I did not grow up in a Christian home. Love was just a word. Love was telling your only child that she was not good enough. Fat. Worthless. Would never amount to anything. A mistake. In the way. I could go and on. There was never anything good about love in my childhood.
My father would threaten anyone who knocked on our door to introduce us to the gospel. He considered church a place that stole your money. I only visited my grandmother’s church, but it was more about pomp and circumstance than preaching the gospel. To be honest, even at a young age, with no knowledge of the gospel, that turned me off.
A New Kind of Love
When I began dating my (now) husband, he asked me to go to church with him. His family had gone to church their entire lives and it was just something they did. I figured good people went to church, so I should give it a try. It couldn’t be worse than my grandmother’s church (Ha!). Praise the Lord I did! That decision ultimately led to my salvation, and a love I had never experienced before.
God’s love for us is beyond comprehension. To this day I still cannot wrap my head around His love for me. His Word says,
“Herein 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
God loved me before I even knew who He was, before I had a relationship with Him (John 3:16). God loves me now, in spite of all my mistakes (Romans 5:8). God will continue to love me all the days of my life (Romans 8:38-39). How do I know this? His Word tells me so. He loves me so much that he sent his Son to die a sacrificial death on the cross, for me. Me. The girl who wasn’t good enough. The mistake that was always in the way. Me.
A Redeeming Love
Our earthly parents are not always the best. They aren’t always going to love a child the way she should be loved. My father was, and still is, an alcoholic and drug addict who has only said a loving word to me when he was under the influence. But I have a loving Heavenly Father who tells me He loves me every day. He reminds me that He is my one true Father. The Father whose love has no limits, no conditions, and no end. I’m so thankful that in spite of my short comings, my Heavenly Father loves me–no matter what.
When was the last time you thanked God for His love for you? Take a moment and praise Him for His love. Thank Him for the ultimate sacrifice. And tell Him how much you love Him in return.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
