You are worthy of God’s love
Everyone on this planet is worthy of God’s love.
That’s what Christmas is all about. God loves us so much, we are of such immense value to Him, that He sent Jesus to show us the Way of Life.
God loves you
But it’s not enough just to say the words, “God loves you.” Or “God loves me.”
God’s love needs to be felt. Some Christians get all bent out of shape when you talk about the word “feel” or “feelings.” But I’m not talking about feelings just on an emotional level. I’m not talking about feeling that God loves but actually experiencing God’s love in a way that you do feel it.
I couldn’t help her
Years ago, I was trying to help a lady I met in the lobby of a busy office building. She was distraught and causing a bit of a scene. I went over to try and comfort her. I listened to her tale of woe for a few minutes, then, with all my heart, told her that God loved her.
When she heard those words, she emphatically denied that it could be possible for God to love her. She started to list all the reasons why God would never love her. Basically, she felt unworthy of God’s love because of things she had done.
She had been told that God only loved her if she was good. She had been taught that she was not worthy of God’s love unless she always did what was right.
I tried to explain that God did love her, even if she had made mistakes in her life, that God would forgive her for whatever she had done wrong. I tried over and over to find a way to comfort her. But she wouldn’t budge from her self-talk of unworthiness.
The more we talked, the more I realized she was not just crying and distraught,; she had been drinking a bit too much and was getting belligerent.
A man from Security came to get her to behave or leave. She refused to leave so the Security guy called the police. When they came, the lady went with them willingly. The Security guard felt like the whole problem was taken care of. A drunk woman, who was causing a problem, was no longer in his building. He didn’t give it another thought.
I couldn’t get that woman out of my mind.
She was worthy of God’s love
I kept wondering what I could have said or done to help her understand and feel God’s love for her. If I had had more time with her, maybe I could have reached her. But maybe not. I’ll never know.
There was then and there is now, no doubt in my mind that God loved and still loves that woman. The problem was she didn’t feel it.
All my efforts to comfort her with the idea that God loved her were completely useless.
Now, years later, I realize that it was her negative view of her worth that kept her from accepting the possibility that God loved her and opening her heart to actually feel that love.
Instead of trying to convince her God loved her, it might have been more effective to deal with her lack of self-worth. But I was not spiritually mature enough at the time to be aware of that.
Remove the obstacle
If someone has nailed a board on the outside of their window, it doesn’t matter how many times the sun shines on that window, the light will not get through.
Saying to the person that the sun is shining does not get sunshine into the room. The board has to be removed.
Just telling someone God loves them does not automatically make them feel this love, however heartfelt and sincere your comment is.
To feel God’s love, the obstruction has to be taken away.
God always loves us. God always loves everyone. But if we have nailed a board of negative self-worth over the windows of our hearts, it’s no surprise we don’t always feel God’s love.
Now, I realize there could be lots of things we think and do that obstruct the sunshine of God’s love from coming into our hearts. But I’m going to focus mostly on the lack of self-worth here.
Some Christians don’t believe they are worthy of God’s love
I know Christians who admit, almost with awe, that they are unworthy of God’s love, but because they now believe in Jesus and their sins are forgiven, they are able to receive God’s love freely. They rejoice in this love, but for some reason still feel they’re not worthy of it.
They believe in a theology which has taught them they are born in sin and unworthy of God’s love by nature. That they don’t deserve God’s love. They can’t earn God’s love. And that’s what so amazing to them, that God loves them anyway.
I can see where they’re coming from here. They realize there’s nothing they can do to make themselves worthy of God’s love. But then they don’t see their inherent worth as a child of God, sometimes even after they have accepted Christ.
I agree that we can’t do anything to earn God’s love. If God’s love needs to be earned, then it’s not really love.
However, I disagree that we are unworthy of God’s love and that He loves us anyway.
Jesus’s life, his ministry, and his teachings prove over and over how worthy we are in God’s eyes of being loved, even before we have made a commitment to follow Christ.
