You are Loved

1 John 4:10-12
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

I've been reading the book of Genesis. Those people were a mess. After Adam and Eve exited the Garden of Eden, things went downhill from there. Bad behavior got out of hand so God sent the flood. Thank goodness Noah and his family still loved God and could climb on the ark with the animals and start again. Abraham and Sarah tried to hang in there and follow God, but ended up lying to protect themselves. As the population once again increased, sin enticed people in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and God destroyed them. Later Joseph, who loved God, was sold off by his own brothers and accused of things he didn't do. That's as far as I've read.  

How does God keep his patience with the very people he created? From the beginning, God loved Adam and Eve, he tried to direct them on what they needed to do to continue to live in the beautiful garden. But they couldn't control their desires. They believed their tempter and fell into sin. Yet God still loved them.

God's love is greater than anything we can imagine. He out loves us. How do I know that? Because he sacrificed his own son who took our sin on his heart and died for us. God knew he needed to pave a way for people to find their way back to him. He knew if people wanted a relationship with him, he'd need to make a new path. That path is Jesus. God raised Jesus from the dead to give us hope and grace.

God doesn't give up on us, he LOVES us. All he wants is for us to love him back.