Receiving God's Love
- Accept the fact that God loves you.
- Understand your great need for God's love.
- Believe the One who grants you eternal life.
Accept the fact that God loves you: Life can bring you down quickly. A job can be lost. A child can grow sick. A dream can be shattered. Yet God still loves you no matter the circumstances. "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16, NIV). The believer must be willing to accept the fact that God loves you at all times, good or bad. As Job said, even after He had lost everything, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:10, NIV).Often, a believer will fail in life by sinning in a really big way. Consider the man and woman who have been married for many years. But in a weak moment, the husband gives in to lust and has a brief affair with another woman. Disgusted with the matter, he hates himself. Moreover, he cannot bring himself to confess it to his wife, because he is sure she will not forgive him. So he just leaves and files for divorce. In spite of the fact that his wife has loved him for so many years and most likely would have forgiven him, he would not accept her love. And so he no longer enjoys his life or her love.
The believer's relationship with God is very similar. When one sins against God, it is hard to believe that God can still love you. And so you give up on God and stop living by faith in Him. Life will be miserable for you until you accept the fact that in Christ God loves you as His own chlid. If God so loved the world..." (John 3:16, NIV), specifically sinners, then certainly He loves the child of God. So accepting God's love is the first step in experiencing His love for you.
Understand your great need for God's love: Even as a believer, the memory of past sin haunts you, the reality of present sin depresses you, and the fear of future sin constrains you. King David cried out to God, "for I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me" (Psalm 51:3, NIV). Yet David also prayed for God's mercy on the basis of God's "unfailing love" (Psalm 51:1, NIV) for him. The great Apostle Paul considered himself the "worst of sinners" (1 Timothy 1:16, NIV) yet he counted on "the grace of our LORD ... poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 1:14, NIV). Many believers stop growing in their faith because they become frozen by the awareness of their own sin -- past, present, or future. A Christian will sin on occasion, sometimes sin greatly. The Bible tells you that if you confess this sin to God (agree with Him that it was wrong, see it from God's perspective as a sin that you want to avoid in the future), He is faithful and just to forgive your sin and cleanse you from all your unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). In this way, you bring your life back into alignment with the One who loves you. It was for this reason "that He sent His One and Only Son..." (John 3:16, NIV). Even as a Christian, understand that you need the love of God made possible by His sending Jesus Christ into the world. You are in great need of God's love in order to keep moving forward by faith.
Believe in the One who grants you eternal life: Eternal life is best described by Jesus Himself in His prayer for all believers the night before He was crucified:
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3, NIV).
Eternal life is a personal relationship with God made possible through His Son, Jesus Christ. To really know God's love and experience it daily, you must believe that He has granted you the gift of eternal life -- "that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, NIV) -- the gift of knowing God personally. Remember that word translated "believe" means to affirm, trust, and commit -- all at the same time. The love of God is appropriated through believing in Him who gives eternal life. This life is not just for the hereafter in Heaven. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10, NKJV). Through Christ, you experience His love in a personal relationship in time and for eternity with the Creator who loves you more than you can even understand.
- You have His love in the morning to give you a reason to get out of bed.
- You have His love in afternoon to help you get through a really bad day at work.
- You have His love in the evening to comfort you when the bills are not paid, the children are tired and complaining, and work around the house is still waiting to be finished.
- You have His love when you lose your best friend.
- You have His love when you are falsely accused.
In all of life you have His love available to you. You experience His love as you believe in Him and commit yourself (and your situation) to Him. In this way, you will enjoy His love all over again. Rejoice in the love that is waiting for you from the God who loves so much that He was willing to sacrifice His Son for you!
For you who do not know for certain you are going to Heaven, John 3:16 offers you the hope of eternal life through our LORD Jesus Christ. For you who have already trusted in the LORD Jesus Christ, are you experiencing His love today? If not, are you really believing (affirming, trusting, committing) in the LORD Jesus Christ or holding on to doubts and fears that maybe, just maybe, He really does not love you? Circumstances and feelings can lead you astray. But the word of God is clear and certain:
- Accept the fact that the God who so loved the world loves you!
- Understand your great need for His love on a daily basis!
- Believe in the One who grants you eternal access to His love!
By taking this prescription, you will experience God's love moment-by-moment, day-by-day, for the rest of your life. Receive God's love today!
Our Creator God loves you and wants you to know Him! If you would like to contact this ministry for further information or questions, please send your e-mail to:
Email: ministryrequest1@WordTruth.Com
Web Site: WordTruth.ComCopyright 1/30/2000, Randy Lariscy.
