Receive the Love of God

Do we know how to receive the love of God? I know that followers of Jesus Christ know about the love of God, we can even preach and teach about the love of God, but that is vastly different than actually receiving the love of God. What would it mean for us if we were to actually receive it? How would we be different than we are right now? It seems to me that receiving from God is very difficult for most of us. But if that is true, it is also quite confusing that receiving love, which is the thing that we need most and long for, would be so hard.



Imagine a young couple and the man is completely in love with his girlfriend. She really has a hard time letting him into her heart. She really does love him but it is hard for her to let him in. They just can't seem get very close. She wants it but she can hardly let herself receive his love. He tries to convince her of his love to no avail. Over time it begins to be a real strain on the relationship. Her difficulty is in receiving his love. His difficulty is in the fact that if she won't receive it he can't release it.


Often we are like that with God. He has already demonstrated His love for us but it can be difficult to receive. In the Bible there's so much talk about giving and receiving, rivers flowing out of our inmost being, and walking in the light. There is a flow but the flow has to have somewhere to go. God is giving we need to be receiving so there's flow. If there is no flow we are the ones who suffer, we are the ones who live beneath our privilege in God. Just like the young lady I spoke about the paragraph above, she is living beneath the privilege, the privilege that the young man's love would afford her.


I believe that to receive the love of God will mean that I get to walk in peace and joy, and provision. I believe all the things we long for in our walk with God will begin only when we decide to receive the love of God. What I learned is that you have to choose it, you have to choose to believe that you are already loved by God as much as you possibly can be. I had to learn to choose to believe in the love of God, to receive the love of God, even though I thought I didn't deserve the love of God.


Here's the key, choose to believe it before you think you qualify for it and you'll get to enjoy the benefit of it even though you're still aware that you don't deserve it. My point is this, take it anyway, just decide that you are loved based on the word of God. The only condition that we can receive the love of God in is in our present condition, whatever that may be. If God is offering you His love while you're still a mess than just be a very loved mess. If you think you're a train wreck of a person well then be a loved train wreck. If you think you're a good for nothing then at least be a loved good for nothing.

I dare you to say it out loud; God loves me 

and there is nothing I can do about it!