endures forever. There is nothing you can do to make God love you less than He does right now. Conversely, there is nothing you can do to make Him love you more. His love is unmoving, unshakable, and unending.
John, the disciple who had the closest relationship to Christ, worded it like this:
1 John 3:1 (ESV)
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
God’s love for us is both displayed and justified by the fact that we are part of His family. In the same way that you love your children based solely on their existence, God loves you because you are His child.
He Paid for You
John 3:16 (TPT)
For this is how much God loved the world-he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life.
John 3:16 is one of the most often-quoted verses in the entire Bible. Perhaps you’ve heard and read that verse so many times over the years that it’s lost some of its luster for you. Take this opportunity to really encounter this powerful Scripture.
God had a Son. However, He wanted a family. The only way to make that happen was to offer His “one and only, unique Son” as a way to build a bridge from humanity to God.
Have you ever purchased a home? Perhaps you spent months scouring the market, looking for the right home for you and your family. Once you found the right home, you spent a considerable amount to make it your own. Now, you love the home. Obviously, you were drawn to it before, but now you love it. Why? Because you wanted it so badly that you had to make it yours.
Long before you were ever created, God knew you. Not only did He know you, but He wanted you. In the same way that you wanted to live in the home that you bought, He wanted to live inside you. With that in mind, He paid the greatest price of all, His Son, as a way to make that desire a reality.
Part of the reason that God loves you is because He paid a great price for the opportunity to be with you. Now, His desire is to spend time with you every day. Additionally, He wants to spend eternity with you.
In 1 John 4:8, we are told that God is love. That is perhaps the greatest motivator in His love for us. Love is the very essence of His character. God’s love cannot, under any circumstances, be separated from who He is.
We will never be able to fully understand the love that God has for us, as it goes beyond any human reasoning. However, we can rest in the promise that He loves us simply because love is what He is. His love it not predicated on our successes or on our own good works. Instead, God loves us because God is love.
A Closing Prayer:
God, thank You for Your love for me. I know that there is nothing I can do to earn it, there is nothing I can do to deserve it, but You have made the decision to love me, often despite myself. Help me to fully embrace Your love for me. Help me to rest in the promise of its everlasting nature. I know that You love me, I am Yours and You will never abandon me. Thank You for that. In Christ’s name, Amen.