But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. — Romans 5:8
If I think about love, I can think of a lot of reasons to love someone. For example, I love my wife for so many reasons that I’m ashamed to make a list! She’s a devout Christian, a wonderful mother, an amazing partner in life, and so much more. All of those things make me love her and my love for her to grow every day. There’s just something special about her.
I can think of reasons that I love family members, church friends, and many others in life as well. Obviously, the love that I feel for them may be different than that for my wife, but I still love them. There’s something special about them. But let’s be honest, there are some people that it is pretty challenging to love. Perhaps they frustrate us at work or drive us crazy with their annoying habits. Sometimes people just do not act like we think they should. Maybe they disrespect us, refuse to follow us as a leader, or are not interested in learning more about us. There are so many reasons that we can all think of why some people are challenging to love.
Which raises the question, why did God love me? After all, I was a sinner. I had nothing good about me to claim. Many of us neglected our relationships with Him. We refused to learn more about Him. We can be challenging to deal with. Other times we may refuse to follow what He wants us to do. Yet, He still loves us.
It’s a love that passes understanding, but I think we can go back to the things that cause us to love others to get a glimpse of why God loves us. When we love someone, it’s because we see something special in them. Despite all the failures that we have, God still sees something special in us. So special that He loved us enough to send His son Jesus to die for us and continues to love us in spite of all of our flaws.
As you go through your day, be thankful and praise God for His wonderful love toward us. Though we may be viewed as an inconvenience and a failure to many in this world, the God of Heaven says you are special and He loves you. Just the thought of that nearly leaves me speechless.