The next best thing to God seeing you and knowing you is the reality that God loves you. It is critical to know that He sees with precision what is happening in your life. In your mind. In your heart. But it is life-altering when you realize that he doesn’t just see you. He loves you. 

God.

Loves.

You.

His love for you is not based on anything you have done. Or have not done. Or will ever do. It is not based on you “doing” period. It is all Him. It is who He is and what He does. To say that “God is love” seems such an understatement. A true statement, yes. But that statement contains riches and truths that cannot be easily described or comprehended. A hymn depicts the indescribable love of God like this:

“Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.”

Adequately describing the height, width, and depth of God’s love for you on this page is not possible. There is, however, an event that demonstrates His love in no uncertain terms. The cross. He offered His Son, perfect and unblemished by sin, to an excruciating death on a cross. 

His suffering was an agony unknown by man before or since, because our sins were poured into Him. Jesus performed the ultimate act of love, laying His life down for us. Why? Because God wants to be in an intimate, love relationship with us. But He is holy and we are not. Christ’s death and resurrection provide the path from a sin-sodden world to a holy, righteous God. 

Grasping the all-encompassing power of God’s love is the first step in our understanding. The second is comprehending that He loves YOU. 

Have you heard the phrase “If you were the only person on earth, Jesus would have died to save you”? I used to hear that and think, “right”. I knew beyond a doubt that He would die for others. For you. But for “just me”? Couldn’t buy it. Couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t fathom His love for me being that strong. That real. That full. I was in my late 30s, during a small group study of Henry Blackaby’s book “Experiencing God”, before He penetrated my doubt. Powerful realization. Indescribable, undeserved grace poured into my soul.

Do you know this love? Have you experienced it? Not recognizing something does not disprove it exists. It does. He is simply waiting for you to respond to Him and receive that love. 

“For God (all-powerful, everywhere present, all-knowing, perfect, holy,
                   sovereign, immortal, unlimited) 

so loved (is passionate about, is devoted to, cherishes, delights in,
                   has affection for) 

the world (you are in the world and you mean the world to Him) 

that He gave (free, sacrificial, endured the loss of) 

his only Son, that whosoever (all of mankind) 

believes on him (trusts, puts faith in, relies on) 

shall not perish, but have eternal (everlasting, continuing forever and
                   indefinitely) 

life (the state of being alive with healthiness, happiness, exuberance,
                   energy, vitality).” John 3:16.

God is love (I John 4:16). 

And He loves you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3)