1 John 4:7-12 – “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  NASB

A few years ago I heard an illustration that speaks volumes regarding the attitudes and understanding of many regarding God and Love.  A missionary went to a tribal witch doctor and said, “You preach to me if you will.  If I come to you with a problem and ask you how I can reach the most high God what do you tell me?  I know you have many gods but I want to find the Big One, the Most High God.”  The witch doctor replied, “First of all you have a problem.  Because the Most High God is not interested in you, because you are not good enough for him.”  Sadly, that is where the religion of many begins. 

Truthfully, you have heard the same thing in America in more sophisticated language but the same message.  Many people simply believe that God is not interested and it is incumbent upon us to just deal with life trying to make ourselves ‘good enough’ for God to care about us.  I had a family member tell me once, that God should not be bothered by some things, that we should just deal with them and only the really big things should be a matter of prayer.  That is not my concept of God!

Once we realize the biblical definition of the Love of God we immediately realize that our human love is totally useless in describing or defining God’s Love!  God’s love is utterly different from ours.  His love is not even in the same hemisphere as ours!  When the Bible declares that GOD IS LOVE it does not mean that God reaches out to those who are ‘in his class’ – NO! NO! NO! 

It means that God reaches out to all persons and more importantly He reaches down to us!  Human love reaches up to those we consider the most beautiful or the best.  It is toward those we almost half bend the knee and develop somewhat of an attitude of worship toward.  But, God reaches down to us.  He reaches down to people that are clearly and utterly unworthy of ever being loved by Him.  That, to the human mind, makes no sense. 

If I were to say to you, “God loves good people and makes them His friends” that would be no revelation for every religion in the world does that. But If I tell you that Christianity stands on the truth and revelation that “God loves bad, messed up people and makes them His friends,” that is utterly amazing!   Imagine that truth that the Holy God of Heaven who is love makes His best friends out of unholy, bad, messed up, rotten, selfish people!  That is Good News!  That is the Gospel!

So instead of trying to become ‘good enough’ for God to love you realize that God Loves You Now!  His coming into your life is what transforms you not something you do to earn His love!

It is my prayer that as you go through this day you will fully realize that God loves you!  You don’t deserve it, can’t earn it and will never be good enough to receive it.  He Loves You In Spite of You!

Blessings as you go through your day!