Image you are having a heartfelt conversation with a nonbeliever and they ask you “What does it mean to you to be loved by God?” and they genuinely want to know your answer. What would you say?
I think I would say…
Being loved by God means to me that I have been created on purpose. My life isn’t an accident. I was made intentionally by God and He has a plan for me. He sees me and knows I exist. He actually thinks of me and listens whenever I talk to Him, at any time of the day. He is never too busy for me and He wants to spend time with me. Quality time is my love language so it means a lot to me that He has time for me. He has promised to never leave me and He is dependable. I can trust Him. I will never be alone because He isn’t going to leave me. He made the first move in our relationship. Before I was interested in faith or even felt bad about my sin, He demonstrated His love for me by sending Jesus to die on the cross to take the punishment for the wrong I have done. He did everything necessary to provide a way to God so I could spend forever with Him and not be punished for the wrong I have done. I love to celebrate the good moments with Him and I desperately need His comfort and direction in the hard times. I have courage because He is with me. He has become the foundation of my world. I think I would be pretty lost without Him.
That’s what I think I would say, but I also realize how much more I want His love to infiltrate my heart. I grew up knowing about Jesus and accepted Him as my Savior at a young age. Praise God for this gift of knowing I am loved by God since I was a child. This is a good thing but I think because of growing up with the knowledge of His love, I sometimes struggle to really fully know what it means to walk in His love. I know the truth in my head but sometimes I wonder how much it has impacted my heart. I want His love to impact my identity more and more so that the fact that I am loved by Him describes who I am. I pray Ephesians 3 for my life. Why don’t we pray these verses together today…
What does it mean to you to be loved by God?
I shared my answer to this in the devotional but more specifically from this week, I have seen His love in His gentleness as we navigate another big life transition. In multiple ways He has reminded me that He is leading me and holding my hand through it all.