Let Yourself Be Loved by Susan Barnes
"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being..." Hebrews 1:3 NIV
Do we realize how much God loves us? His love never depends on our performance, so nothing we do will make him love us more. He already loves us unconditionally, with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). Since we have done nothing to earn God's love, it also means we can do nothing that would cause us to lose God's love.
From the Gospels, we easily recognise that Jesus was filled with compassion and love yet sometimes we harbour doubts about God the Father. Yet this verse in Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the exact representation of God's being. Jesus confirmed this by saying, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). We can be confident that God is also filled with compassion and love.
At night when the sun disappears from view we don't doubt its power to bring light and keep us warm, so there is no need to doubt the warmth of God's love during those times when we don’t feel it. Our feelings don’t give us a true account of the depth of affection God has for us.
Let’s ponder the extravagance of God's love that is not given to us sparingly or reasonably, but lavishly (1 John 3:1). We are loved far more than we realize or deserve. Let’s open our hearts and minds to a God who is outrageous with his love, over generous with his forgiveness and outlandish with his grace.
Allow yourself to be loved. Receive his forgiveness. Accept his grace.
Susan, an Australian pastor's wife, regularly writes devotional thoughts on Bible passages, book reviews and inspirational articles. Contact | 
