EVERYTHING WE NEED: Jesus Loves Me . . . But Why?

      “I don’t know why Jesus loved me; I don’t know why He cared. I don’t why He sacrificed His life. Oh, but I’m glad, so glad He did” (Andre Couch).

      What did God see in us to be worthy of His love? Was it our intelligence, our wealth (or lack of it) or our good standing in society? Hardly. We could have had any of those things, but it would not have made us worthy.

      We all know this beloved verse: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).The answer as to why God loved us is — love. “God islove”(I John 4:16 NIV1984). It is His character! However, that love for the whole world goes much deeper and stronger than anything we can imagine.

      The need for God’s saving love started in the Garden of Eden. As a result of Adam’s sin, we inherited a sin nature. If we look at wicked people, we understand why they need a Savior. But we are not wicked — we care for other people, we are kind and loving and, surely, sweet little old grandmothers have not lived a life of sin. The Bible says something differently. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). We may not feel like we are “bad” sinners, but we are sinners just the same. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure…” (Jer. 17:9). Within our hearts, we envy, slander, gossip, deceive, hate, think wrong thoughts and are unforgiving, among many other things. We are all guilty of such sinful behavior. We needed a Savior who loved us when we were unlovable and undeserving and who could not save ourselves!

      But here is God’s response to our condition: “You see, at just the right time, when we were powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:7-8). What love! God’s Word also says, “Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved… through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:4-5, 8-9). We have done nothing to deserve God’s love.

      When the time came for Jesus to leave this world and go to the Father, we read: “…Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love” (John 13:1). Even as He was being crucified, He showed great love and compassion when He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing…” (Luke 23:34).

      God’s love is indescribable, but here are a few verses from the Psalms that show us His character. His love is “priceless” and “unfailing” (Psalm 36:7). It “is better than life” (Psalm 63:3). It “…endures forever” (Psalm 118:1). It is “higher than the heavens” (Psalm 108:4).

      Paul spoke this prayer: “…I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power… to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:17-19).

      I may never fully grasp the significance of why He loved me, but I am just so glad He did!