hursday, July 29, 2010

God says you're lovable by Rick Warren

The mountains and hills may crumble, but my love for you will never end, so says the Lord who loves you. Isaiah 54:10 (TEV) "God says, "I will always love you and it is unconditional. You don't earn it."" God says you're lovable. This is so important because you can't fulfill God's commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself" until you believe this. If you don't feel lovable, you can't love anybody else. Our verse today says a couple things about God's love for us. God loves you consistently -- He doesn't love you one day and not the next. He doesn't love you on your good days and not on your bad days. A lot of you grew up with inconsistent love. One lady told me, "Growing up, I didn't know whether I was going to be hugged or slugged. My parents were never consistent." God isn't like that. God is 100% consistent in his love for you. God loves you unconditionally -- He says, "I will always love you and it is unconditional. You don't earn it." He doesn't say, "I love you if you're good, or I love you if you do these things, or I love you because you look this way or you do these things." What if you were unable to fulfill the condition? Then all of a sudden you're not loved anymore. "God is 100% consistent in his love for you." But God says, "I don't love you like that." He says, "I love you consistently and I love you unconditionally." You never have to wake up in the morning and say, "God, are You going to love me today? Did I read my Bible enough? Did I pray enough?" He loves you consistently no matter who you are or what you do. What is the result when you really understand this? Daniel 10:19 says "God loves you, so don't let anything worry you or frighten you." That's a comfort to me. When I don't have to worry or be afraid of anything, then I am free to give love to everyone around me.