Does God Love Me?

Helping You Find The Answer To This Question, Along With What’s Causing You To Ask It…

Is this really the question you’re asking?  A few moments ago, were you really just thumbing through Facebook on your iPhone when the thought came to mind: “Does God Love Me?”  And this thought, was it followed by, “Well I’ll just Google-it real quick to see if I can find the answer?”  No?  I didn’t think so.

Odds are, something has transpired; something has happened that possibly – for the first time in your life – has caused you to eagerly set out to find the answer to the question burning deep within: “Does God Love Me?”

Why do I say this…?

More often than not, when someone approaches me asking, “Does God Love Me,” there is a hidden connotation being invoked by the questioner when asking the question.  Which is why I first respond with, “Why do you ask?”

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Connotation – An idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

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You see, the questioner isn’t simply asking, “Does God Love Me… yes or no?”  Rather, she is asking, “Does God Love Me… because I feel as though He doesn’t?” or “Does God Love Me… because I don’t understand why He would?”

Does God Love Me… Because I Feel as Though He Doesn’t?

A few years ago, one Sunday morning there was a single mother (let’s call her Ruth) sitting just down from me and my family at the end of the pew.

I knew her quite well, because I had grown up with her.  However, now in her mid-30’s she was in a very bad way.  Shriveled-up as her poor little body was, it was evident drugs had gotten the best of her.

Throughout the entire church service, she sat crying; trying to cling to every word spoken from the pulpit, though they seemingly fell just short of her grasp.

Nevertheless, at some point between then and now, I’ve come to the understanding (rather, God’s given me the understanding), that Ruth had come that Sunday morning seeking the answer to one simple, yet incredibly profound question:  “Does God Love Me?”

However, this isn’t an important question only to Ruth is it?  No.  This is the same burning question anxiously lying wait among the burning embers resting deep within us all; as we each hold steadfast to the hope of those embers one day igniting into a roaring flame of truth.  But… what was Ruth’s truth?

Think about it!  Ruth was a single mother who’s husband had recently abandoned she and her daughter.  And at that time, her body was going through a rapid transformation of withering away due to a drug addiction she was unable to overcome.

Therefore, the question of which she was seeking an answer wasn’t simply, “Does God Love Me?”  Rather, she was seeking the answer to the connotation being invoked, which was, “Does God Love Me, because I feel as though He doesn’t; for there is absolutely nothing in my life showing a glimmer of hope that He does?”  And quite possibly, this is the same question, Dear Reader, of which you also have come to seek the answer.

And in just a moment, God willing, you will receive the answer you’ve set out to find.

Does God Love Me… Because I Don’t Understand Why He Would?

On the other hand, maybe that isn’t the reason you’ve come.  Perhaps when you ask the question, “Does God Love Me?,” the answer you seek is one that answers an entirely different connotation.  And possibly, just maybe, Ruth also was implying the same connotation.

As you look back to the first connotation of which I spoke, “Does God Love Me, because I feel as though He doesn’t; for there is absolutely nothing in my life showing a glimmer of hope that He does?” you’ll find the questioner is implying – “If God really loved me, then He wouldn’t have let my life become so chaotic and messed up.”  It is safe to note that this question comes in the form of Anger towards God.

However, Ruth, much like yourself, could have been asking the same question while implying something different.

While sitting there on the pew that Sunday morning, Ruth could have been seeking the answer to the question: “Does God Love Me, because I don’t understand why He would; after all the things I’ve done to make such a mess of my life?”

In essence, instead of blaming God for her life’s situation (like she may have been doing within the first connotation), Ruth could have been taking the responsibility of her life’s outcome upon herself.  Therefore, instead of asking the question in Anger Towards God, Ruth would have been asking in Guilt & Shame of Herself.

Either way, no matter the connotation being invoked by Ruth’s question, “Does God Love Me,” the fact remains that she (and quite possibly you, Dear Reader) still understand neither the reason why her life is in such turmoil, and most importantly, the answer as to whether or not her Creator truly loves her.

