Love. We all want to be loved. We all want to be accepted, to belong and to be loved unconditionally and without judgement or shame. We want a love that makes us feel secure and at peace. A love that we are proud of and that there is no doubt of cheating, malice or manipulation. In today’s world people look for love in every place imaginable. They search for it in false gods, in each other, in the same sex, in themselves and even in their pets. They yearn for someone to validate them and their feelings, their opinions and their beliefs. We all want someone to encourage us and to help us up when we are down. We need that security and trust that comes with unconditional love. But, in our world, there is no such thing as unconditional love.
Humans are inherently sinful and within every place you find love, it will fail. It’s made to. It’s in our nature to love, but also to sin. We as humans fail each other and ourselves daily. We lie, steal, cheat, destroy and manipulate. We lack the love we try to find in our partners or our parents. The examples of what love is supposed to be we long to see in our parents or receive from our parents but more times than not, we never receive it. The more we sin, the less we see of love. The darkness of sin and the filthiness that the sin creates muddies the pureness and cleanliness of what love is and does. Love heals, it restores and it provides. Love doesn’t boast, envy, manipulate, cheat, murder, steal, shame, or destroy. It’s a pure and authentic desire.
“Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
This is what love is. We can search far and wide for someone to give us that type of love and we will never find it in this world; this sinful and broken world. So, where do we go to find this pure and authentic love we all so strongly desire?
Growing up I thought I knew what love was. I was loved by my parents, those around me and when I got married I knew my husband loved me.
All of those things are still true today except a few people who have showed that their love wasn’t authentic for me. My view of love was skewed and manipulated by a few people to where I thought that the love being expressed to me was the real deal but in fact, it was flawed. Maybe there was real love somewhere behind the manipulation and the unspoken words, but it’s hard to tell with how the love was expressed. Have you ever heard the phrase “actions speak louder than words”? In the case of love, this speaks volumes. How we express our love shows our love. One day we might wake up to realize that the love being expressed to us was in fact not love at all and we were being changed into whatever the person wanted us to be. This leaves a cut and a hurt that takes years to heal from and even when you do heal from that wound you have to then learn how to love all over again. It makes us fearful to open our hearts to someone and let them in-in the off chance that their love is void of any true emotional and physical pureness. So again, I pose the question. Where do we go to find this pure and authentic love we all so strongly desire?
My friends, when I tell you I found a love that is so unconditional that I have no fear that it will change or suddenly go away, I cry. I cry at how amazing and healing this love is. I speak of the love of God. I grew up hearing that Jesus loves me and died for me. But, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I hit a low point in my life. I was going through so much anxiety and fear that it gripped every part of me. I was dealing with one of those eye opening situations that cuts deep. It had caused a deep canyon of hurt and pain and to be honest, I am still healing from it. I had love all around me. My husband, who is an amazing man and has shown me that he truly loves me; my children and other family and friends have rallied around me expressing their love and encouragement during this low point. It was in this valley of despair that I found the true meaning of “Jesus Loves You”. God met me when I was at my lowest and now whenever I speak about the unconditional love of Jesus, I cry. I get extremely emotional because I feel overwhelmed with a sudden rush of love from the Father. It’s as if He is saying I will never again have to wonder if He loves me, because I feel it.
"No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us." 1 John 4:12
When He showed me His love for me I began to understand what unconditional meant.
The Bible stories I grew up with changed. The cartoon image of a baby being born in a stable by a virgin and then growing up and dying on a cross for my sins suddenly became a real life event. Now, I knew this was a true story, but the way my mind played out each scene instantly became so vivid and details that I had missed in these stories were now appearing to me. This only deepened my understanding of the love that Jesus has for us. The love that God has been trying to express to his children since the beginning of time has been written in the pages of His word and expressed in His actions; not just back then but still being expressed and fulfilled today.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have ever lasting life." John 3:16
Yes we are in a fallen and sinful world. It is bleak and dark and seems hopeless. We get in these situations where there seems to be no hope and we feel so unloved and unwanted. I want to tell you today that the enemy is trying to destroy you. He is trying to make you think that no one loves you and that even God is mad at you. But, my friends that is just not true. God knew that man was sinful and needed a savior. He knew that we needed to be shown His love and so He expressed that love in a way that nobody in all history or time could or ever would. He sent His son to die on a cross for our sins. He was beaten and bruised, mocked and ridiculed and then died and was separated from God for a time. He loves you with a love that cannot be matched, recreated or even changed.
My life is so much richer and fuller since I felt the love of God. My heart has more peace and joy because He dwells there. Yes, my husband loves me with a love that I have not experienced or seen from another person; but he will never be able to give me the love that my Savior has. The love between parents and children and married spouses are supposed to mirror the love of God but they are also different. Our goal is to show the love of Christ to others so that they will experience this love as well. This is how we are to love one another, just as Christ loves us.
Maybe you haven't felt like you belong or fit in anywhere. Maybe you've felt like no one cares about or loves you. I want you to know that just isn't true. I love you and I don't even know you. I care about you and your eternity. So does God. He loves you with a love that surpasses all understanding. It never changes, it never diminishes, it never grows bigger and it never cherry-picks who it loves. God loves you. No matter what you have done in life, know that God will forgive you and help you if you only ask. Jesus loves you. You need only call out to Him. He's listening and waiting for you with open arms.
"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face towards you and give you peace."
Numbers 6:24-26