You are eternally loved…

There are many Christians who deep down live with a strange split.

We believe in God's love.

We sing about it.

We talk about it.

We give thanks for it.

And yet we often live as if we still have to earn something.

As if we are indeed saved —

but still not quite sure how God really feels about us.

That's why Jesus' words in John's Gospel are so overwhelming.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Remain in my love.

John 15:9

It's one of those verses you almost read too quickly.

Because if you really stop, it's almost too big to grasp.

Jesus doesn't just say that he loves us.

He says he loves us as the Father has loved him.

That's not a small love.

That's not a wavering love.

That's not a love that rises and falls depending on how the day has gone.

It's the love that has always been in God's own heart.

The Father's love for the Son is eternal.

Pure.

Whole.

Undisturbed.

Full of joy, nearness, and delight.

And Jesus says:

This is how I have loved you.

That changes everything.

Because then you're not merely tolerated by God.

You didn't just get in on a technicality.

You're not just accepted with a half-hearted smile.

You are loved.

And not just a little.

You are loved with a love that has its source in the very life of the Trinity.

It means that God's love for you doesn't rest on your performance.

Not on how well you've prayed this week.

Not on how disciplined you are.

Not on how spiritual you feel.

Not on whether you feel worthy right now.

Jesus' love for you doesn't come from your steadiness.

It comes from his.

That's why this is more than comfort.

It's identity.

Many of us live with old voices inside.

Voices that say:

You're not enough.

You should be further along.

You should be stronger.

You should have gotten more of your life in order.

But Jesus' words break into that darkness and say something entirely different:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

It means your life shouldn't first and foremost be built on how you feel.

It should be built on what Jesus has said.

Maybe that's why so many of us grow so tired.

Not because we don't love God.

But because we try to live for him without truly resting in how he loves us.

We run.

We fight.

We serve.

We try.

But deep down there's still an uncertainty:

Am I really loved?

Jesus answers yes.

Not a cautious yes.

Not a temporary yes.

A deep, eternal, and full yes.

You are more loved than you think.

And maybe the change in your life doesn't begin with you doing more for God —

but with letting it dawn on you how much he already loves you.