Everyone needs to be loved for who they are

not for what they do,

not for what they look like,

not for what they have accomplished,

not for what they possess

God loves you for who you are – His creation. He designed and created you to be you – not like any other person in all the world, in all of history. You are His unique creation. There is only one you!

1) Quality of God’s love for you is unconditional.

     There is no ‘I will love you if’.

There is no ‘I will love you when’.

There is no ‘I will love you until’.

2)  Scope of God’s love for you is everlasting through all stages of your life

There is nothing you need do to earn God’s love

There is nothing you can do to diminish God’s love for you

3) Power of God’s love for you is stronger than death

Romans 8:³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

³⁶ As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

³⁷ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

³⁸ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

³⁹ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

4) Cost of God’s love for you is free for you, cost everything for Him –

Your cost is explained in Ephesians 2:⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast

His cost is explained in Isaiah 53:¹ Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

² For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

³ He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

⁹ And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

¹¹ He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

5) Depth of God’s love for you is that of a father and His identity

 Who is the Father?

2 Corinthians 1: ³Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

Psalms 103: ¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

¹⁴ For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

The Father’s identity is love according to 1 John ⁸ He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

What will you do with God’s love for you?

Will you accept God’s love for you or reject God’s love for you?

Our Creator is not a dictator. He has not created us to be His puppets. He has given to each of us free will. We are able to choose to accept His love and enter into a relationship with Him because Jesus Christ took the punishment for our sins through His death and resurrection.  We are able to reject His love and count on our own judgment and abilities to navigate through life.

This is the age of grace!!!

But there is coming a time when your life on earth will end and you will face God as judge. Because God loves you and me, He gives us this free will. Because God is righteous, He also will judge our choices.

If we receive God’s love in the Person of Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior, our judgment was carried out at Calvary.

If we reject God’s love in the Person of Jesus Christ, we will be judged for our sin, the wages of which is death, eternal separation from the God Who loves us.

Who would want to face the only Person, Who ever loved you unconditionally, and know your rejection of His love causes you to be separated forever from Him? God loves you so much He allows you to choose.

Jude gives guidance for those who receive God’s love in the Person of Jesus Christ-Jude:

²¹ Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Focus on God’s love for you

Thank God for His love for you

Celebrate His love

Share God’s love with others

Jesus Loves Me – Anna Warren, 1860

Jesus loves me! This I know, For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong.

Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! This I know, As He loved so long ago,
Taking children on His knee, Saying, “Let them come to Me.”

Jesus loves me still today, Walking with me on my way,
Wanting as a friend to give Light and love to all who live.

Jesus loves me! He who died Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me! He will stay Close beside me all the way;
Thou hast bled and died for me, I will henceforth live for Thee.

Our focus – Hebrews 12:¹ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

² Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Our challenge – Dearly Beloved,

Run with your eyes on Jesus alone!

Run in faith that Jesus loves you, has uniquely designed and created only one you, has a good plan for your life, runs with you and will accomplish His purposes for you and through you!

Run in His strength alone!

Run with your eyes on the prize!

Run with the desire to finish strong!

Run with the desire to finish with your lamp burning!

Run with the expectation of being in His physical presence when you cross your finish line!

Run to His glory alone!

Run and keep on running!

Coach Patti