God Says I Am Loved

What does it mean to be Loved by God?

The topic of being loved by God is so expanding and big that I had a really difficult time narrowing it down to a short blog post. I don't want to give basic answers to such an intimate question, and frankly, I don't even know fully what it means to be loved by God. Will we ever while we're still here on earth? *shrugs shoulders*

Let's start simple: What did Jesus do for you on the cross? That's agape love. It's a physical and visual representation of God's love for us. Oh, and then add to that the resurrection... *mind blown*

via GIPHY

Merrium-Webster dictionary says that Loved means: to hold dear, to feel passion, devotion, or tenderness for, to take pleasure in.

Other words and phrases that described what it means to be loved are: beloved, cherished, darling, dear, favored, favorite, precious, adored, preferred, treasured, revered, prized, and delighted in.

The Hebrew definition is: to love fervently, cherish with affection, desire, that which is desirable, pleasant, and precious. It also means one (who is) beloved, and lovely.

As I kept studying and researching what God's word says about Him loving us, I came across in the Strongs Concordance H2836 which means to cling or join, and H7355 which means to have compassion, and show mercy. This particular definition made me weepy.

Is not what Jesus did on that cross the epitome of compassion and mercy?

Then I got into Greek and the number one definition that popped off the page was the word agape; One of my very favorite greek words.

Agape love is described as a sacrificial love that voluntarily suffers inconvenience, discomfort, and even death for the benefit of another without expecting anything in return. 3

Another Greek word is 'yhois' (G5207) which translates to Son of Man, Son of God - used to describe Adam, those who are born again in Christ, and who revere God as their Father. It's not an exact definition of Loved, but it speaks in terms of adoration.

If you want to dive deeper into this word, please subscribe to the His Chosen Co newsletter and you'll get access to the SOAP study I created around what it means to be Loved by God, and other printables!

Sweet one, being loved by God means we are free (which we'll talk about next week!) and it means we are free to LOVE OTHERS.

Matthew 22:37-40 says: "Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

God has given us the freedom to choose to love Him, and the freedom to love others. He doesn't force Himself on us, and we aren't forced to love other people. The freedom to choose is loving. Forced love isn't love; it's tyranny and we do not worship a tyrannical God.

I don't know about you, friend, but when I sit and ponder the intimate and deep love of Father, I get so overwhelmed with tears of joy and gladness. I just weep and sing praises. Writing this post has been really something. *phew*

I'll finish this blog post with a reminder that I want you to take with you today, tomorrow, and every day. You, dear one, are prized. Your Father is devoted to you. You are precious to Him. You are His little darling. You are adored and you are His treasure! You're His favorite and preferred. He holds compassion and mercy for you every second, every minute, every hour, every day, and every single season. Rest right here for a little bit...

If you click on that image above, you should be able to download it to your device - look at it when you need to be reminded of WHO YOU ARE!

Watch my video on YouTube or Rumble about what it means to be loved by God. Enjoy!