He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

2/14/2024

Written By: Nancy Purtlebaugh

Back when I was younger I used to dream of the day when I would find my one true love. In dreaming about that, there were certain boys that I would have a crush on, and I would wonder if they felt the same way.

Nothing was more certain in my mind than the game I would play as a child. Ladies, you probably know what I’m talking about. You would get a flower and tear off a petal, and say he loves me. Then you would tear off another petal and say, he loves me not. Until you got to the last one-then whatever you ended up on would tell you if he loved you or not.

Sounds pretty legit, right? Clearly not. As a child I even knew this was not accurate…..but it was fun, although a waste of a perfectly good flower.

I have grown and know now that this is not a good indication of my one true love. I found him a long time ago, and the flower game never came into play. Today is Valentine’s Day and I think love is at the forefront of our minds-whether you have a significant other or not. It is in our faces on this day as we look at all the posts on social media, etc. There is ONE place we can find the TRUE love we are all searching for.

I think oftentimes though, we think of His love as more earthly and treat it like the flower game I used to play as a child. Hear me out for a minute. We think of God’s love as conditional and sometimes we make His love more about us.

I helped my neighbor out today with something - He loves me.
I committed that same sin I have been struggling with for far too long - He loves me not.
I went to church this morning and served in the children’s area - He loves me.
I haven’t even read His word in weeks and overslept this morning not making it to church - He loves me not.
I did everything my mom and dad asked me to do today without complaining or arguing - He loves me.
I am struggling with anxiety and have thought about ending it all more than once - He loves me not.

You get the picture, and I think we all have allowed these thoughts to creep into our heads more than once about different things. Let me tell you-this is just not true though. Our God loves us the same no matter what we do. He sent His son Jesus to die for you and me WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

Not when we had everything together, not when we were at our best. No-for our sins yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That means there is NOTHING you can do that can ruin that

love or take it away. Friends, we just don’t have that kind of power. I can tell you for that, I am beyond thankful.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:38-39

His love is different from the love that anyone else offers-including our spouse/significant other, our parents, our friends, and our siblings. He will not turn away from us or leave us if we mess up again. He created us and knows everything about us, yet still loves us with a forever love. He loves us to eternity. Honestly, His love makes no sense. Why? Because if we treated someone the way we sometimes treat Him, they would walk away.

If I never talked to my spouse, never spent any time with him, treated him as an afterthought, chose to separate him from parts of my life-why would he want to stay with me? And yet, our Father does. He stays. Not only that, He pursues us and DESIRES a relationship with us. He doesn’t need us, because He has everything He needs. But He wants us.

I remember when a song came out a few years back there was some controversy over the title to it. Reckless Love by Cory Asbury was not received well by some people when it first came out because it made people uncomfortable to think of God’s love as reckless-God isn’t reckless, is He? The point of the song is that no, God isn’t reckless Himself, but His love is reckless because He is willing to go to lengths we would never go to pursue a relationship with us. He is willing to do what needs to be done to let us know that we are loved by Him.

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.
Oh, it chases me down, fights ‘til I’m found, leaves the 99.
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still You give Yourself away.
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.
-Reckless Love by Cory Asbury

If you don’t know the song, or even if you do take a moment to listen to it here Reckless Love (Official Lyric Video) (youtube.com)

Let these words wash over you today. He wants you to know today, on this “day of love”, that you ARE loved by Him. No matter what the world is screaming at you, no matter what YOU think-you ARE worthy of His love-because He made you worthy! He loves you with an everlasting love that is like no other. Once you experience that love, you will never be the same.

To close out, let’s pray this prayer for one another.

I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know that this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. - Ephesians 3:18-19