
Do you believe God loves you unconditionally?
This is what I (wrongly) believed: If I am good, I am acceptable. If I help people … if I am a blessing instead of a burden … well, then I am accepted. But, if I fail, mess up, then I feel like a reject — not acceptable to God.
My skewed belief was that I was acceptable only when I was doing well or in the center of God’s will. Clearly, I had not truly embraced my identity in Christ because acceptance is what I already have. We all struggle to some degree with believing God loves us unconditionally. Many of us believe that we have to earn God’s favor. We think, “I read my Bible, so He loves me.” Or, “Things aren’t going so well, so it must be because I’m not doing it right.”
The Lord your God is with you; He is mighty to save and deliver. He will quiet you with His love and rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
In this passage, God tells a rebellious people that He actually stands over them singing and rejoicing, like a mother sings over her children to calm them down.
No matter what you have done or how bad you may have blown it, the truth of God’s love is that the God of the Universe, the Creator of this world loves you!
As a believer in Jesus Christ, His spirit dwells inside of us. And He wants to deliver us and quiet the stress of our heart with a love that’s unconditional and not based on our performance.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In spite of our sinfulness, God demonstrated His love by sending His Son Jesus to die for us.
Truly, every person was created with a desire and need in his or her heart to love God and feel His love. But it is what we choose to do with this desire—act upon it or ignore it—that draws us closer to the Father or away from Him.
When we enter into a loving relationship with God, He is able and willing to offer His wisdom to guide us James 1:5. When we embrace God’s love, we will begin to see people and circumstances as He sees them—from the vantage point of His love.
In light of this, why would anyone choose to refuse God’s love? If you are ready to reap the benefits of God’s perfect love, reach out to Him in prayer today. Ask Him to help you overcome the hindrances so that you may rejoice in His everlasting and tender care.
God’s love is unconditional, it’s free, and all we have to do to experience it is accept it, and rejoice in it. Let’s stop trying to earn God’s love and let ourselves experience it!
Prayer For Salvation
God’s love is not based on our goodness or how we perform but rather on who’s we are and we are all God’s children when we accept His son, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for all of us. Receiving the love of Jesus and living in his love every day, is the first and most essential step in having a love worth giving. Jesus gave His life for you! If you desire to know God’s unconditional love and want to follow Jesus, you can pray this prayer of salvation.
“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.”
If you decided to repent of your sins and receive Christ today, welcome to God’s family. Now, as a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.
- Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
- Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
- Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
- Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
- Find a local church where you can worship God.