God loves us because we are worthy
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sets the standard for the way we are to love based on the way God loves everyone.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
“that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
“For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
“And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43 NKJV
In this passage, Jesus is teaching us how to love by showing us how our heavenly Father loves.
God loves us unconditionally, regardless of whether we are saints or sinners.
Jesus proves we are worthy of God’s love
How does Jesus show that sinners are worthy of God’s love?
He has dinner with them. He talks to them. He tells them God loves them. He forgives them. He heals them.
Jesus saw the inherent worth in everyone he ministered to. If they weren’t worthy of God’s love, he wouldn’t have spent any time with them.
People who don’t believe they are worthy of God’s love, but grateful that God loves them anyway, have not yet seen how precious they are in God’s eyes.
This is like saying a rough, uncut diamond has no worth or value until it has been cut and polished. This is just not true.
People in the Bible didn’t see their worth
But this doesn’t just happen today. The same thing happened in the Bible. People did not feel they were worthy, even though they were.
John the Baptist, for example, said that he wasn’t worthy to carry Jesus’s sandals. (Matthew 3:11)
John believed he wasn’t worthy of the task God appointed him to do and considered him worthy to complete.
John was worthy of much more than carrying Jesus’s sandals. He prepared the way for Jesus’s ministry in the hearts of the people.
The Centurion and his servant were worthy
Another person who mistakenly thought himself to be unworthy, was the Centurion who came to Jesus to heal his servant. He didn’t think he was worthy for Jesus to come into his house. (Matthew 8:8)
This man, who was not Jewish, must have heard the Jewish religious leaders talk about what made someone worthy in God’s eyes.
It was all about obeying the various laws and commandments. It was the fact that a Jew was not supposed to go into the home of a Gentile because they were not worthy in God’s eyes.
No wonder the Centurion felt unworthy.
But Jesus turned all that religious doctrine of who was worthy upside down. He saw the worthiness of the Centurion, in fact Jesus delighted in his faith and trust.
Jesus also saw the value, the worth, of the servant and healed him on the spot. If either the Centurion or his servant had been unworthy of God’s love, Jesus would not have given them the time of day.
You are worthy of God’s love
So is every person on this planet. True, no one can do anything to earn it. And they can’t do anything to get rid of it either.
One of the first Bible verses I memorized as a child was John 3:16,
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 KJV
That means all the people in the world, past, present, and future.
God values all His children so much, He sees our worth as His children so clearly, He loves us so much (and we are worthy of that love), that He sent Christ to show us the Way of salvation.
God sent Jesus to the world, not to make us worthy of His love, but because we are worthy of it. We do deserve God’s love. Everyone does.
The meaning of Christmas
And that’s what Christmas is all about: our worth in God’s eyes, His infinite, ceaseless, unbounded, and unconditional love for us.
Are you willing to accept this unearned love of God that sees your worth? Are you willing to admit you have inherent, innate worth as a child of God?
If not, you cannot experience the fullness of God’s love for you. You cannot embrace the full gift of Christ in your life, and you will not be able to see the worth of others or love them the way Jesus expects us to love.
This Christmas, please, earnestly embrace the idea that you are worthy of God’s love. It’s not based on anything you have done. It’s not based on what you believe or don’t believe. It’s not based on where you live or any other external factor you define your life by.
You are worthy of God’s love simply because you are a child of God, created in the divine image and likeness.
And so is everyone else on this planet.
Can you see others in this light? The more you see everyone you come in contact with as worthy of God’s love, the more you will love them, and the more they will begin to experience their worth in God’s eyes for themselves.
My Christmas prayer for you is that you bear witness to and cherish your worth in God’s eyes and that you see others in this light, and help at least one person feel their worthiness of God’s love for them.
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
Bible references:
Matthew 5:43 NKJV
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
45 “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 “And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
48 “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 3:11 NIV
11 I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Matthew 8:8 ESV
8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
John 3:16 KJV
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
