Loved With Reckless Abandon

Loved With Reckless Abandon!

“Does he love me as much as l love him?”

“Does she love me as much as I love her?”

Do these statements sound familiar?
I can relate with them. We all should. For it’s a deep-seated need in the heart of every human to want to be sure that we are truly loved and valued. But more, not only do we want to know that we are loved by a fellow human, but also that we are loved by God.

So how much does God love us?

Jesus Himself answered this question, when He stated,
“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)

For a deeper insist into the magnitude and intensity of God’s love for us, I shall consider two words from Christ’s statement; “So” and “loved”

The word “So” as used here, is an adverb, a submodifier of the verb “loved”.
It means “to such a great extent.”
It’s also used for the purpose of emphasis, to mean “extremely; very much”

So putting it back into John 3:16, we’ll have something like this:
“For God loved the world to such a great extent, that he gave his only begotten Son…”

You’re loved to such a great extent. You’re loved very much. God’s love for you is extreme love. The intensity of God’s love for you is also captured by John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” He said,
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”
(1John4:9,NIV)

God loved you to such an unthinkable extent, that He sacrificed His only begotten Son for you!
That’s crazy love!

Let’s proceed to our next word, “loved”
This word is from the Greek word agape. Agape describes a kind of love that occurs when the lover sees and appreciates the value of a person, causing the lover to regard the person with great esteem, admiration, wonder and sincere appreciation. His love for that person is strong that it is irresistible. The lover’s affection for this person is so much that, he will sacrifice himself for the sake of the person, if need be.
What a love!
The only Bible translation that comes close to capturing the richness of this word in John 3:16 is the Amplified translation. It reads,

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”

God so greatly loves you.
God values you highly. He so dearly prizes you. He looks at you with such great admiration and wonder. His love for you is so compelling, that He sacrificed His Son, Jesus for your sake.
Only agape could do such a crazy thing!

For the Father so greatly loved and
dearly prized (put your name), that He sacrificed His Son for your sake.
The Son so greatly loved and dearly prized (put your name), that He gave up His life, that you might live through Him; and sent the Holy Spirit to you.
The Holy Spirit so greatly loved and dearly prized (put your name), that He came to live inside you forever.

What I am trying to communicate is this:
The measure of God’s love for you is, the Gift of His Son Jesus.
The measure of Christ’s love for you is, His death on the cross for you.
And the measure of the Spirit’s love for you is, His indwelling presence in your life, to make you all that you were meant to be.

Christ’s death on the cross clears every doubt – if there ever was – about God’s unfathomable love and boundless affection for you.

What are you going to do with this beautiful truth?
Meditate on it. Let it fill your heart until it comes pouring out through your mouth, in confessions of faith. Let this truth become so rich in you, that it stumps out every trace of fear, doubt, rejection, abandonment, inferiority. Let God’s love set you free today. In Jesus Name.

With much love,

Prince Iorungwa Najime