"Why does God love us?"
This short question is among the most profound questions ever asked. And
no human would ever be able to answer it sufficiently. One thing is
certain, however. God does not love us because we are lovable or because
we deserve His love. If anything, the opposite is true. The state of
mankind since the fall is one of rebellion and disobedience. Jeremiah 17:9
describes man’s inner condition: “The heart is deceitful and
desperately wicked. Who can know it?” Our innermost beings are so
corrupted by sin that even we don’t realize the extent to which sin has
tainted us. In our natural state, we do not seek God; we do not love
God; we do not desire God. Romans 3:10-12
clearly presents the state of the natural, unregenerate person: “There
is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is
none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together
become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” How
then is it possible for a holy, righteous, and perfect God to love such
creatures? To understand this we must understand something of the nature
and character of God.
First John 4:8 and 16
tell us that “God is love.” Never was a more important declaration made
than this; never was more meaning crowded into a few words than in this
short sentence—God is love. This is a profound statement. God doesn’t
just love; He is love. His nature and essence are love. Love permeates
His very being and infuses all His other attributes, even His wrath and
anger. Because God’s very nature is love, He must demonstrate love, just
as He must demonstrate all His attributes because doing so glorifies
Him. Glorifying God is the highest, the best, and the most noble of all
acts, so, naturally, glorifying Himself is what He must do, because He
is the highest and the best, and He deserves all glory.
Since it is God's essential nature to love, He demonstrates His love by
lavishing it on undeserving people who are in rebellion against Him.
God’s love is not a sappy, sentimental, romantic feeling. Rather, it is
agape love, the love of self-sacrifice. He demonstrates this sacrificial
love by sending His Son to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin (1 John 4:10), by drawing us to Himself (John 6:44),
by forgiving us of our rebellion against Him, and by sending His Holy
Spirit to dwell within us, thereby enabling us to love as He loves. He
did this in spite of the fact that we did not deserve it. "But God
demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
God's love is personal. He knows each of us individually and loves us
personally. His is a mighty love that has no beginning and no end. It is
this experiencing of God’s love that distinguishes Christianity from
all other religions. Why does God love us? It is because of who He is:
"God is love."
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