His Heart is Set On You Forever
Have you heard that Jesus loves you? Chances are, at some point in your life, you’ve either had these words spoken to you, or you’ve come across them in a book or on a sign or tee-shirt. The phrase, “Jesus loves you,” is a simple truth that the average American is bound to encounter. However, whether or not you’ve heard that simple yet extremely powerful truth isn’t what’s important – what’s important is whether or not you believe it. My challenge to you in this post is to not just hear that Jesus loves you, but believe that He does. Know and accept that Jesus loves you more deeply than you’ve ever experienced love before. Even more wonderful than that, His love for you is both never-failing and never-ending.
When I was a kid, we used to sing the song “Jesus Loves You” everywhere I went; at home, at church, at camp, even at school (but only when I was homeschooled and attended Christian co-ops). It seemed that wherever I went, I could not help but come across those three words. However, despite this constant reminder that Jesus loved me, I never truly believed that could be accurate. Why would Jesus, someone so powerful and holy, choose someone like me to love? It didn’t seem like it could be possible, so I sang the song along with everyone else without ever letting the message resonate.
This lie–that we are not good enough to deserve the love of Christ–is one of the enemy’s favorites, and I know many Christians that grapple with it. Really, I think every believer I know intimately enough to discuss Jesus with has told me they struggle with this concept. Satan absolutely loves to use our issues with self-image to barricade us from receiving God’s gifts. We are innately sinful people, and therefore, most of us deal with feeling unworthy because of the guilt that sin carries with it. While we can ask for forgiveness in order to help deal with some of that guilt, problems with self-worth are still likely to arise as a result of sin because of our wicked human nature.
While we will always have to deal with guilt over sin, we don’t have to let that guilt lead us to believe lies, and especially not a lie as devastating as believing our sin separates us from Christ’s love. One of my absolute favorite chapters of Scripture is Romans 8, because it is such a huge encouragement to those who follow Jesus amid a world of brokenness. Some of the most precious verses in Scripture are written by the apostle Paul in Romans 8:38-39, which say, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Let those verses sink in, and if you need to, go back and re-read them, because they are powerful. Nothing, not even all the powers of Satan himself, can keep us away from the boundless and plentiful love of Christ. I honestly can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried (out of happiness) while reading these beautiful promises, and I hope they bring you just as much joy.
Perhaps one of the reasons we struggle so much to believe Christ can love us unceasingly is because we ourselves have limits to our love. In his book, Gentle and Lowly, Ortlund addresses this issue, and talks about the deep contrast between God’s heart and ours. He writes, “We love until we are betrayed. Jesus continued to the cross despite betrayal. We love until we are forsaken. Jesus loved through forsakenness. We love up to a limit. Jesus loves to the end” (Ortlund, p. 198). If you are ever wondering if you have reached the limits of Jesus’ love, the answer is nothing. And if you need proof, read one of the accounts of His death on the behalf of sinful humanity found in any of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Jesus didn’t stop loving when things got hard or when people treated him like dirt. Instead, He turned the other cheek–which is talked about in Scripture (Matthew 5:39)–and endured the most painful death in all of history because He loves us. He loves you.
Even while He was hanging on that cross, breathing those last agonizing breaths, Jesus had nothing but love in His heart for His people. In the book of Luke, as He dies, Jesus prays for the ones who have crucified Him. He prays, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34 NIV). He prays for the people who have tortured Him, mocked Him, scorned Him, and want nothing to do with Him. Despite their hatred and sin, Jesus still wants them to be forgiven, He wants to see them again in eternity. None of us could probably come close to understanding this type of love, but that doesn’t mean we should doubt it. Instead, by seeing that Jesus loves in a way that we can’t comprehend, we should trust His heart for us all the more, knowing that it’s nothing like our own hearts, which are deceitful and wicked.
I want to close by saying that even if you still remain unconvinced that you can ever be worthy of Christ’s heart, let me tell you that I have days where I’m unconvinced as well. It is such a struggle to let someone so wonderful as Jesus love you when you know all of the ways that you’re broken. But our brokenness is what makes us all the more in need of that love, and the sooner we accept it, the more quickly we can heal. I pray that as you read this post and hopefully resonate with some of these Scripture passages–or maybe find some of your own–that you are able to sense and to feel the radiant, everlasting, perfect, wonderful love of Christ that rests on you. The love that chases after you even on your worst days, and brings joy in the midst of chaos and hardship. That is my deepest desire for you. “But 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” (Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV).
