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)
We’re going to continue looking at God’s love for you throughout this Valentine’s week. On Monday we saw how God has loved you from eternity past; today we will look at the truth that God loves you in the present.
Loved in the Present
Good news: God is not an angry taskmaster who only demonstrates His love when we are doing what we are supposed to do. God is not a concerned coach who demonstrates His love only when we are succeeding in life. God is love, and He loves us no matter what. And there is no better passage of Scripture to demonstrate that truth than this one from the inspired pen of the apostle Paul.
God demonstrates his own love fur us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
God did not wait for you to get your life cleaned up. God did not wait for you to get right with Him. God the Father sent God the Son to pay the penalty for your sins while you were a rebel on the run away from God and had no love in your heart for Him. If God loved us that much when we were far off from Him — alienated from God and enemies in our minds, as Colossians 1:21 tells us — what would make us think that He does not love us right now, no matter what?
Well . . . there is the accuser of the brethren. The evil one is forever yammering in our minds when we miss the mark in our thoughts, words, deeds, or desires. Satan hisses accusations and insinuations that cause us to doubt God’s love for us. And the only way we can keep from buying into the devil’s slurs is to remember this glorious, divine assertion from Paul’s epistle to the Romans:
There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
Jesus took our condemnation and nailed it to that cross. He was condemned in our place. And He walked out of His grave and appeared to hundreds of people (1 Corinthians 15:6) to provide proof positive that God the Father was completely satisfied with God the Son’s atoning sacrifice on our behalf. So now there is nothing we can do that will cause God to stop loving us in the present. We are loved in the past and we are loved in the present.
On Friday, we will take a look at God’s love for us in our promised future. Happy Valentine’s Day!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 