The day of teaching had passed with class discussions rather than teacher lecture & student collection of lecture notes.  Instead, our class time together became a “conversation,” one filled with student questions, teacher answers & teacher questions  and student answers.  Days like these are beautiful moments to be cherished, collected, and remembered.

Then I sat in my borrowed office, one filled with an oversized desk, empty bookshelves, two visitor chairs, a closet full of empty filing cabinets, and an empty secretary’s desk in the outer office.  Truly, I was a visitor, sitting in the office that will one day soon house the Dean of Mathematics (a quite FUNNY placement for me if you are privy to my LACK of math skills).  Nevertheless, there I sat in my borrowed desk chair, utilizing my borrowed office desk, sharing a conversation when the question came—Who loves me?

A.W. Tozer wrote these words:  “You do not have to know all the theology and all the right words.  You can say, ‘I am the one He came to die for.’ . . . Have that kind of personalized belief in a personal Lord and Savior.”

Jesus loves me!

Jesus loves you!

Jesus loves each person—individually!

Jesus would have given His life upon the cross of Calvary even IF there had only been ONE SINGLE PERSON in the world to save.

Say out loud, “I am the one He came to die for.”

Let us say these words again.  “I—AM—THE—ONE—HE—CAME—TO—DIE—FOR.”

Now, may we BELIEVE these words.

I read that there are more than 31,000 verses in the Bible, and I have no reason to reject this statistic.  In reading, the statement was given that one particular verse was quoted more than any other verse from the Bible.  Yes, you are thinking correctly.

Jesus said—“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 3: 16

Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world said these words!

“For God so loved the world,”—the whole, entire world of people!

“that He gave His only begotten Son,”—God gave Jesus’ life so our lives could be saved.

“that whoever believes”—the ‘whoever’ is YOU & ME & the whole world of humanity.

“in Him”—we are to believe specifically; we are called to believe in God, in His deep love.

“shall not perish,”—every single person born—will die—but when we die, we can live again!

“but have eternal life”—If we ACCEPT God’s TRUTH, BELIEVE God’s WORD, & CONFESS—God will take us into His presence at our death—for eternity!!!!!

Who loves me?

When that question was spoken aloud, I immediately sensed the depth of her question.  Should I say the obvious:  I love you & God loves you too?  That response is so easy, but her question paused me, caused me to hesitate, to see the DEPTH of her yearning.  What I think she was really asking was not a question but more of a statement—I feel so lost, help me feel loved.

Jesus said these words to us so that we can receive His Grace and Mercy.

Jesus said these words to us so we can be Saved.

Jesus said these words to us so that we will no longer be lost.

Jesus said these words because HE KNOWS THE TRUTH!

God loves perishing people.

God loves hurting people.

God loves lost people.

God loves dying people.

God loves wayward people.

God loves addiction-caught people.

God loves people who feel unlovable.

God loves individually.

God loves fully.

God loves—YOU & ME—with a depth that required He give His Only Son—Jesus’ Life—So We Could Be Saved.

God loves—YOU—All of YOU.

God loves—ME—All of ME.

God loves deeper, wider, further, and more than these words could ever express.

God loves Us—You—Me—All of Humanity.

God created us.  God gave us the breath of life.  God desires that we love HIM.

God wants us to accept His love.

God wants us to believe with all our hearts—in HIM.

God wants us to confess our sins—to be SAVED—continually SAVED—an ongoing SALVATION.

God wants us to live forevermore within His Presence.

The prophet Isaiah gave us a visual of “how much” God loves us.  SEE WITH ME.

GOD said—“Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; . . .”

(Isaiah 49: 16)

God Loves Us!

Her question spoke a depth of what she was really seeking—an answer to her statement, to this declaration—I feel so lost, help me feel loved.

Who loves me?

As we sat together (at that oversized, borrowed desk), I felt her desire to know.  She brushed off the question with a small laugh, and truthfully, I could have brushed it off as easily, but I knew to do so was not what God was speaking to my heart—to do—to say—to encourage her to see.  So I began a litany, a long list of the many ways I KNEW she would recognize as the answer to “her statement.”  You see, I really think it is quite impossible to witness of the love of God to another unless we share a relationship with another.  True, we can walk up to a complete stranger and share Jesus’ plan of salvation, and true, God saves!  However, one of the most beautiful ways God allows us opportunities to share His love with those who are lost, who do not yet know Him is through the relationships He provides within our lives.  We sat there across the desk, and I began to share how I saw (within her life) how she was loved.  She sat there quietly, taking in my words, holding them, receiving them as someone might place the warmth of a blanket across her shoulders.  Then I said, “But you know all these things already, and you also know WHO also loves you—MORE than all of these—GOD does!

I cannot adequately describe the love of God with my words, so see God’s action of love, see how much God loves you.  He sent Jesus to die for you!  God’s love is an action!”

Who loves me?

God does!

God loves US—YOU—ME so much that He sent Jesus, His Only Son, to save us from hell.

Do you believe?