Why Does God Love Us?

Why does God love us?

God loves us because He is pure and infinite love. It is His very nature to love. As Ronald Rolheiser, the American theologian, beautifully puts it:

God loves us when we are good, and God loves us when we are bad. God loves the saints in heaven, and God equally loves the devils in hell. They merely respond differently. The father of the prodigal son and of his older brother loves both equally—one in his weakness, the other in his bitterness—and his embrace is not contingent upon their conversion. He loves them even inside their distance from him.

God cannot deny Himself. His love is not a reaction; it is a reflection of who He is. He is love—unconditional, unchanging, and infinite. His love does not depend on us—on whether we succeed or fail, do good or do wrong. God’s love flows from the very core of His being.

God does not waver or drift in His love from person to person or situation to situation. No—He loves us consistently, because He remains true to Himself.

God loves us because He is love.

The deeper question for us might be this: Can we cultivate a life and a personality rooted in love—not based on who others are or what they do, but on who we are called to be?

 

Notes

·       Rolheiser, R. (2014). Sacred fire: A vision for a deeper human and Christian maturity (p. 118). Image.

·       The Parable of the Prodigal Son – See Luke 15:11–32.

·       “God is love” – See 1 John 4:8.