The Love of God 

   It’s about 3:30 in the morning and I’ve been lying awake for over an hour.  Sleep would not come, and my thoughts turned to God and His incredible love for me.  The undeniable fact that God loves me is beyond all understanding, it is overwhelming to me.

   We refer to God in many ways; the Almighty, the Supreme Being, the Creator, to name a few.  These are not names so much as they are descriptions; they tell me a little about this God who loves me.  However, they give me no clue as to why He loves me.  And yet I know beyond all doubt that He does.

   What value do I have in the eyes of the Almighty?  He does not need me; He is complete within Himself and needs nothing.  So why does He create; why does the universe exist; why do you and I exist?  I believe He created all that there is, the universe in all its majesty, our little speck in the universe and all that exists upon it, including you and me, out of a desire to share His love.

   Of all the creations of this world, humanity is the only one granted the gift of free will.  Why?  Because love can only come from free will.  He wants us to love Him not because He needs our love but to give us the joy that comes from loving another, a desire for the good of another over and above self.

   I can’t imagine the horror of living in a world where love did not exist.  I do not believe there could be such a world because God created all and God is love.  I look with sorrow on those who don’t know how to love and I pray that they will come to know God so that they too can know the happiness that loving brings.

   My thoughts and contemplation of God and His love this night have been of far more value than could ever come from sleep; it has brought me a bit closer to the One whose love is the very reason for my existence.