The Bible presents to us the loving character and nature of God. However, many of us find it hard to see the love that He has for us because we often focus on the bad things that happen in our lives.
Yet, despite the fact that all of us face hardships and unwanted experiences in our lives, God remains the same. He was loving before, is loving today, and will always be loving towards us. After all, we are the object of His affection – His very creation, made in His image and likeness.
To help you understand the love that God has for you, here are three Bible figures showing His great love.
1. The Prophet Hosea
In the Old Testament, a prophet named Hosea played a significant role in showing how much God loved His people even when they were unfaithful to Him. He was tasked by the Lord to show His love for unfaithful Israel by marrying a prostitute named Gomer (see Hosea 1:2-3).
Gomer didn't stop her adulterous ways. Despite this, God told Hosea to take her back and love her again. This is just how much God loves us: That while we were still sinners, He pursued us.
"Then the Lord said to me [Hosea], 'Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.'" (see Hosea 3:1 NLT emphasis mine)
2. The Apostle Paul
This man may be famous for being a Christian-killer before meeting Christ, but I would like to emphasise that after he met the Lord Jesus he became a great example of God's great love to every person. Sure, he may not be soft when we read his letters, but his heart is full of love for God's people.
In Philippians 2:16-17, we read him say,
"Hold forth the word of life that I may rejoice on the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or laboured in vain. Yes, and even if I am offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I take delight and rejoice with you all."
Paul's delight was seeing his fellow believers grow in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. His desire was to present people to Him on the day He comes. Such a brother in the faith, effectively showing us that God desires His people to love one another and work for each other's growth in the Lord.
3. The Lord Jesus Christ
Of course, no one can ever top the Lord Jesus in showing us the love of God. There are so many verses talking about God's love as shown through Him, but let's just read this one for it is enough:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17 MEV)