The Cause Behind The Question

Whether it is pain, anger, hatred, guilt or grief, what caused me to seek out this answer some twelve years ago, at the age of thirty, is the same thing causing you to seek it out.  It’s the soul’s starvation for the Truth!  It’s the “not knowing” that keeps us up at night.  It’s the “not knowing” that steals our joy.  It’s the not knowing that – Right Now – is stealing your joy, and eating away at your very inner being… 

However, today that can all change for you.  It can all change for you Right Now!

Ruth’s question, my question, and your question (regardless of the connotation), were all brought on because at some point we finally came to our senses.  In a single moment of pain, suffering, or perhaps even loneliness, we came to the conclusion that:  If there is an all-loving Creator, then why in the world does it feel as though He’s a million miles away?  Why, if God is truly everywhere, does it feel as if He is absolutely nowhere close to me?

However, I ask that you please do not lose heart.  This is where we discover why it is we feel as though God is a million miles away.

Feeling Separated From God – The Numbers Don’t Add Up

If no one had ever told you that 1+1=2, then you would have never been able to determine that 2+2=4, or 5+5=10, etc. etc…  And when it comes to seeking and understanding the deeper things of life; when the created things finally begin asking questions about the Creator of all things, does it not seem logical that those who were created should first seek to understand their position in comparison to the Creator?

What I mean to say is: 

1. If Ruth was asking: “Does God Love Me, because I feel as though He doesn’t; for there is absolutely nothing in my life showing a glimmer of hope that He does?” she is asking the question in hurt and anger towards God… as if God Owed Her something better.  However… how can Ruth blame God if she knows little to nothing about Him?
2. On the other hand, if Ruth was asking: “Does God Love Me, because I don’t understand why He would; after all the things I’ve done to make such a mess of my life?” she is asking the question with a guilty and shameful conscious… as if she should have Known Better and made wiser decisions.  However… how can Ruth blame herself if she didn’t know any better; if no one ever told her that 1+1=2?

Side Note:  You might say to me, “Josh, what do you mean Ruth didn’t know any better.  We live in a society that teaches the use of drugs can be detrimental to one’s life.”  And my response would be, “The Secular Society of which you are referring NEVER speaks of Eternal consequences caused by actions we take in this life, but Ruth’s question is aimed at the Eternal and Everlasting, and it implies Eternal consequences.  The Secular Society in which we live places value only on this life while denying the Eternal life.  Suffice it to say, if there is no Eternal life, then the life in which we now live is of no importance whatsoever.”

Therefore, what we know about Ruth is the same thing we all know about ourselves.  We all reach that moment in our lives when we are:  Angry at God for the Shameful and unwise decisions we’ve made, and all we want are answers.  As a matter of fact, we end up crying out for Him to, “Give me a sign!”

In our ignorance, we just want something to make sense in our lives for a change.  However, it is because of our ignorance that we are unable to do so.

“Our ignorance of what,” you ask?

Actually, it isn’t our ignorance of “What,” but it is our ignorance of “Whom” that causes both You and I to find ourselves in the hopeless state of feeling separated from God, while asking the question, “Does God Love Me?”  It is because:

1. We do not understand WHO God is.
2. We do not understand WHO We are.

And if we don’t know who God is… and we don’t know who we are, then it is impossible for anything in life to ever make sense.  It is impossible for any of the numbers to add up.

“All we are left with is a faulty paradigm from which to draw our conclusions; a foundation that allows us to come up with knee-jerk answers to our issues that, for a brief moment, will allow us to feel good about those things of which we should be ashamed.” 

Please, Allow Me To Introduce You To… You

When God created the Universe, He did so by making it completely perfect.  The Earth, the ocean waters, the Heavens and the stars, and even Mankind were all a part of God’s perfect creation.

However, when God gave Adam and Eve the freedom to choose, they chose to do things their way and not the way their Creator had intended.  And as we all have heard the story told, that is when sin entered into the perfect, sinless world in which God had created.  So what were the repercussions of sin?

