The Secret: How Do You See Love?Sample

Need to Know

Written By: Pastor Dan Hickling

“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”—Ephesians 5:2 (NKJV)

Certain things are required in order for relationships to grow. One such thing is the assurance that one is loved. Think to the relationships that are most near and dear to you; your parents, your children, your spouse... We all want to know that we are loved by those people who are important to us.

That same dynamic is true when it comes to the most important relationship of all, our relationship with God. We need to know that God loves us. It’s not enough to think He might or wish He would. No, we need to know He loves us, otherwise our relationship with Him won’t grow.

Here’s the great thing: God knows this, too! In fact, He knew our need to know He loves us way before any of us were ever aware of it. And true to His character, He’s made the perfect provision so that whenever our hearts might be unsure or unsettled in the matter, we will have something that will always echo back the testimony of His eternal love for us: the cross.

How do we know God loves us? The cross demonstrated once and for all that Christ so loved us that He sacrificed Himself for us. If He never does anything else to prove His love, the cross is still more than enough. It’s more than enough because it’s so much greater than any expression of love the world has ever known before or since.

That a perfectly holy and pure Creator would descend to earth, take on human form with all of its weaknesses, subject Himself to unimaginable pain and torment physically, emotionally, and spiritually, so that our sins could be forgiven and covered by His sacrifice... it just does not get any deeper than that! No other person can ever go to such lengths of love and devotion, because no other person can sacrifice as much as Christ did.

Yes, we all need to know we’re loved when it comes to our earth-bound relationships. And knowing this, we should assure our loved ones that they are, in fact, loved. But even more than that, we need to know the Lord loves us. That needed knowledge is imparted every time we look at the cross and remember what He did there for us.

DIG: What do we need to know when it comes to our relationship with God?

DISCOVER: How can we know for a fact that God loves us?

DISPLAY: How might you increase your awareness of the cross in your daily life?