How Great a Love!
by David Gibson
One of life’s greatest blessings is knowing someone loves us, despite our faults and failures. I never doubted that my parents loved me, or that my wife loved me. And doesn’t their love have a way of bringing out the best in us? We don’t want to disappoint them--especially if they have high expectations of us. We want to please those who love us.
The One Who Loves Us Most
No one loves us more than God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Here is one of the most comforting and uplifting passages in the Bible: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are” (I John 3:1 NASB).
John offers this tremendous truth: We who belong to Christ are children of God! And the inspired writer connects it with another awesome affirmation: God loves us!
“I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner condemned, unclean.”
It Is God’s Love That Enables Us to Become His Children
Speaking of Jesus, John says, “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:11-13; see John 3:3, 5).
But to those who refuse to receive Him, Jesus tells them who their father truly is--and it isn't God (John 8:42-44).
Knowing God loves us and we are His children puts a song in our hearts and gives great meaning and purpose to our lives.
Even If ...
Tragically, so many children grow up never knowing the nurturing love of a godly parent. They lack the supportive example and training in righteousness every child needs and deserves. It’s no wonder so many end up in gangs, drugs, prison, or an untimely grave. And yet how God longs for these, too, to know His love and become His children. What a beautifully wonderful thing it is to see someone rescued from a wretched past to know at last the love of God! And so, despite a horrible start in life, they can enjoy a new beginning, the new birth, and live forever in the presence of the One who loved them most.
“How great a love!”
