You Are LovedSample

He Loves You! God’s love is what makes Christianity different from every other religion. No one else’s god loves them as our God loves us. Once I heard a Christian minister tell a story about being in a foreign country and having a debate with the leader of another religion. Both he and the other leader pulled out their books and argued with each other about which religion was correct. In the midst of the argument, the Spirit of God spoke to his heart and said, “Ask him if his god loves him.” The question stopped the other leader cold. The argument was over, because he couldn’t answer yes. Everything about God is about His love for you! It was His love that caused Him to plan your redemption from the moment Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. It was because of love that Jesus came to earth to die a horrible death and pay the price for your sin. The Bible doesn’t say God sent Jesus because He was angry with mankind. It says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shouldn’t perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). This love is the very essence of God. His love is what motivates Him in every interaction with you. First John 4:8 says that God is love. He doesn’t have love like you and I do. He is love. His very being is love. His response to everything is motivated by love, even when He’s correcting you. This love is always looking out for what’s best for you. The Bible says that He put that love in your heart when you were saved and His Spirit came to reside in you (Romans 5:5). There was a time when I thought love was one of God’s topics. I thought it was on the list of topics alongside salvation, healing, provision, and protection. But the longer I’ve known Him, the more I’ve come to realize that all these blessings come to us because of His love . It’s not one of His topics—it’s Him! Every one of His blessings and provisions come because of His love. In other words, He saved you because He loves you. He heals you because He loves you! He provides for and protects you because He loves you.