For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

– John 3:16

Today I am thankful that God loves the world.

God’s love extends to every person. He loves everyone who ever was and ever will be. He loves the child being formed in the womb and the person struggling to hang onto life. God loves people of every culture, heritage and ethnicity. He loves people no matter what language they speak. There is nowhere in the world God’s love doesn’t reach. He loves those working their way up the corporate ladder, and those who are out of work. He loves people living in crammed high-rise apartments, palaces, suburban three-bed two-baths, and trailers with no electric. God loves people who do good and do bad. He loves people who invest their lives in philanthropic work and people who are serving life sentences in prison. He loves those who believe in Him and those who don’t. God loves the person who only goes to church on Christmas, and those who are there every time the doors are open. He loves those who take His name as a Christian, and those who use His name to curse.

God loves without bias or judgment. He loves each person completely. God’s love is not based on our decisions or worthiness. It is based on His. God does not qualify His love. He freely gives it.

God loved the world, each person, so much, that He gave us Jesus. He sent His One and Only Son here to bring us back to Him. Jesus gave up His life because of God’s great love, so each of us can be made right with God and have everlasting life.

Don’t think for a moment that you aren’t worth it. Don’t believe it when you begin to feel that no one loves you, or could ever love you. God’s great love gives us our worth.

Wherever you are right now, whatever you have done or not done, no matter how you feel you measure up, you can know this: You are loved.