God is the source of an unconditional, unmerited, and undeserved love. For anyone admitting they are a sinner, you will come to realize you don’t deserve the kind of love you have received from God. We constantly fall back on the love of God because we are flawed individuals. It has been that way since the beginning of time. Sin made its way into the world and separated us from God and the love that is God. However, the most famous verse in the Bible is able to give us a small glimpse of the love of God.

John 3:16 – 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.

The only reason you and I have a chance of inheriting God’s Kingdom and eternal life is made possible by love. In the book of Romans, Paul notes that, through the love of God, we have been given the power of reconciliation with God, through Jesus Christ. In Romans 5:8 he says,

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I know a lot of you recognize God is love. It is who God is. A.W. Tozer talks about this in his books The Knowledge Of The Holy. He writes, “Love for instance, is not something God has and which may grow or diminish or cease to be. His love is the way God is, and when He loves He is simply being Himself.” Knowing God is knowing love because God is love. This is very important to grasp. If you attended church at a very young age, one of the first things you would have been taught is God’s love. You learn a few of the most well known verses in the Bible and you see demonstrations of God’s love towards us. It seems to me this would be engrained in most believers by now.

However, the sad truth is not everyone lives in the freedom of God’s love. Some of us don’t even recognize God’s love. Countless numbers of believers today question whether or not God loves them. Many people going through trials and tribulations in life resort to doubting God truly loves them. I mean, why would a loving God allow so much heartache, struggle, and pain to reoccur on an everyday basis? That question seems to be asked a lot nowadays. In a world where so much hurt and unexplainable catastrophes occur, many can’t help but ask themselves where is God’s love?

If you have ever thought this way, don’t be ashamed. I want to look at a story in the Bible where the disciples were also trying to figure out where God’s love was. You will note that in this story Jesus Christ was actually present in a physical form when these doubts of love were fleshing themselves out in the disciple’s lives. Also, note that even though Jesus Christ came in the flesh, being fully man, He was also, at that same time, fully God.

Mark 4:35-40 –

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 

You see, the disciples, just like you and I, sometimes also have a skewed view of God’s love. The disciples are so afraid they are going to drown they resort to asking Jesus “Don’t you care if we drown?” Of course Jesus cared. He rebukes the seas and everything goes back to normal, while the disciples are standing there speechless.

For many of you today, you live with that same mindset the disciples had. I mean, how could Jesus love us if He is going to let us drown? How does God love me if He is going to let _____________ occur in my life? We often view situations with the mentality of: how can God love me if He is going to let me go through these trials and tribulations? The thing about it is we don’t understand God’s love and neither did the disciples. We don’t understand that God might be testing us in some form or fashion when the waves of difficult times come crashing around us. I don’t think the disciples understood this could be a test of their faith. Of course, after awhile Jesus rebukes the waves and asks them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

We serve an infinite God whose ways we do not understand. Our human mind and way of thinking has produced in our minds what love should consist of and what true love really is. However, an all-knowing God knows something you and I certainly don’t know. It’s the simple fact that trials, tribulations, tragedy, prosperity, health, cancer, and sickness do not determine the love of God. How do we know what good or bad times really are? Don’t most of our interpretations of good and bad come from an idea or paradigm that we created? Could it be possible that all the trials and heartache are just a demonstration of God’s love? I think so. The fact of the matter is that God has a master plan and who am I to question it.

We don’t understand God’s love because we can’t think on the same level as God.

Some people would tell you they experience more of God’s love by going through some of the worst times of their lives. Some would say it was through a revelation they were able to truly experience God. You might have experienced God’s love in a totally different way, but realize that His love is always there and He always wants you to embrace His love in the good and bad times.

It is the only unconditional and true love available today. Believe it and embrace it!

*I must give credit to Mr. Zach Rodgers for his amazing help and wisdom on this blog post*