We crave for love, so much so that we look for it even in the worst of people who only hurt us and fail us constantly. Somewhere at the back of our minds, a voice tells us we can find that love in God, that He has loved us ever since, and that He is the One who has really love us most. But we doubt this voice. We feel it isn’t real, nor is the love of God which we cannot see. How can we know He loves us when we cannot even see Him?
Below are some of the things that made me realize how much I am loved, and how real God’s love really is:
1. He created me with awareness and the ability to love and be loved.
I am not a stone that does not know the things happening around it. I am not a shell that gets tossed about by the waves, unaware of whatever shore it lands upon, without consciousness of all the beauty surrounding it.
I am aware and alive. I hear the sound of the waves crashing upon the shore and it soothes my soul. I see the sunset and I marvel at God’s fingers painting that beautiful scenery everyday. I smell the flowers and I feel at peace. I walk upon the sand and their warmth comforts me.
When I hold a baby upon my arms, I feel an ability to love and to give. I feel that I can make other people happy, and their happiness makes me glad in return
2. He witnesses my life, my life isn’t meaningless
We look for partners in life not only so that someone might love us and take care of us. We look for them because we want them to witness the life we’re living.
How important is it to have a witness to one’s life? For many, it’s the very difference between a life well lived and a meaningless one.
We all want somebody to see how far we’ve already reached, how far we’ve already grown. It’s not enough for us to be able to achieve something. We want our achievements to be remembered, to be seen, to be the cause of inspiration of another person’s life.
With God, I know that Someone’s always watching. Even if men do not understand, even if they don’t see the good that I do, Someone always does.
3. He gives me respect and allows me to be myself
God respects me and allows me to be me. He loves me enough to allow me even to make mistakes. He knows that I could learn from them, and that even the hurts I would experience in life would make me a better person.
Sometimes we think that if we really love a person, we should always interfere in what they do so that they won’t make any mistakes. But by not letting them decide on their own and own the consequences of their actions, we are also not allowing them to grow. We’re also not expressing our belief in them, that they can rise up after they fall, that they can later on have the wisdom to choose what’s right.
4. He communicates with me, I know I’m not alone
To be able to have someone to communicate with is to not be alone. It is to know that someone else understands what you’re saying, and that someone can respond according to His own awareness and understanding. It is not commanding an inanimate object to move according to your will. It’s being part of an intelligent and conscious exchange between two consciousness that is aware of each other.
Nobody falls in love with a puppet. A puppet merely says what you wanted him to say and moves where you wanted him to go. We want someone who has a mind of his own, someone who is just like us.
“God is an ocean, a fire, a living fountain…That is the essence of prayer:this contact with a living God, a God who reacts, not like a simple inanimate being but like a living person, with a thrill of joy, with the gift of Himself.-Where The Spirit Breathes”
5. He gives me something to look forward to, my life is far from boredom
The person who is in love is far away from boredom. To her, every moment is meaningful, and every next moment is something to look forward to.
She does not know what her beloved would do next. Will he invite her out to dinner? Will he give her a bouquet of flowers? Will they watch a movie together?
It’s the same with God. We know God loves us because He forms a relationship with us. In that relationship, He gives the gift of Himself. He pours out from a heart of love such surprises we could never have dreamed of!
6. He enlightens my mind and gives me wisdom
Life is a continuous discovery of the mysterious. And when we have a relationship with God, He allows us to discover a part of Him. He reveals Himself and gives us spiritual wisdom we could never learn elsewhere.
This wisdom enlightens our mind and satisfies our thirst for spiritual food. We continuously learn new things that benefit us and other people. We are delighted with what we learn and such things can never be stolen away from us.
7. He heals my wounds and help me love myself more
Only God knows me. Only He can understand my innermost wounds and fears. With His guidance, I am healed, and I am able to love myself more.
Other people have their own wounds that may cause them to avoid me when I hurt. They have desires which I cannot satisfy, expectations that I may fail to meet. With God, I am loved even if I fail, even if I can’t always be strong enough or beautiful enough. In truth, it is His love that makes me beautiful in time.
8. He receives with gladness everything I offer Him
Other people may not need what I can offer them. Others may be too proud to accept help from someone like me. But God, even in all His greatness and glory receives with gladness every little offering that comes from me.
He knows what I can do. He knows the love with which I’ve made the gift I’m offering Him. And He receives the same with love and gladness, He honors me by receiving and appreciating all that I do for Him.
9. He directs my path and leads me back whenever I go astray
If I were the only one who’s trying to maintain my relationship with God, I’d be in great trouble. I know my limits and imperfections. I know how often I change my mind and lose heart.
But God is so good. He cares for His sheep, and He will not allow any to be lost or stolen away. Whenever I start to lose my way, He is there to remind me of His love. He pursues me. He lets me know how much I matter. He leaves the 99 sheep behind just so He can find me and take me gently upon His arms.
10. He saved me and gave me eternal life and lasting joy
Is there a greater act of love than to lay down one’s life for His beloved? There is no greater love, and this is just what God has done.
He could have just offered me the world and I would have been overwhelmed. He could have given me the entire galaxy, or a constellation of stars, but He did not stop there. I receive joy of the most precious kind, one that lasts unto eternity, one that comes from the offering Jesus made upon the cross – the offering of His own Self!
God’s love is like a mother’s love. To a mother, each child is loved, each one important, each deserving to be saved and protected from all harm. Even if a mother has ten children, it is not enough to save only seven,or even nine. She has to save them all. She cannot rest until she has saved them all!
Indeed, nothing can separate us from the love of God. His love for us does not only manifest with the material things He provides for us, nor in the relationships we have with the people we love. His love is greater and far surpasses all our needs and expectations.
(Romans 8 v 31-39 MSG)
what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
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