One of the most prominent biblical themes is the love of God. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most distorted; people have turned “God is love” into “love is God,” which is not at all the same thing. But aside from being one of the most distorted truths, God’s love is, in spite of its prevalence, also one of the most inaccessible. Somehow we manage to agree with it emphatically in our minds while questioning it incessantly in our hearts.
Think about it. Isn’t it much easier to assure someone else of God’s love than it is to believe it yourself? Isn’t there some lingering question, some doubt deep in the heart, that urges you to see God’s love as part of his job description—an obligation he must fulfill because of who he is but not a passion that delights him. In other words, we can easily believe God loves us because he has to but not so easily believe that he loves us because he wants to.
But he does. His love is not just an obligation; it’s true affection. Sure, he doesn’t endorse everything we do or validate every malformed aspect of our character. But loving parents don’t do that for any of their children, yet they love their children with deep, relentless affection. That’s what the love of God looks like, only in far greater extremes. He delights in his people, scripture tells us. In common English, that means he gets excited about our relationship with him.
Let yourself feel that love. Soak in it, saturate yourself in it, relish it without reservation. Not to do so is to disagree with him—and to hinder your own maturity and well-being. Doing so releases you from all sorts of hang-ups and insecurities and, even more importantly, aligns you with his heart.
