Pastor Kristi J. Rhodes
Hillcrest Community Church
5994 18 Mile Rd. Cedar Springs, MI 49319

I was listening to the “Message,” (which is on XM Radio), in my car the other day and I heard one of the band members from “Tenth Avenue North” talking about one of their new songs. The song is titled “Love Is Here.” He shared their inspiration for the song and I thought “oh, how often we miss the fullness and the depth of the love of Christ for all of humankind!”
Sometimes we drift into this trap of thinking, “I’ll know God loves me if He gives me a parking spot, or I’ll know God loves me if He fixes my marriage, or if He gets me this job, or if He heals my loved one, or if this or that! Don’t get me wrong; it’s not wrong to ask for these things, but we play a dangerous game when we ask God to prove something He already proved when He died on the cross for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV) tells us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He has already proven His love for us. God is love and he can’t love us any more than He does and He won’t love us any less!  Even when we mess up He won’t love us any less.
Even so, it does break God’s heart when our choices lead to destructive behavior, but that’s our doing and our choices, not His!  He’s not sitting on His throne just waiting for us to mess up! On the contrary, He’s the one who sits at our bedside just waiting for us to wake up saying, “Come on, get up!  I want to spend the day with you!” Romans 8:35, 37-39 (NIV), “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So when you are tempted to wonder if God really loves or cares about you, please remember He has already proven His love.
The greatest man in History, named Jesus, had no servants, yet they called Him Master. Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.  He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet he conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today and his love endures forever and ever!
We are so blessed!