Have you ever found yourself asking that question? Why does God love me? I know I have. Usually, right around the time I make a stupid mistake or mess up (again). I think about how God is the perfect, righteous, and just Creator and King of the universe. And I see myself for who I am: an imperfect, impatient know-it-all, who struggles to trust God and whose motivations veer selfish more often than I’d like to admit.
Your perception of yourself probably looks different than mine. But we all have this in common: all of us fall short of God and His glory. And that understanding can make it difficult to understand why God continues to put up with us, let alone love us.
God’s love has a lot less to do with you than you might expect.
If the question of why God loves you has ever crossed your mind, allow me to put your mind at ease. God’s love has a lot less to do with you than you might expect.
Those qualities of God that I listed earlier? His perfection, his righteousness, his justice? He doesn’t just have those qualities in abundance. Those qualities exist in infinite amounts within him. God lacks nothing, which means His perfection, righteousness, and justice will never end. Neither will any of the other multitude of excellent qualities which exist within Him. And one of those excellent qualities, as referenced in Psalm 86, is love.
But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15 NIV
God’s love cannot run out. If His love were to wane or come to a stop, that would be a contradiction of what makes him the eternal, infinite God. Which means there is nothing we can do to hinder His love. No mistake or mess up can cause His love to falter.
Okay, okay, you might be saying. I get that God loves in infinite amounts. But you still haven’t answered why God loves me. Why would He send His infinite love in my direction?
That’s a great question. There are actually two types of love God shows people. The first, you can read about in Matthew 5:
… He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matthew 5:45 NIV
This is a general kind of love God shows to every person on earth. That sunrise that stopped you in your tracks? That dinner that was so surprisingly delicious? Every good thing we experience in this life is a result of God showing love to the world. This kind of indiscriminate love is also what propelled Christ to come to earth and die for our sins: like it says in John 3:16, God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son.
As for the second kind of love, this love does have to do with us. But it doesn’t actually have anything to do with what we do or how often we mess up. 1 John 3 says:
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! … 1 John 3:1
Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross covers the sins of all who choose to follow Him, allowing us to receive God’s love in full. And nothing—I repeat, nothing—can change that.
When we choose to follow Jesus, we are adopted into God’s family. We become God’s children, full stop. And like any good father, God loves His children unconditionally. Our sins still grieve Him—he’s holy, after all, and He earnestly desires what’s best for us. But Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross covers the sins of all who choose to follow Him, allowing us to receive God’s love in full. And nothing—I repeat, nothing—can change that. It’s like it says in Romans 8:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 NIV
Once we’re God’s children, nothing can stop His love for us.
So, let’s recap. Next time you start wondering why God loves you, remember these two points:
- God loves in infinite amounts. Nothing can stop Him from loving.
- When we choose to follow Jesus, we become God’s children. Nothing can stop Him from loving us.
Rest in that knowledge. Let it flow into your relationship with God, with others, and with the world around you. You are secure in God’s love.