1. Introduction

This is the first of a series of pages on how much God loves you. We hope you'll read them through thoughtfully and carefully, even though there is a lot of reading, and come to see the wonder of God's love for YOU.

The information given here is based upon what the Bible says. It is primarily for Christians but other seekers should find what is here helpful as well.

2. A Key Verse Taken for Granted

Let's start with the most quoted 'good-news' verse of the New Testament, John 3:16, which tells us that because God loved the world so much he gave his Son, Jesus, so that whoever believed in Jesus would receive eternal life from God.

Now the problem for many Christians is that they've heard that verse so often they now take it for granted. For many it's lost its impact.

What many do with this verse is focus on the back half of it which speaks of our response to the good news and what happens to us when we do believe.

Instead we want you to note the first half of the verse: "God so loved the world".

In other words, God loved the world BEFORE He did anything!

Jesus coming was the expression of God's love.

God not only thinks, feels and talks about love, He does something about it, He can't stop Himself.

In fact the Bible tells us that He planned it all even before He made the world (see John 17:24,  Eph 1:4,  2 Tim 1:9,  Tit 1:2, 1 Pet 1:20, Rev 13:18, Rev 17:8).

The apostle John drops a bombshell when he says quite simply, "God IS love"   ( 1 Jn 4:8,16).

3. Fact: God Always Loves

Now we, when we want to understand love, look at human beings, but that gives us such a limited and variable picture. When we look at modern human life we may be excused for thinking that love is something that comes and goes according to the circumstances, or according to how we feel.

But God's love is nothing like that. 

In His being, God is completely unchanging and when the Bible says "God is love" it means He is always love, He never varies, and therefore His love is never conditional, it CANNOT be conditional because it is an essential part of His very being.   Without it He would cease to be God.

So why do we have to say all this? 

Well, what we've observed over the years is that if you speak to any group of good Christian people and ask them, "Does God love you?" they will all, almost without exception, answer, "Yes, of course". 

However, watch a crisis arrive and watch their reactions, watch the way they act in the crisis.  So often it actually says "God has abandoned me, He's not here for me."

God in a Crisis?

What we have is a problem of how God shows His love. 

When the crisis arrives, we expect God to move in one way and when He doesn't we say, "Oh well, He can't love me!" 

Because in our limited viewpoint we can't see what God is doing, we assume He is doing nothing, or what He is doing is the wrong thing because it doesn't seem to be helping me at this moment.

Look, rather than go into great detail at this moment about how God may be moving in your circumstances, can we just think about what follows in the verse we are considering.

The outworking or expression of God's love for us was that "He gave His one and only Son". Think on that a bit further.

Father & Son Parted

Before coming to earth the Son lived with the Father in heaven (see John 6:33,41,51,62 ) in total harmony.

To send His Son to earth the Father knew that Jesus would have to take on limited human form, limited in being a baby, limited in spending years growing up, limited in physical strength, limited in space.

That was much to ask this all-glorious being who shared heaven with Him.

The Father also knew, because they had discussed it before actually making the world, that the Son would be misunderstood, be rejected, be violently opposed, be taken and abused, be taken and crucified, by the very human beings They had brought into being.

The Father knew that for a moment, the Sin of the world, that would be put on the Son on the Cross, would separate the awareness of each other in the two of them, so that the Son would cry out in his distress, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?".

In a sense the father had to completely let go the Son, that is why John said, "he gave…"

All of that the Father knew, and yet He was willing to go through that self-imposed anguish of separation. Why?

Our Need of His Love

God knew that by giving mankind free will, He was giving us the possibility (which we would take) of turning away from Him.

He knew that we would become enslaved by that self-centred, godless tendency called Sin, that we would become guilty, that we would deserve punishment, that we would need a Saviour who would need to step into our shoes and take our punishment.

Love makes choices and God chose this path so that you and I could live and not die, so that your time of existence need not be just the years on earth, very limited years, but be extended to eternity.

The love of God is there for every human being without exception.  It is constantly reaching out, it is unchanging, unconditional, yearning to see men, women and children turn and receive it.

4. God is for us?

Let's consider another verse many take for granted.

In Romans 8:31 Paul asks, "If God is for us who can be against us?" 

Now that is a rhetorical question because in Paul's argument he's actually saying, "Because God is for us there's no one else who can be against us" (no one, that is, who can justifiably stop us getting God's blessing!).

Now take that phrase there in Scripture: "God is for us".     

Now personalise it: "God is for me".

He's not against you, He's for you!

Again in verse 32, Paul goes on and says what we read from John - if God gave Jesus to save us, won't He go the whole way and give us all the other good things He wants to give His children? 

In other words, because God the Father went and gave the one who was closest to Him, the one who was most precious to Him, and that to save you from Sin and from death and from Hades,  surely He's not going to hold back now?  No, He's for you!

Human Example No.1

Let's take some simple examples. Have you ever had a small child play a part in a school concert or play?

If you want THE most nerve racking experience, go along to a concert where young children are playing. If one of your children are playing the piano say, when it's their turn to play their piece, you are sitting on the edge of your chair rooting for them.

You remember the hours of practice at home, the tears and the anguish, and now you are with them, note by note, as they make their way somewhat self-consciously, somewhat hesitantly, through the piece.

When the music draws to a close and the applause dies down, you are left sitting there like a limp rag. You were for them, you were willing them to succeed. That was my girl or that was my boy out there, weren't they good!

And then you sit back and glance around as the next child takes the stand, and you watch and see if you can spot their parent, sitting there with eyes fixed, knuckles white, exuding tension.

Oh yes, you know what it means to "be for" your child.

Human Example No.2

One of our sons was a high jumper and has jumped some big competitions. We've learned a lot about high jump. It's long and drawn out! Sometimes it takes them well over an hour to finish the competition.

You suddenly start taking note of the weather. You weigh up the competition, you look at your son (or maybe for you it's your daughter) and you gauge how they seem to be.

You watch them pace up and down, doing some stretches. You see the enforced camaraderie as they chat to one another. Then it starts!

In the first few jumps the beginners get weeded out. Then it's 'the real jumpers' and the tension mounts. Some of them have professional coaches watching in the background; this is serious stuff. They're down to the last two.

You've stopped shouting now, for it seems like it may be a distraction. They both make their first jump and both knock the bar down. The tension mounts. The other young man jumps. He knocks the bar down. We quietly rejoice. What are we doing!

Our son goes to make his run up. We're praying! What is going on here, it's not that important!

He knocks the bar down. They both have one more jump. The first lad touches the bar, it quivers but stays there. He's over!   Oh no, the tension is now doubly bad.  We sign to our son, "Focus you mind, you can do it".

We are one with him. We can feel what he's feeling. This has got to be it.   He runs, he jumps, our hearts stop, and he's over!!!!

They're both still in and we've got to go through all that yet again as the bar is raised once more.

If we are 'for' our children like that, how much more must our heavenly Father be for us!  Seriously, God is for you like that, He's longing for you to succeed, He's for YOU.

Summary

God ALWAYS loves and proves it through His Son Jesus. He sent Jesus for you and now He's completely for you. We'll take this further in the second page.