What Does Scripture Say about God's Love for Us?

When you consider what the Bible says about God’s love for us, you must first look at the qualities or characteristics of that love. When you grasp those, then you will see how God truly feels about you. I want to give you four descriptions of God’s love that we get from the Bible. This is not an all-inclusive list, but it should set your understanding in the right direction.

1. God’s love for you is everlasting – It never runs out

God’s love for you is designed to last forever. Since he is an eternal God, he showers us with an eternal love. Yet, despite the eternal nature of God’s love, only the ones who are in Christ will be able to experience this love for all eternity. Until we get to that point, his love keeps flowing from generation to generation and it will never run out.

2. God’s love for you is unfailing – It never lets you down

God’s love will not fail you. We are reminded of this in 1 Corinthians 13, which says very plainly that love never fails. God’s love will not let you down, but will hold you up. Granted, we don’t always see or feel God’s love in the hard moments, however sometimes it’s when you look back that you notice the places and ways his love has held you and never lets you down.

3. God’s love for you is faithful – It is always with you

God’s love is faithful, and if I am honest, God’s faithfulness is something that truly blows my mind. Just think of how faithful God has been to you, even when you weren’t faithful to him. This faithfulness remains simply because he loves you. It does not matter what happens, God will remain faithful to love you. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly, God’s love will remain steadfast and true in your life. As the writer in Lamentations said it, “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.”

4. God’s love for you is perfect – It has no ulterior motives

Another beautiful thing that the Bible says about God’s love for us is that it comes with no ulterior motives. God’s love for you and me is perfect and is always seeking the best for you. It is the purity of God’s love that allows us to trust him, because we know his desires towards us are truly good.

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In a moment I will share some verses that show us what the Bible says about God’s love for us, but before I do, it must be said – God does love everyone. God doesn’t put qualifiers on his love and the truth is his love is always ahead of ours. Our response is always to the love that he has shown us first. In fact, if he didn’t love us first then we would have no capacity to love him back.

Bible Verses about God's Love for Us

“The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness’” (Jeremiah 31:3).

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And 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 this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19).

“For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies” (Psalm 108:4).

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It is inevitable if you are going to talk about God’s love for us that the reality of life will come up. Let’s face it, we have probably all had moments in life when we didn’t feel or sense God’s love. Maybe the things that happened in our lives made God’s love feel distant or even absent. In these moments, how can you be confident that God still loves you? Let me give you three things to remember.

1. Look at what he did for us – the scars

If you ever reach a place where you doubt God’s love for you, then you can always go back to the cross and look at the scars. The Bible reminds us that while we were sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8) and this act was a demonstration of his great love for us.

The reason this is so encouraging is because Christ died for you when you were at your worst. When you were involved in your mess, doing your own thing, not even giving God the time of day, Jesus was dying for you. If he could love you in those moments, he will continue to love you through every other moment in life. The scars are an eternal reminder of his love for you.

2. Look at what he told us – the promise

The second reason you can be confident of God’s love even in the most difficult of situations is because he prepared us. I wrote an article awhile back called the most overlooked promise in Scripture. Within that article I referenced this promise that highlights how much God loves us.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

On the surface, this doesn’t look like love, but you have to dig a little deeper. The reason this is such a great example of how God loves us is because he told us and prepared us for what would happen. We were never promised that life would be easy. We were promised that amid the trials of life, God would be with us. Jesus telling us this shows how much he loves you. He told you there would be some bumps along the way, but don’t worry because I will carry you through them. This is proof of God’s love.

3. Look at what he has prepared for us – heaven and eternal life

Perhaps the greatest motivating factor behind God’s love for us is because he is preparing an eternal home for us. God’s greatest desire is to be in fellowship with you, and not just for this life but for all eternity. This is the reason he sent Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins. He opened the door so that all who would believe in him would have eternal life.

For all eternity God will express his love on those who have chosen to believe in him. You have not experienced the full measure of God’s love yet, but the good news is because of Jesus, we have all eternity to experience it.

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Father,

Thank you for simply loving me. You didn’t wait until I was doing better or got everything right in my life, but you loved me even when I was at my lowest point. Thank you for reaching down to me, not with arms of judgment but with arms of love. I will forever be thankful for your love and will never take it for granted. Help me to love others with the same love I have received from you.

Amen.

There really aren’t enough words to describe the love of God and how much he truly loves you. I would encourage you to let God’s love for you remain at the forefront of your life. Understand that your relationship with him is based on his love for you and because of that you can love him back.

This is my last thought on God’s love. There will never be anything that will separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Let this truth be the reality that you build your life in Christ on.

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