“God Loves You As Much As He Loves Jesus!” (Part 1) by Nancy Dufresne

For this entire year, God has led me to minister along the lines of who we are in Christ, for that is the foundation of our righteousness.

One of the primary things that we must establish in our hearts and minds is how great God’s love is for us. John 17:22 & 23 records Jesus talking to the Father: “I have given them the glory you gave me—the glorious unity of being one, as we are—I in them and you in me, all being perfected into one—so that the world will know you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me” (TLB). God doesn’t love Jesus any more than He loves you and me! This is a wonderful truth!

John 3:16 shows us God’s action toward fallen man – “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son….” God’s entire dealings with man are from a place of love. Because He IS love, love is the only thing that motivates Him in His dealings with us.

Acts 17:28 tells us, “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” He has left none of Himself out of the movement of our lives – we are to draw on Him in our daily lives. He is interested in our entire “being.” He’s not just interested in our spiritual life, but He is also invested in every facet of our being – our mind, our body, and everything that is associated with our lives.

A lot of people struggle with their past and think that God is angry with them or disappointed in them. But look at what Jesus stated, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: CONTINUE ye in my love.” (John 15:9, KJV). The Living Bible translation reads, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. LIVE WITHIN my love.” Never think of or see yourself OUTSIDE of His love, but only WITHIN His love.

Another translation of John 15:9 reads, “I have loved you just as My Father has loved you, so LET ME LOVE YOU ALWAYS.” We are not to draw back from Him and His love. When we don’t receive what love provided for us, then we are not letting Him love us.

The Word tells us that, “Whom the Lord loves, He corrects.” Even correction is a flow of love and a flow of what belongs to us because we are IN CHRIST. No, He doesn’t correct us with hardship, but only through His Word. When we draw back from correction, we are drawing back from His love. We are to let Him love us through His correction that rescues us.

Another translation of John 15:9 states, “In the same way that the Father loved Me, I loved you. Now LIVE IN MY LOVE.” Live mindful every day that He loves you! Keep it foremost in your thought life.

The accuser of the brethren is always trying to paint a different image of God’s thoughts toward us. Even if we miss it, God and His love never draw back from us. But the enemy seeks to bring condemnation to try to get us to draw back from God. But God has already invited us, “Draw nigh unto Me, and I will draw nigh unto you.”

God’s honor is so great that He will never violate our will. If we draw back from Him, He will not force Himself in our direction. But if we will draw nigh to Him, He will always meet us to the degree that we turn toward Him – He will draw nigh to us. But this shows that we are the ones who determine our depth of fellowship with God. The way we respond to God is the way we are allowing God to respond to us. God never withholds Himself from us, but He can only be to us what we will allow Him to be and to the measure that we respond to Him.

Building in you the truth of how much God loves you is a key to strong faith because it’s how the renewed mind thinks – and we are to think in harmony with God.