• Well, can you imagine waking up every morning and spending the entire day, every day, with those you love most?
• Can you imagine never having to go to the doctor for an illness?
• Can you imagine never having to attend a funeral service?
• Can you imagine women having absolutely no pain during childbirth?

These are just a few of the things caused by Sin entering into, and shattering, the perfect world that God had created.  And, yes, you read it correctly.  Even death was non-existent until sin entered into our world.

The Bible says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned…”  Romans 5:12 (NIV)

Therefore, when sin entered into the world, it actually entered into Mankind.  What this means exactly is that every baby born into this world, both male and female, enter into this world as Naturally Born Sinners!  So at this time I’d like to introduce you to yourself; the real you; the you you’d never really known much about… the Natural Born Sinner – You.

Now, believe it or not, this is one of the most important Truths that Ruth needs to know and understand.  This is the “Exact” answer as to why she feels as if God is a million miles away.  And this is the “Exact” answer as to why her life is in such a mess.

You see, the Sinful Nature that you and I are born with causes us to be and to do just as Adam and Eve did.  It causes us to want to live our lives the way we want, and disregard anything God has to say about it.  It causes us to want to be unlike God.  It causes us to want to be our own god.

And this is when we get ourselves into all kinds of trouble…

Ruth: The Natural Born Sinner…

While Ruth was sitting at the end of the pew in tears, as previously stated, she was either angry and fearful that God had never loved her, or at this point in her life, that He could no longer love her because of the mess she had made of things.  However, what if Ruth had known the Truth about whom she really was; about the sinful nature that she had been born with?

Before I continue, please take just a moment to read through the following Scriptures, and see what the Bible says about our Sinful Nature. 

• “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”  Romans 7:18 (NIV)
• “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires.”  Romans 8:5a (NIV)
• “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”  Romans 8:8 (NIV)
• “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.”  Galatians 5:16-17a (NIV)
• “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”  Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)
• “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”  Ephesians 2:3 (NIV)

After reading through those Bible verses, let’s think for a moment how knowing these same Scriptures could have greatly impacted Ruth’s worldview. 

Let’s say that I had approached Ruth, and after a few minutes of dialogue she finally decided to ask, “Does God Love Me?”  And my response and our conversation went as follows: 

“Ruth, let me ask you a question.  Would you walk into a Children’s Hospital, where hundreds of little children were fighting for their lives against cancer, and tell them you no longer loved them because they had cancer?”

“Well of course not, Josh!”

“Well, Ruth, do you think God would do that to those little children?”

“Well of course not, Josh!  Why would you ask such a question?”

“Before I answer your question, Ruth, please allow me to ask another.  Did you know that both you and I, along with everyone else in the world, were born with a Sinful Nature already inside us?  And because of that sinful nature, when given a choice, we choose to be unlike God and to do things our own way… even though it can be detrimental to our well-being.  So I guess what I’m asking, Ruth, is ‘Do you believe God doesn’t love you because you were born with a sinful nature that He already knew you were going to be born with?'”

“I would hope that’s not the case, Josh.”

“Well I actually know that’s not the case, Ruth.  Now, please let me ask you another question, and you can be completely honest with me because right now you’re in a safe place, Ruth.  How well do you know about the things that are written in that Bible you’re holding in your hand?  And remember, I’m not here to judge you, so you can be completely honest.”

“If I’m being honest, Josh, I really don’t know much of anything in this Bible.”

“Hey, Ruth, that’s okay.  You don’t have to feel badly about that.  But let’s go back to what I was talking about a moment ago… about our sinful nature.  Let’s picture our sinful nature as this voice inside us that is constantly trying to convince us to do things we shouldn’t… to become more and more unlike God.  Wouldn’t it be awesome if we had something – or better yet, Someone – who was able to teach us how to combat and to overcome our sinful nature?”

“Absolutely, Josh.” 

“But what if we didn’t, Ruth?  What if the only voice we’d been listening to all of our lives was the voice that was leading us down a horrific path… the voice that was leading us into nothing but pain and misery?”

