One of the top internet search phrases is this question, “What does God think about me?” That could be a natural question for anyone to ask who does not already know the Bible’s teachings. But a lot of times, that question is wrapped up in mega insecurity, even among Christians. Perhaps this question is constantly rolling over in your mind. “What does God think about me?” At its foundation, the real question is whether or not God really loves you. By looking at Ephesians 5:1, we will answer that question in this post. Here’s the truth: You are dearly loved by God.
Listen to this blog as a podcast from our Everyday Women, Ever-Faithful God Bible Study:
Insecurity about God’s love
If you look at stuff on the internet and read through some devotionals and Bible studies, you’ll run across teaching that focuses constantly on our sinfulness. And yes, every human is prone to sinfulness. But what is often left out is the good news of God’s grace toward us and His life in us. It drives me nuts when I see application questions in women’s Bible Studies that focus only on avoiding sin in your life.
No wonder many women look at their lives, which may be very messy compared to others, and think to themselves, “God must not love me as much as He does her.” Have you ever thought that way? Then, you resign yourself to your “fate” because you don’t deserve better. Or you do as many good deeds as you possibly can to try to get back into God’s good favor so He’ll love you again.
Stop it! Grasp the fact that as a Christian you are dearly loved by your God. That’s what God thinks about you. And God loves all of His children equally.
Grasping the truth that God loves you dearly
Your God loves you, and He wants you to know it, to grasp it. He wants you to never let go of that truth. If you did our study of the book of Ephesians, you would see that Paul wrote about this in Ephesians chapter 3. It’s a prayer rich with the truth about God’s love for you.
“I pray that … [God] may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power … to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love. (Ephesians 3:16-19)
Christ already lives in the heart of every believer through the Holy Spirit. That word “dwell” means that Jesus is so at home in your heart that He is the dominating factor in your attitudes and behavior. That will be evident as you live each day.
And Jesus wants you to be rooted and established in love. That means to be grounded in it, stabilized by it. That means to firmly grasp the immensity of how much you and I are loved! Jesus wants this to be deeply rooted in you. You can know this love intimately and experientially. It’s not just head knowledge. As a believer in Christ, you are an individual recipient of God’s personal love for His children.
Through God’s power in you, you can GRASP God’s love for you. God enables you to overcome your insecurities and doubts and comparisons in order to know and experience His love.
You are dearly loved by God
Just to make sure you know how much you are loved, he wrote in Ephesians chapter 5 these powerful words:
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children. (Ephesians 5:1, NIV)
“Dearly loved children.” The Greek word used there is the same one used by God to His own Son and means “beloved.”
And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”(Mark 1:11) And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” (Mark 9:7, ESV)
Beloved. Dearly loved. What does God think about you, dear Christian? You are beloved. You are dearly loved by God!
I found a quote about this that I really liked. It says,
There is nothing you can do to make God love you more! There is nothing you can do to make God love you less! His love is Unconditional, Impartial, Everlasting, Infinite, Perfect! (Richard Halverson)
Wow. You are loved like that! God is not stingy with His love. The moment you believe in Jesus Christ, He loves you dearly just like that.
Have you heard that God loves you, but your brain is telling you, “No way!” Or maybe you know in your head that God loves you, but you just don’t feel it in your heart. It’s okay to feel God’s love for you. God wants you to really KNOW it, to allow yourself to FEEL it, and to GRASP it. You can ask for this. Romans 5:5 says that God pours His love into your heart. It’s there for you to know.
The power of God overcomes what you’ve heard from others.
I know that many of you struggle with believing that God loves you. Perhaps your concept of a Father’s love has been corrupted by someone who should have shown you God’s kind of love. What if your parents didn’t love you like that? That affects your view of God and His love for you, especially if you only know performance-based love.
Performance-based love says, “I will give my love to you if you meet a certain standard of performance. Otherwise, I will be disappointed in you and withhold my love.” That hurts. That breeds insecurity. Has that been your experience? That is not true love. That’s not how God’s love works.
Think of the best father in any book, or movie or TV show. God is even better than that. God’s love is unconditional. He loves you for who you are now. He loves you for who you are becoming because He sees you perfected through His Spirit working in you. He looks upon you with love because you have trusted in His Son. His love allows things in your life that will strengthen you and mature you as you learn to rely on Him more. The Bible says that you are “dearly loved.”
What God says about you
Dear friends, write this phrase on your mirror. “You are dearly loved by your Father God.” And put Ephesians 5:1 below that. The next time you ponder what God says or thinks about you, remember this truth. It doesn’t matter how many mistakes you’ve made in the past or what’s in your bank account. Whether you’ve been a Christian for 3 weeks or 30 years, you are dearly loved by your Father God—equally, no more, no less than every other Christian alive today or in the past.
If believing that God loves you unconditionally is a struggle for you, ask Him to help you really know His love. Grasp it. Allow yourself to feel totally wrapped up in His arms of love. Thank Jesus for that. Maybe today will be the best day of your life!
Christian, you are a dearly loved child of God. That’s what God says about you. Get all the details to confirm this in our Seek the Treasure study of Ephesians.
- The Walk from Fear to Faith Bible Study on Amazon.com
- Everyday Women, Ever-Faithful God Bible Study on Amazon.com
- Satisfied by His Love Bible Study on Amazon.com
- Live Out His Love Bible Study on Amazon.com
- Satisfied Series 1 Podcasts (Old Testament women)
- Satisfied Series 2 Podcasts (New Testament women)
- Seek the Treasure Bible Study of Ephesians on Amazon.com
Image credit: sourced from a template at canva.com
The Book of Ruth: Life Should Not Be Lived Alone