and posted in Q&A Corner
This is a question I've asked myself a lot. I don't know where you might be coming from in asking it but I've found myself questioning whether Jesus could love someone like me. What is there about me that would make him want to love me?
Saying that ‘Jesus loves everybody' sounds a bit corny. Even singing ‘Jesus loves me this I know; for the Bible tells me so', doesn't give a very specific answer!
When the apostle Paul reflected on it he talked about ‘trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me' (Galatians 2:20).
Let's take that apart a bit. Paul trusted that Jesus loved him. Love always involves trusting. When my wife tells me she loves me I could choose to think she's a liar - all she wants is my money! But I trust her. Why? Because she doesn't just say she loves me, she proves it by the way she cares for me and listens to me and acts unselfishly towards me - I try to do the same for her let me add!
How do we know Jesus loves us? He demonstrated his love for us when he died on a cross and ‘gave himself' for us (Galatians 2:20). What is incredible is that he died for our benefit before we even knew who he was or had done anything to deserve this sacrifice.
How do I know it's for me? Trust! I find I need to work this through and to remind myself of it continually. Jesus' love is not based on who I am or how good I've been in the past, but upon his generosity, his kindness and his concern for the lost, lonely, selfish, ungrateful and unkind. It's not because I may be witty, intelligent or good looking; it's all about him, not me. When I doubt it, it's because I think I need to earn it, that I've done nothing to deserve it or I'm not worth it.
Yes, Jesus loves you. It makes all the difference in the world when we know that.