The Love we Deserve
by Alisa Harewood
Head of Creative Media, CBN Europe
Featured Articles
Some of us may bat away the love of God claiming that we are unworthy of such love. But what if we are? What if Jesus died so that we can experience the fullness of the love of God? Every minute. Every hour. Every day. What if we do deserve the love of God?
Human Love
Please go on a bit of a visualisation journey with me. Get yourself comfortable and be in a place where you can focus on what I am about to say. Suppose you can close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. Now, I want you to think about a person you genuinely love. Not a surface-level love, but a deep-rooted, all-consuming love. Maybe you’re thinking about your spouse, parents or your children.
Now I want to take a moment a visualise that person or people in front of you. Really have them clearly in your mind. I want you to tell them how much you love them, how much you want nothing but the best for their life and hope that they live a life filled with happiness, purpose and prosperity. Tell them that you love them so much that you would sacrifice anything, even your own life, just so that they could have a chance to live.
Imagine the type of response you would want them to give to you, bearing in mind that you have just poured out your heart and soul, and they turn around and repeatedly say, ‘thanks, but I don’t deserve your love’.
When you dearly love someone, you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice.
Rejected Love
Take a moment to think about how you would feel?
Disappointed?
Sad?
Devastated?
Angry?
Write your feelings down on your phone or in your journal.
When you dearly love someone, you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. John 3:16 tell us from the mouth of Jesus himself what type of deeply rooted love God has for us – so much so that He gave His only and only Son so that we can have eternal life.
Jesus lived a sinless life; He did nothing wrong but was still willing to be punished and die so that we could have eternal life. We receive eternal life when we accept Jesus into our lives and hearts by agreeing that this life is just an introduction to what is waiting for us after this mortal life ends, and our eternal life begins.
In eternal life, there is no death, no sickness, no enemy, evil or sin…just everlasting love.
Knowing all of this as Christians, we often critique ourselves, put ourselves down, disrespect ourselves, and the list goes on. How often have you said, ‘Oh, I don’t deserve His love’?
The love He asks of us can come in many forms, but the Bible gives us clear instructions on some key areas:
In eternal life, there is no death, no sickness, no enemy, evil or sin…just everlasting love.
Love Him First
- Love no one other god than Him – God asks us to love no other idols or images other than Him. Think about what you may be prioritising and loving before Him. Maybe it’s social media, money or something that you prioritise before His Word.
- Love other people – Before Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice, He said to his disciples, in John 13:34, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
- Love yourself as an expression of your love for Him – God created us in His image and likeness, so by loving yourself – His creation – you are expressing your love for Him.
We all deserve the love that God freely gives to us, so do not question it, do not prioritise other things before it, and most importantly, give love to others as He does so profoundly to us.
