Do you know that God loves you? Have you ever wondered how God could love you with all the terrible things you may have done in your life? Did you know that the word love with its variations is found in the Bible over 500 times? Contrast that with the Qur'an, which mentions the word love less than 100 times, with the majority of those being conditional love or love for material things.

In 1 John chapter 4, John mentions the word "love" 24 times in 15 verses alone. In verse 8 we see that "God is love," but then we see that exact phrase again in verse 16. It is of great importance!!

So, God IS love. It doesn't say that He has love or that He just likes to show love. It doesn’t say He is loving, either. It’s better than that. It says that He IS love. It's His very nature. It's who He is. Love is rooted deep down within the heart of God. He can't rid Himself of it. He won't rid Himself of it. The fact is that God loves human beings. He wants to make sure we know that.

God’s love caused His action. It cost the death on a cross. Immediately after stating in verse 8 that God is love, verse 9 states He sent His Son into the world for us to have life. Some say that our amount of love for another is measured by how much we are willing to put ourselves through for that person. Well, God put His Son (Himself) through a Roman Crucifixion for us. Some historians believe the Roman Crucifixion was quite possibly the most brutal way to die in all of history. Romans were known for their mastery of suffering. Still, Jesus knowingly went through it for us. Amazingly, He knew the entire time that joy would finally come from it (Hebrews 12:2).

The next time you catch yourself wondering if God loves you or not, remember that He definitely does.... "Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so." It doesn't matter how bad you think you have been or what you have done. God loves you.

"For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

-John 3:16

Jim Albin - Senior Pastor

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