Being loved

It is a powerful thing to know that we are loved by the Creator of the universe, the all-powerful God. It is wonderful to be aware that God himself cares for me. There are so many Scriptures that point to this truth, such as Psalm 86:5 “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.” Or verse 15 in the same Psalm “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” And of course, the clearest indication of that love is written about extensively in the New Testament and explained to us in Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

There are so many more Scriptures that make it clear that God loves everyone, and yet all too often we fail to experience the truth that God loves me individually, and not just as part of a group. I have struggled with this in the past, and because of that I asked myself the question about how I knew somebody loved me. My husband loves me and has done so for many years. He demonstrates it with little things, like bringing me tea in bed most mornings. He buys me presents, but he does not need to spend a lot of money in order to convince me that he loves me. Occasionally we will go out together, for breakfast, to a show, or to visit family or friends. We go on holiday together. And eventually I recognize that I know he loves me because he likes spending time with me. Perhaps this is how the Lord wants to demonstrate his love for me too – by spending time with me?

I do not like being in pain, and do not think that is what my heavenly Father has for me either, and yet occasionally I struggle with an upset stomach, a horrible head cold, or perhaps something worse. Surely if I am loved by the Creator of the universe, he would quickly put an end to all pain in my life? And I have to admit I struggle to feel loved when I am sick or suffering in some way. And yet whatever I am going through, God is still loving me, and wanting to hang out with me.

What is amazing, is that God loves me not because I am anything special, but because he made me and wants to be in relationship with me. I asked the Father why he loved me a couple of days ago, and I felt that his response was that he loved me because I am his. I understand that. I have had three children, and they have not always behaved perfectly, but I have never had a problem loving each of them. When my son spoke angrily to me, I may have felt hurt, but there was no way that I ever stopped loving him. I couldn’t, because he was my son. The Father feels the same way about each of us. No matter what we say or do, he will always love us.

I am loved by God. You are loved by God. We need to take time to sit in his presence and experience his love for us individually. He wants to spend time alone with me, with you. It is up to us to each make the time to be alone with our heavenly loving compassionate caring Father God.