Loved - That is Who You Are
Loved – That is Who You Are
Loved. “That is not how I feel.” Who can relate? Do you know, if you do not feel loved, you are not alone? So many of us are not living loved.
It’s easy, really. We use our flawed set of measurements to determine that we must not be loved. Others have this, but I don’t. That happened to me, why? Where is God when I need Him? If I am loved, why am I struggling?
It’s sad, actually. It all began with Eve and yet after all we have heard, all we have learned, all that we say we believe – we still struggle to believe the truth. We say we believe, but do we?
It’s true, positively. You are LOVED! Loved - that is who you are. Loved – that is the label you wear. Loved – that is the name you are called. Still don’t believe it?
It all started in the book of Genesis. God carefully and lovingly created Adam. He formed Him from the dust of the ground and then He breathed the breath of life into His nostrils. (Genesis 2:7) He caused Adam to go into a deep sleep, took one of his ribs and created woman so that he would not be alone. (Genesis 2:21-22). The rest of creation God spoke into being, but He took time and carefully formed mankind - creating us in His image. There was intimacy between God and Adam and Eve – the same intimacy He longs to have with you.
Yes, mankind has messed that up over and over and over again. But, God’s love and care for us has not changed. Although we cannot fathom the magnitude of His love for us, we can understand on a smaller scale because of our love for our children. I remember one day when Tom and I took our first granddaughter to pick out a book. We lovingly perused through the display with her, looking for just the right one. Finally, we chose a big, colorful, pop-up book and could hardly wait to read it to her. We loaded her into her car seat and she begged to hold the book. We were not even out of the parking lot when we heard…RIP! She was ripping out the pop-up parts. Yes, we were disappointed. Yes, we took the book away realizing she was not ready to be trusted with it. No, our love for her was not affected. We were still just as crazy about her as we were the first day we saw her. You are not surprised that her mess-up did not change the way we feel about her. So, why would you think God's love for you is affected when you mess up? God’s love never changes, even when we feel we have disappointed Him or broken His trust. He is still crazy about us.
God’s love is not performance based. It has nothing to do with what you have done or what has happened to you. God loves you with the same intensity as when He was forming you in your mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13; Jeremiah 1:5) It was in His infinite and unconditional love that He made a way for us to find our way back to Him.
Is this not proof that we are LOVED? How can we ever say or feel or think that we are not LOVED? Even when it feels like the world is against us, even when we feel alone, even when we are at our lowest – we are LOVED. We are LOVED with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3); with an unconditional love (Romans 5:8); and with a steadfast love (Deuteronomy 7:9, Psalm 86:15). Read God’s word. There are so many scriptures, so many stories that confirm God’s love for us. Read the Bible as a love story written to you personally. If we believe that the Bible is the truth, then we have no choice but to believe with all our hearts that we are LOVED!
From creation, to the crucifixion, to the second coming – there is proof that we are LOVED.
LOVED – It’s Who You Are.
LOVED – It’s the Label You Wear.**
LOVED – That Is the Name You Are Called.
So today, I pray you will live LOVED!
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**During January we have focused on our true identity and making sure we are wearing the right set of labels. Go back and read the post if you have missed any. If you have plastered labels on top of the labels God has given you, rip off those false labels. You are not the names you have been called, the bad things that have happened to you, or the harsh words you speak about yourself. You are a Child of God; Redeemed and Forgiven; Chosen; a Masterpiece; and Loved! You are His and He is yours. Go crawl up in His lap and just rest there today.
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February - we are talking about LOVE. Now that we know we are LOVED, how are we to love others? Let's talk about it. Subscribe to Master What Matters' blog and you will receive the posts in your email inbox on Wednesdays. Like the Master What Matters Facebook Page and when you hover over "follow" you can choose to see it first so you won't miss our "Gathering with Girlfriends" conversations. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram. Let's stay connected! We need one another.