God’s Love Changes Everything

Rick Warren writes:

Nothing you’ve ever done or will ever do can stop God from loving you. God said in Jeremiah 31:3, “I love you with an everlasting love” (GW). Do you know how long everlasting is? It’s forever. You can’t make God stop loving you; he will love you forever. His love isn’t based on what you do. It’s based on who he is. The only reason you’re alive is because God made you to love you.

That’s why God sent his Son: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NLT). God wants you to know his love. Even more, he wants you to feel his love. God’s love will transform you when you feel it. It turns somebody who is hateful, bigoted, or racist into a kind, gentle, and loving person. When God’s love hits your heart, it changes you.

If your life hasn’t changed, then you don’t know God. You can’t have somebody as big as God come into your life and not be changed by it. When God’s love comes into your life, it changes how you react to everyone else. When you truly understand and experience the love of God, you can’t help but pass it on to others.

In fact, Jesus described it like this: “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 HCSB). But it starts with God’s love for us.

The most amazing conversion in the Bible is of a guy named Saul, who was a religious extremist that killed Christians. One day, on his way to Damascus, he encountered the resurrected Jesus. Jesus said to Saul, “Why are you persecuting me?” Saul fell to his knees and said, “My Lord and my God.” The man who had once been a religious extremist became the apostle of love. Saul, now known as Paul, wrote most of the New Testament, including some of the most beautiful words on love ever written, 1 Corinthians 13.

The everlasting, completely free love of God will do that. It changes lives. Has it changed yours?

Think About It:

• When you consider that God’s love for you lasts forever, how does it impact how you live your life?
• God doesn’t want us to just know his love; he wants us to feel his love. Why do you think it’s so important we experience the love of God?
• What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in yourself or others after experiencing God’s love?

Adapted from “God’s Love Changes Everything“