You Are Loved

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

1 John 4:10 (NKJV)

Victor Hugo wrote that the supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved. Sigmund Freud, from a completely different direction, said that love is the first requirement for mental health. Two men with almost nothing else in common, both pointing to the same fundamental need.

And yet many people go through life feeling unloved. Perhaps they were ignored or criticised as children. Perhaps they made choices that led to broken relationships and a deep sense that they were not worth staying for. Perhaps they have simply never had the experience of being genuinely known and genuinely valued by another person.

If that describes you in any way, I want you to hear this as clearly as I can say it: your feelings are not telling you the truth.

God loves you. Not in a vague, general, impersonal sense. Specifically. Personally. Knowingly. He knows your full history, every failure, every hidden thing, every inconsistency. And He loves you completely in spite of all of it. In fact, the cross proves it. If God did not love you personally and specifically, He would not have sent His Son to die for you personally and specifically.

1 John 4:10 is one of the most important sentences ever written. It locates love not in our response to God but in His initiative toward us. We did not love Him first. He loved us first. Before we were looking for Him, He was looking for us. Before we had anything to offer, He had already given everything.

The word 'propitiation' means a sacrifice that satisfies the justice of God against sin. Jesus did not come to tell us to try harder. He came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves: satisfy the full penalty for our sin, so that we could stand before a holy God without condemnation.

Hammer this truth into your heart every single day: God loves you. It will make all the difference.

Prayer: Lord, help me to receive Your love today, not just as a doctrine but as a reality that shapes how I see myself. Thank You that You loved me before I was lovable. Let that love be the foundation I build my life on. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Pastor Ras
All Nations Community Church

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