“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us.” ~1 John 4:10

Jesus is not just a messenger or an ambassador sent from God to the earth. Jesus is actually God in the flesh! Through his Christ, God actually joins us and lives with us on this planet. He’s not just standing a long way off and announcing the way of salvation through a representative. God actually became a man!

And we see in this “Emmanuel,” this “God with us,” our Lord’s deep desire for community. We see his longing for eternal relationship and communion with his people. And we experience our God’s love.

Jesus, in essence, says, “I am God.” Look at me. When you see me, you see the Father. When you know me, you know the Father.

Jesus reveals God. Jesus allows us to see God, to experience God. His compassion shows us God’s compassion; his gentleness shows us God’s gentleness; His mercy shows us God’s mercy; Jesus’ forgiveness shows us God’s forgiveness. And his death on the cross reveals very clearly to us the depth of God’s great love.

If God so loved the world, that means he loves you, too. And it’s that deep love for you that motivates his every action. There’s nothing our God does that is not compelled by his love for you. There’s nothing he allows to happen to you that is not driven by his foremost goal of living in eternal communion with you.

God loves you. Forever.

Peace,

Allan