Our Foundation

When you build a house, you have to have a good, solid foundation underneath it, because if you don’t, your house won’t remain standing for long. So it is with the foundation of our relationship with God - the foundation of love. It is vitally important that you understand that God loves you, right where you are, as you are, and regardless of what you’ve done in the past. He loves you regardless of your social standing. If you are human, then you are a beloved creation of God.

You might ask how I can be sure of God’s love for us. Perhaps you’ve had difficult relationships in the past where words of love were spoken but not acted out. This is where God’s love shines brightest. Not only does God tell us of His love for us in the Bible from cover to cover, but He showed His love for us when Jesus stretched out His arms on the cross and took the penalty for our sins upon Himself. Jesus showed us His love for us when He endured a brutal beating, whipping, rejection, being spat upon, and made fun of. He felt abandoned when He cried out to His Father, “why have you forsaken (abandoned) me???” from the cross. He endured all these horrendous things for our sakes, why? Because He loves us. He spoke words of love to us and then underlined them when He died for us. Pretty powerful. Not words only. Speaking of words...don’t just take my word for it. Using a concordance (see the "Tools of the Believer" blog), look up the word “love” and the phrase “God’s love” and let God tell you Himself. Let Him have His say. Others in your life have had theirs.....now it’s His turn.

If this wasn’t enough, God draws us closer to Himself by calling us His children. This is a very intimate relationship, and it includes privileges that outsiders don’t have. We can talk to God whenever we want, and we know He listens to us and responds to our prayers. We can find comfort, instruction, guidance, sympathy, love and acceptance from Him. He is happy that we exist! Has anyone ever told you that? When God was done creating the world and all things in it, He looked at it all, including mankind, and said it was all good. He was pleased with what He’d made, and this means He’s pleased with you. If we make mistakes or even sin willfully, He still loves us. Eventually, the unconditional love that He lavishes upon us will sink into hearts and we’ll find ourselves avoiding those things out of our love for Him. Take some time to really think about this. When you’re done, offer a prayer of thanksgiving to Him for loving you so much and then tell Him you accept His love for you. You can even ask Him to show His love to you in new ways; I know He will. As a matter of fact, if I know God, He will show you not just once, but many, many times.  (Please click on the "Tools of the Believer" blog next).