What we're going to look at is more than just some trite religious saying, more than just, "Yeah, I know God Loves me."

• Galatians 5:6b - "...but faith which worketh by love."

If someone is struggling to believe God for something He promised, it's probably not so much of a faith problem as it is a LOVE problem. If we understand just how much God Loves us, getting prayers answered is a piece of cake, as our faith is energized by God's Love.

• 1John 3:1a and 2a: "Behold what manner of Love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God (and we are). Beloved, NOW are we the children of God."

Parents Love their children through good times and bad, and they don't stop Loving them if they fail to meet their expectations. A parent Loves their child regardless of the child’s behavior. This is very similar to the kind of Love God has for us; but, as we shall see, God's Love transcends even this human definition of Love to a point that is impossible to grasp without first grasping the gospel.

There are so many passages in the Bible that help us understand God’s Love for us. Perhaps the most well known is John 3:16, where we see the act of giving and what was given equally emphasized. Stop and think about this for a minute. OK, another great verse about God's Love is found in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrated his Love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." In both this verse and John 3:16, we find no conditions placed on God's Love for us. God doesn't say, "as soon as you clean up your act, I'll Love you;” nor does He say, "I'll sacrifice my Son if you promise to Love me." In truth, in Romans 5:8, we find just the opposite. God’s Love is unconditional, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for us "while we yet sinners". We didn't have to straighten up or make any promises to God before we could receive His Love. And at the risk of overstating the obvious, God hasn’t changed; when it comes to God’s Love, we are free from the systems of ‘supply and demand’ and ‘merit/demerit;’ God’s supply will always exceed our merit.

The Love of God is not something we can work toward, earn or achieve. God says that we are already holy and without blame before Him in Love (Ephesians1:4).

God doesn't Love us because we are lovable or because we make Him feel good; He Loves us because He is Love. And the statement "God is Love" does not mean that God is some nebulous, warm fuzzy feeling of Love. Human understandings of Love do not define God; God defines Love:

• John 4:10 - "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

Jesus suffered and died under our sins, and GOD was PROPITIATED (the price paid was sufficient, the demands of God's perfectly holy justice had been met). God is Just and God is Love; there is no contradiction; the propitiation did not simply procure God’s Love for us while His justice was swept under the rug; rather, the cross of Christ rendered God's Love for us consistent with His justice against sin. We have been RECONCILED to God by the DEATH of His Son, on the MERITS of CHRIST’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS. Jesus, in short, suffered because of our sins, and he died in OUR place. It’s that simple.

In the realm of science a theory needs mass to be proven. God's Love for us is more than just a claim. His Love for us was proclaimed, manifested, demonstrated, proven, with the advent of Christ and him crucified. The Bible repeatedly declares that He did this because He Loves us. To proclaim, manifest, demonstrate, prove his Love, a man may give flowers to the woman He loves. God sends his only begotten, perfect and obedient son to suffer and die on the cross. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.

God chose us before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and without blame before Him in Love (AND WE ARE), for the purpose that we would be to the praise of the glory of His Grace (AND WE ARE) - Jesus Christ did for us that which we could never have done for ourselves.

Ephesians 3:17-21: "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in Love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the Love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the Power that worketh in us, Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen"