Portrait of God: Rediscovering the Attributes of God Through the Stories of His PeopleEsimerkki

The God of Love

God has limitless knowledge. Limitless power. There is no place in which He does not exist and no time He is not currently experiencing. In other words, God knows everything, He can do anything, and He exists everywhere and at all times.

But central to His character is another element. It radiates from the core of His being, animating and motivating His actions. He uses all His knowledge, power, and presence so we can experience it. God’s core motivator is His love.

For our first devotional on key attributes of God, let’s look at Matthew 10:29–31: “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

This is such an interesting Bible passage. Earlier in the chapter, Jesus prepared His disciples for inevitable persecution. He says, “They will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues” (v. 17) and “you will be hated by all for my name’s sake” (v. 22a). He goes so far as to say, “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death” (v. 21). I can imagine the disciples standing wide-eyed at the end of such an encouraging sermon.

Then Jesus says, “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be known” (v. 26), and He goes on to talk about sparrows in the air and hairs on our head.

Why is this comforting? Jesus is saying to them, “Of course, I’m powerful. Of course, I will bring justice in the end. But the most important thing for you to know is that I love you. You are valuable to Me. Those are the thoughts I’m thinking toward you! And when you experience persecution, remind yourself that the Father knows everything you are going through. He knows what He is doing. And you are of infinite worth to Him.”

Why do you think we have such a difficult time accepting God’s love even if we’ve heard the phrase “God loves you” over and over?