Why would God love me? You may be asking that, and we should ask it. Why does he? Why would he? Why should he love us? The one, who knows us through and through, loves us anyway. God sees lovable in the unlovable. The question is why.
Titus 3:2 “To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. 3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”
What an answer to the question! “We ourselves were sometimes foolish” begins verse 3. Verse 4 starts with “but after.” Verse 5 starts with “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy.” Verse 7 starts with “that being justified.” These and what follow give us the whole answer.
None of us can help but appear unlovable in the sight of such a holy God. We’re reminded he is the high and holy one who inhabits earth and eternity. Man feels his throne is high. He feels he’s in control. He feels he’s entitled to some things and not entitled to other things. We’re the foolish part of creation. We must be careful lest we forget where we once were. The only self-holy one is God. The only high and lofty one is God.
We’re not able to give perfect love. Any expression we give falls short. God is able to give out relentless wrath. If we got what we deserved, we’d receive his wrath. By God’s mercy, we get perfect, overcoming love. He considers us, the most unlovable, to be lovable. He’s proved it without a doubt. We may have reason to doubt the love of others, but we never have to doubt God’s. People enter hell everyday with God loving them. We’ve all heard it asked. How does God send anyone to hell? He doesn’t. Man sends himself there when he chooses his sins, his own way, over the Lord. It’s crazy reasoning to think you can live life as if it’s an all-for-me-world and at the end hurry up and call on God and go to heaven. It doesn’t work that way. God loves and deals with people. There has been and will be a time when he stops dealing with people, but God never quits loving anyone. Man’s greatest sin is to reject God’s love.
Verse 3 focuses on what we once were. We tend to focus on how good we are, how civil we are, and even how righteous we are. But the Bible says “we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.” We were foolish in our thinking and doing. We were disobedient to the Bible, the truth, and went against God. We want to think we can’t be deceived, but we were. We served our flesh; we couldn’t control our sinful nature. Sin mastered us. It condemns, destroys, separates, and pollutes. It has such power. We must have someone to save us from our malice and envy. We must have someone to save us from our hatefulness and hatred. We were at odds with all of this before we were saved. If any of these exist in your life now, it must be confessed to have a heart truly right with God.
When we look at the kind of person described here, how could there be something lovable? You could clean up your act. Give up the malice. Try to be good enough for the Lord to save. It doesn’t work that way. “While we were sinners Christ died for us.” We’ve all been guilty of them at some point. God still loves us. We just have to repent of what is between us and God. He provided the mediator in the person of Jesus Christ to be our helper. Our sins harm our life and eternity. They insult God. They are a mockery to his goodness. I hope none of these describe us now.
We live in a day when man almost considers himself his own God. He doesn’t need the church. He doesn’t need God. In reality, man is more uncivilized than ever. Although more technologically advanced as a society, man’s soul is deeper in sin. In Noah’s day, God gave mankind 120 years to repent. That’s the reason the Lord hasn’t returned yet. He loves us so much that he doesn’t want anyone to stand in judgment. Why does he love us to this extent?
“But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.”
In spite of all the things we’ve been guilty of that made us unlovable, God showed us kindness and love. You’d expect judgment, but God gave a star to guide wise men to Bethlehem. He allowed a baby to cry. The last words of the Old Testament could have been the last, but instead God sent his son. Love is more than a word. It has to take on visible form to be real. God’s love is visualized and tangible. It’s a baby in Mary’s arms. It’s the call of Lazarus out of the grave that turned mourning into joy. How? Only God can. He expressed it in the fullest measure by giving his son. Hate and malice or any other sin is strong, but the real power is in kindness and meekness. Grace, mercy, justification, and regeneration are strong words and the result of God’s love. His love is powerful.
It’s because of God’s grace and mercy, but it’s not as important that we understand why God loves us as it is that we receive and return his love with all our being. Love saved us. The least we can do is return it by walking, living, and being what that love made us.
What are you doing with it? Verse 8 states “that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.” Loved with such a love, we must be careful how we treat it. Let’s be what God made us. This is our protection in this world.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 