“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God …” (1 John 3:1)
If we knew how highly God thought of us, we would not have to think so highly of ourselves. He thinks highly of us not because we have been so great or good in His sight. To the contrary, we have missed the mark time and time again. We have failed to be the people He desires us to be. We still have so much room for improvement. But these things don’t cause Him to grow weary and sick of us. If we have been made His beloved children through Jesus Christ, He loves us because we are His own. We are graven upon the palm of His hand.
When it comes right down to it – do we even need one other person than God to love us? What good is it to be loved and adored by the whole world and yet told by Him, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” When we are born again we become part of the family of God. We know our Father and our Father knows us. God has no black sheep in His family. He has no children who are not welcome to His table. Every child of the Father is dear to Him. If we would know this love of God, we would want for nothing. In the face of the worst rejection we would say, “It’s okay – Father loves me, and He receives me as His beloved child.”
Perfect love is only found in God. Such love casts out all the torments and insecurities that exist in this world where men love with fickleness. Would you love God? You cannot until you first know and believe the love that He has toward you. Begin there. And then, out of a heart of amazement and appreciation, love Him in return.