The Love of God for you is unconditional.

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

Did you know that the love of God is unconditional? There are no strings attached. Mark 1:11 God tells Jesus He is His beloved Son, and that He is well pleased with him. He also tells Him of His love for Him. Let me give you the context. Jesus had gone to River Jordan so that John could baptize Him. Although He did not need John to baptize Him. He did it anyway to fulfill the law. He was acting in obedience. God validated Him after John had baptized him. He told Him He loved Him way before He began His ministry. The love of God is unconditional.

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The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you, I am well pleased.”

¹² At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, ¹³ and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Anyway, now that I have given you a summary, let’s delve into today’s study. God validated Jesus before He started His ministry. He wanted Jesus to know that God’s love for Him was not based on His deeds. It wasn’t what He did that made God love Him. Rather God loved Him before He called Him for His purpose.

This goes to show us that God’s love is unconditional, and it’s not dependent on what we do or don’t do. Even if we never pray or do what He has called us to do, He will never stop loving us. That is why He sent us His Son as our redemption. He wanted to restore our relationship with Him.

And this is evident in John 3:16-17

 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. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 

God loved the world before the world chose Him. That is why God says that we love Him because He first loved us. It is the love of God that draws us to Him. And through His Love, He gives you an identity and validates you too.

How the story of Jesus applies to You and helps you see the evidence of God’s love for you

I know you are wondering how this story of Jesus applies to you. In the book of Romans 8:29, Paul tells us that Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren.

²⁹ For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

This implies that we too have received the same love from God that He gave us, and we too are God’s children. God does not love us based on our deeds and actions. If that were the case no one would be worthy of His love. Remember, Paul in the book of Romans says that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And God being perfect, He would never love imperfect people if His love depended on our deeds. And that’s where the grace of God comes in. Grace, in simple terms, is unmerited favor. God gives us the favor we don’t deserve and this is because of His love for us.

How to receive God’s Love.

Let me paint you a picture. Imagine all the terrible things you have ever done. Can you believe that despite all that, God loves you? I know sometimes your actions led to the end of a relationship. Or maybe you grew up in a home where the love given to you depends on your actions. And if that’s true, the concept of unconditional love sounds foreign to you. But today I want you to know that God’s love is not like that. He does not love you only when you are good. He loves you regardless. And He will never stop loving you. That is why Paul says that nothing will separate you from God’s love.

³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ( Romans 8:38-39)

You can never earn God’s love, you can only receive it. Do you desire to receive God’s love but you don’t know how? Let me give you some keys that will help you receive God’s love.

The first thing you need to do is to believe that God loves you.

You see, you can never receive something you have no knowledge of. If you do not believe that God loves you, you will not make room for His love to permeate your entire being. Believing that God loves you is simple. Trust that He loves you and you are a part of His beloved creation. And it could be as simple as believing in Jesus. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? Have you made Jesus your Lord and Saviour? Making Him the center of your life will give you the confidence to rest in His love for you. Believing in Jesus does not lead to God loving you. He loves you anyway.

Believing in Jesus gives you the revelation of God, love for you. Realizing the price that Jesus paid for you will give you the revelation of the magnitude of His love for you. And it is in the revelation that you will be confident that He loves you. And the beauty of God’s love is that it is unconditional. Which means you do not have to keep up to earn it. And that means you can never lose it.

This will give you the confidence to not strive for perfection. Rather, you will have the ability to be gracious to yourself and others. God’s love will give you the security you need to be gracious to yourself when you mess up. Of course, this does not give you the license to sin. But it makes room for error because of the awareness of your humanity. God’s love will cast out fear. Fear, shame, guilt, worry, and condemnation will not drive you because you know that God loves you. And you will discover all this in your relationship with God.

Receiving God’s love stems from understanding His love.

And this revelation comes from reading the Bible. As you read His word, you realize His love and His character, too. The more you understand God’s character, the more insight you receive into the love of God. Remember, God’s love is available to you. But you cannot receive it if you don’t know it. And you cannot know what you have not read about. The Bible is a love letter that God wrote to you. And that’s how you get to know about His love and who He is.

You receive the Holy Spirit when you receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.

And the work of the Holy Spirit is to be your helper. He will reveal to you all the truth. And He will also reveal to you God’s love. This is what Paul says in the book of Romans. (Romans 8:14-17) ¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.

 And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. The Holy Spirit wants to reveal to you the love of God. And how it applies to you. But it is up to you to receive it.

Scriptures that talk about the love of God

Ephesians 3:18-19

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Romans 8:35,37-39

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? … No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 36:5-7

Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; God, your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings.

1 John 3:1

See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him.

Romans 5:8

But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Ephesians 2:4-5

But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!

Romans 5:5

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

Proverbs 3:11-12

My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline and don’t be upset when He corrects you. For the LORD corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom He delights.

Psalm 31:7

I will be glad and rejoice in Your unfailing love, for You have seen my troubles, and You care about the anguish of my soul.

Lamentation 3:32-33

Though He brings grief, He also shows compassion because of the greatness of His unfailing love. For He does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.

1John 4:9-12

God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love — not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.”

GOD WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU!

Conclusion

How great love this is that God gave His Son so He could redeem us as His own. Let that sink in. Jesus redeemed you and me with His Blood. Redemption means that Jesus Christ has delivered us from sin. We do not need to pay the sacrifices for our sins, since Jesus already paid it once and for all. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14)

Does the thought that you no longer have a debt to pay, make you feel good? Beloved, Jesus redeemed you and me, Jesus Christ came to set us free. Now go out there with this confidence and do not let the lies of the enemy get you out of that truth. Just believe.

THE REDEMPTIVE LOVE OF GOD: EXPERIENCE IT TODAY!

Receiving the love of God does not have to be complicated. It is just as simple as believing. And for you to do that, you need to replace the lie that God does not love you with the truth that He does. He is not waiting for you to be perfect so that He can love you. He loves you anyway. Do not let comparison or failure separate you from His love. Even on your worst days, He will love you the same as on your best days. God loves you with unconditional love. He really does!