A Love Like No Other
In today’s society, the term ‘love’ is regularly being misused and misrepresented by many. We throw the word around as if it’s solely based on an emotion or feeling we have right in the midst of a situation. We use it to describe our likes and as soon as that changes, the word is easily retracted as if it can be taken back and withdrawn. This makes me wonder; does the world really know what love is? Does it understand and comprehend its actual meaning? What if love isn’t a feeling, an emotion or just a word? What if the sole definition of love is something much more?
I grew up in a Christian home (that not many people were happy about). My parents were believers and stressed the character of Jesus so regularly. Love was constantly around me. I saw a love so strong between my parents for each other, a love so powerful that they both had for their children, and I could not imagine having a greater love for anyone then the one that I had for my family. I thought that I understood the ins and outs of what it means to love someone; I thought I had it all figured out. As I grew up, I began to grasp that love was far more than just a happy moment in life. It was more than saying ‘I love you’ and even more than actions alone. I realized that with love came so much responsibility; so much sacrifice. I began to take notice of things around me that made me question what actual love is, what it looks like and how to show it to those I encounter.
I never understood what it was about Jesus that had my parents so captivated. Losing so many people around me for the sole fact that my parents loved Christ made me have certain resentment towards the faith. I couldn’t understand how a God so ‘loving and gracious’ could allow for so much loss and hurt in the lives of those he supposedly ‘loved’; and because of that, I began to look for love in all the wrong places. I saw friends (at the time) going out, having fun and experiencing the world’s definition of love. I saw those same friends consistently smiling, dating and receiving material things; temporary pleasures and all I could think was ‘I want that’. I began to go out with them; partying, drinking and having a good time – but that moment – it was always fleeting. I would come home after a night out and still feel a void, emptiness; like something was missing. And when I found that final piece that had been absent for so many years, the puzzle was finally complete.
When I encountered Jesus 9 years ago, I can truly say my whole life changed in a way that I could never imagine. I knew I was broken, but he put all the pieces back together. He took all the ugly parts of me, the shattered fragments I believed no one could accept- that no one could love, and made them beautiful. All those sacrifices, those losses and hurts I had experienced only made me closer to him – made me understand and relate to him more. God in all his glory, majesty and righteousness loved someone as damaged and dirty as me, SO MUCH, that he sacrificed his Son to the point of death on a cross – just so that he could be in relationship with me. And he feels the same way about you.
The bible says that God knew you by name, before you were born (Jeremiah 1:5); that he knows the number of hairs on your head (Luke 12:7; Matthew 10:30). He loves you! All of you! The good, the bad and even the things you think you’ve done so well in hiding from the world. You could have rejected him, you still can, yet he doesn’t think of that because his love, true and genuine love, doesn’t require something in return. He gives it with no expectation and no conditions. He gives it completely and fully in such a way that it overpowers anything you’ve done and could do to disappoint Him. God’s love covers you – your past, your present and your future. Nothing you do can make Him love you more or less than He does at this very moment. He loved you yesterday, he loves you today and he will love you tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8) all the same. It is unconditional, never wavers and perfect. His love isn’t based on what you do, certain actions or characteristics. His love is based solely on who He is.
God is Love.