“I’d say that’s the voice I’ve been listening to all my life, Josh…”

“Ruth, what if I told you that you no longer have to listen to that voice; and what is written in that Bible you’re holding, our God… Your God – Who loves you more than you can possibly imagine – has freely given to you so that you can combat the voice you’ve been listening to all your life?”

End Dialogue.

Now that wasn’t so hard was it?  I didn’t have to go into a three-hour-long dissertation on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, did I?  No.  All I needed was God’s Wisdom to understand the deepest, inmost desire that we all long for.  And that’s the longing to know whether or not we are truly loved by our Creator. 

Furthermore, I briefly and quickly helped to lay a foundation for Ruth to build upon; a foundation that: 

• Assured her that we are all in this fight together, and that she is no different from me or anyone else.
• Finally gave her an answer as to why her life was in such turmoil. 
• Gave her a ray of hope that her Creator and Savior truly does love her.
• Instantly crushed either of the two connotations that had been invoked by her question, “Does God Love Me.”

And Now…

Does God Love You?

Once upon a time, God created the heavens and the earth, and all the things that crawl around on the ground and swim in the sea.  He then created Man, and gave us dominion over all things.

However, once having been given the freedom of choice by our Creator, we chose to become unlike Him.  And in so doing, we were separated from Him.

Needless to say, when you become separated from the only Being in the Universe that truly gives LIFE, then the only thing that awaits you in the end is death.  But what happens next is the greatest LOVE story ever Lived.  It is a story that began thousands of years ago, and continues to infiltrate the hearts of those who are dying even to this day…

After God had created all things; things both seen and unseen, he then gave us dominion over the earth… along with Free Will.  Since then :

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way…” Isaiah 53:6 (NIV)  “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.”  Romans 3:10-11 (NIV)

After making our decision to go our own way, sin came into our world, bringing with it death… and residing within each of us as our Sinful Nature, until death overcomes these bodies encompassing our souls… which leaves our souls with no eternal dwelling other than separated from the One Who created us – let’s call it hell…

Meanwhile, like sheep without a shepherd, the only voice of reason we had to direct our paths was that of our Sinful Nature.  And…

“Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”  Romans 8:8 (NIV)

because…

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”  Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)   and   “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”  Ephesians 2:3 (NIV)

But…

“Because of his great love for us,” though we wanted nothing to do with our Creator, “God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions…”  Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)

However, when making us alive with Christ, God did so in such a way that is most inconceivable.  He did so in such a way that Mankind would be without excuse when it comes to knowing what LOVE truly is.

You see…  

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”  John 1:1-5 (NIV)  “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”  John 1:14a (NIV)  “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  John 1:10-13 (NIV)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16 (NIV)

And for the first time in our lives, we realized that…

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  1 John 4:10 (NIV)

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless,” Romans 5:6a (NIV)  powerless against the voice of our sinful nature, “Christ died for the ungodly.”  Romans 5:6b (NIV)

And isn’t that amazing!?  The Creator of all things would actually die for those who wanted nothing to do with Him?  Because we know…

“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:7–8 (NIV)

That’s right!  Putting to shame all the earthly gods that we humans have created throughout time, the One True God of the Universe did the unimaginable.  Instead of sitting on His Throne watching as we humans turned our backs on Him… wanting to be un-like God, He came chasing after us…

Having made the decision before time had begun; a choice that was completely not human-like, when He humbled himself and became like us in the form of a man… namely, Jesus Christ… 

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Philippians 2:6-11 (NIV)

Because of the LOVE of God, and for our sake…

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

Inasmuch, He showed the world that our weakness – which is death brought about by our sinful nature – holds absolutely no power over Him.  Because…

“He too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”  Hebrews 2:14-15 (NIV)

I truly hope and pray this helps you to answer your question, “Does God Love Me?”  Should you have any further questions I might be able to help you with, please just leave me a comment below. 

On the other hand, if you are still not convinced that God truly loves us, then I suppose my only retort is: “Shall I start over from the beginning…?”

Please feel free to “Share” with a friend… or even the whole world!

God Bless You…