Why Does God Love Me?

Why does God love me? In an attempt to understand that question, I read the first verses of the Book of John, which led me to some amazing conclusions. To begin, Jesus is the eternal expression of God, meaning, we can know God because we can know Jesus. Jesus was sent to earth in human form not only to sacrifice Himself for our sins, but also that we may know the Father. Just as I can know a friend by spending time with him, talking with him, and hearing his words, so I can know Jesus, and thus God, by spending time in His Word, praying, and more importantly, listening.

Praying does not mean I need to have a large vocabulary and I need to speak to God with eloquence and pretty language. Rather, I will speak to God as though He is first my Father, but equally important, my Friend. I will respect God, of course, and offer my praise and thanks and worship, as He is so deserving of all our praise and honor. Let's face it: He created everything, including me, so without Him, I don't exist. Saying thanks is the least I can do. I will talk to God whenever and wherever I may find myself throughout the day. If it sounds crazy to speak audibly to God, why is that? Is it because He doesn't audibly respond? Obviously He could if He so chose, but if He doesn't , does that mean I shouldn't? Is He really there if there's no audible response?

Well, the Bible says He does hear me, each and every time I open my mouth, or my mind, to speak with Him. I choose to pray out loud most of the time, but He still hears me when I pray in my mind. I will talk to God as though I would talk to a person sitting right next to me, because I know that God is in fact sitting right next to me, even right now as I type this page. I can not see into the dimension in which God exists, but does that mean he doesn't exist? I can't see gravity, but does that mean it doesn't exist? If I choose to not believe in gravity, that doesn't stop gravity from pulling me to the ground if I step off the roof. The existence of God can be found everywhere I look, and I would be a fool to argue against Him. There may even be thoughts of self-preservation involved, as I love myself enough to do the thing that protects me from harm. In this eternal instance, that is deliberately following Christ and accepting the free gift He has offered so as not to end up in an eternal lake of fire. Let's be honest. That sounds terrible. I want no part of it, and the only way out is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and I will be saved. Thank you Jesus.

God has made everything, and without Him, nothing was made. That's a pretty sobering, and equally exciting, thought. Everything in existence was made by God, simply because He chose to do so. On top of that, He didn't have to spend weeks in a workshop crafting the earth out of raw materials, sending it off to a finishing plant to be fine-tuned. Rather, He spoke everything into existence. What kind of power is that? I simply can not imagine. I do know, however, that if God has that power, the only being in the universe with access to that type of power, I want to be on His side. I accept that God created Satan, so by definition, Satan can not have more power than that which created him. Why would I choose Satan, or the world, over God? Again, part of this is purely out of self-preservation. A rational person would choose God every time. I am a rational person because God gave me the ability to reason and, coupled with free will, I have the power to choose life or death because God loved me so much He sent His Son to pay for my sins, numerous as they are. Why would I choose death?

And so God sent Jesus into the world, and the world did not know Him and His own people rejected Him. How utterly depressing that is. Here comes the Giver of Life, the Light of the World, and He was rejected by His peers; two thousand years later it's the same case. Stop and think about that. Would I have responded differently to the miracles Jesus performed? Jesus did wonderful things in the presence of men and still they did not believe. How foolish. Would I have responded differently though? I like to think Jesus would have called me, literally, from my fishing boat to come follow Him. Would I have? Or would I have rejected Him? Would I have called for His crucifixion or would I have carried His cross as He climbed the hill at Calvary? What will I do today? I will choose, based on the free will He has given me, to follow Him. I will falter, I will fail Him, but He is both expecting it to happen and has already forgiven me for it when I confess my sins. Wow. That's a comforting thought. My imperfections don't matter to Him, because He has paid for them. I just need to believe! Why would I not believe?!? Is this short time on earth worth eternity in Hell, separated from the only One who has never failed me or lied to me or hurt me? The One who loves me beyond comprehension?

I understand love. I do. I understand the concept, I understand the practice, and I love love. It is such an awesome thing. The best type of love is the unconditional type, where, regardless of my failures or faults, that love isn't going to change. I have two dogs, and I know that they love me. There was nothing I had to do to earn their love. Dogs don't judge you, they don't care what color you are, they don't care what you've done in the past, and they don't want anything else other than to love and be loved in return. Yes, I could abuse them physically or mentally, but still, if I hit my dog, he would still lick my hand in between blows in an attempt to please me. That's love. I've never seen such pure emotion as a dog shaking his whole body and running to me when I walk in the door of my house. That's a dog. If a dog can exhibit that level of love, what type of love is God working with? I can't even imagine. I firmly believe that if humans have problems understanding the level of commitment and love a dog exhibits, God's love is completely beyond any human attempts at comprehension. So, that said, and with apologies to James Taylor, how sweet is to be loved by you, Jesus!

John was the Apostle of Love. In a study I found online, Vicky Benson of World Missionary Press said that John was called the Apostle of Love not because Jesus loved him more than the other disciples. Rather, John more probably had a much finer appreciation of God's love than did the others. I feel God has given me a very deep appreciation for the concept of love. And as I understand it, I can't understand God's love. That's self-defeating, I know, but I think it sums it up nicely. God sent His own Son into the world so that, through Him, I might be saved from an eternity in Hell. That's a great measure of love, but that's not all. What did I do to deserve this love? Well, as it turns out, I did nothing to deserve it. In fact, most of what I have done would disqualify me for even attempting to register for a chance to win it, if that was how it worked. So, before the foundations of the earth, before I was even a twinkle in my father's eye, God knew me perfectly and loved me even more.

So the question remains. Why does God love me? I do not know the answer. I do know, however, that I would be a fool to question it and an even bigger fool to reject it. God's love is certainly good enough for me, so I thank God for choosing me. I ask God for all of Him and none of me, and I grow my faith in Him through prayer and reading His Word. I focus my eyes on Him and when I inevitably fail, I confess my sin and He's faithful to forgive me. I don't question why, I just accept it because He said it. How simple is this relationship? He loves me, so I love Him back. No strings attached.