Sometimes I gauge God’s love for me by the circumstances in my life, or by my warm, fuzzy feelings, or lack thereof.
Until one day, “God loves you as much as He loves Jesus,” I heard the preacher say. I couldn’t believe my ears.
Blasphemy! I thought.
Then the preacher read a Bible verse.
“I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” John 17:23 (NLT)
Surely this verse was not in my Bible, or I would know about it. I had been reading the Bible most of my life and I couldn’t recall reading this verse. This preacher must have some newfangled Bible version that was pushing it too far.
I grabbed my Bible and looked for the suspicious verse.
“You love them as much as you love me.”
There it was in black and white. Or red and white in a red-letter edition of the Bible, because these are the words of Jesus.
I had read the book of John many times, yet somehow this verse had never registered in my mind. Jesus was talking to His Father about us.
After some contemplation, it made perfect sense. God sent Jesus to die for us, so in His mind, we were worth such a Sacrifice. In this, He proved He loves us as much as He loves Jesus.
Mind boggling, this love our Father has for us.
If we ever feel forgotten or unloved, we can revisit John 17:23 and be assured of God’s love for us.
He loves us as much as He loves Jesus.
He loves us so much, He gave Jesus.
So, forget about circumstances, or warm, fuzzy feelings. This is all the proof we need.