“For God so loved the world…” John 3:16
The Son of God did not come into the world and die on the cross in order to make the Father love us. The Son of God came into the world and died on the cross because the Father loves us.
Many people go through life feeling that God is against them. They think God despises them, and the only thing holding him back from what he really wants to do is that Jesus died on the cross.
Imagine a boy who is invited for a sleepover. When he arrives, his friend’s father is not pleased to see him. It is clear to the boy that while his friend wants him in the house, the father has no interest in him being there. The father merely tolerates the boy for the sake of his son.
As long as you carry this kind of suspicion about God—that he is somehow against you and that he tolerates you for the sake of his Son—you will never find peace or joy in God. Here is what you need to take into the core of your being: God loves you!
Maybe you feel far from God today. You are not walking with God. You have grown cold toward him. You don’t feel a need for him. You may not have any interest in him. How you feel toward God will always reflect what you most deeply believe about how he feels toward you.
If you feel God is against you, you will be against him. If you feel God doesn’t care about you, you won’t care about him. But if you were to believe God loves you, you would come to love him. “God so loved the world.” You are part of the world, and that means God loves you!
Do you feel that God is against you? Why or why not?
