If you’re a human, congratulations! God loves you! It’s no mystery that you are made in His image, and you are loved big by a big God. As we experience the highs and lows of life, it can be hard to wrap our minds around the fact that God loves us no matter what. Here are 3 tips for feeling loved based on the disciple John from the Bible.
CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN: EP 6
Tip #1: Mind Your Mind
Tip number one of the 3 tips for feeling loved based on the disciple John from the Bible: Mind Your Mind. Follower of Christ or not, God loves you no matter what, and offers you an eternity in Heaven with Him. If you’re a follower, you have the opportunity to reciprocate that love in the best way you know how. When we accept Christ as our savior, we begin to wrap our minds around just how much He loves us. Check out these verses penned by John that go on about the love God has for us.
Scripture to Back This Up:
John 3:16 says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Of course we have to start with the classic! This verse is packed with a punch, and easily sums up the love God has for us. He sacrificed His son for us! If you want a more in depth look at the significance of this, head backwards one episode.
1 John 3:1 says, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.” God’s love is unconditional, and that just doesn’t make sense with what the world says love is. Nothing in the world compares or even gets remotely close to God’s love for His children. He gives grace upon grace, and ultimate sacrificial love that never ends.
1 John 4:16 says, “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” 1 John 4:19 says, “We love each other because he loved us first.” Love is the foundation of trust. We can fully trust God because He fully loves us and will do what’s best for us. He knows all the moving parts, and we can walk in confidence in His love.
When we reflect on these scriptures, we can begin to mind our minds. We can accept this love, understand love, and show love to God and to others. When we keep God’s love in mind, our actions begin to look more and more reflective of His great, big, giant love.
Tip #2: Moments that Matter Most
Tip number two of the 3 tips for feeling loved based on the disciple John from the Bible: Moments that Matter Most. It’s that time again! Let’s hop in the time machine and go back about 2,000 years. Today, we’re talking about John the disciple. This is not the same John that we discussed a couple of episodes ago, that was JTB. John the Baptist was Jesus’ cousin, and the John we’re talking about today is one of Jesus’ disciples. He’s the brother of James (another disciple), and also shares the cool nickname “the sons of thunder” with his brother.
John wrote the book of, you guessed it, John, along with 1st, 2nd, 3rd John, and Revelation. That’s a lot! He was one of the three closest disciples to Jesus. John often describes himself as “the one whom Jesus loved”, which is something we could take note of. John’s perspective and mindset to purposefully involve his identity of being loved by Jesus is a skill we all need to take notes on and learn.
More Scripture from John
First, we’re not in John’s brain, so we don’t know exactly why he often referred to himself with the title of “beloved by Jesus” a few times. There’s a range of speculation and internet jokes about this, so have fun with your rationale. My challenge to you today is this perspective of how John viewed himself through the lens of Jesus in moments that matter most.
The way John refers to himself as “the one whom Jesus loves” over and over is either 1) bragging rights, or 2) preaching to himself. If we take a step back, isn’t a humble combo of 1 and 2 truthful? John dropped everything to follow Jesus, and Jesus loved Him. Fun fact: You are also loved by Jesus. Bonus: If you’re a follower of Christ, you can hit that humble combo of walking in the identity of being loved by Jesus, just like John did.
- John 13:23- at the last supper, prediction of Jesus’ betrayal
- John 19:26- at the crucifixion, Jesus said take care of my mama
- John 20:2- at the resurrection, Mary Magdalene told him and Peter the stone was rolled away
- John 21:7,20- at the sea of Galilee, when Jesus appeared to him and six others. This is the same sea when he first met and followed Jesus
These verses when John refers to himself as the “one Jesus loves” are all huge milestone events, not just for Jesus, but for John. John found a way in these life changing moments to tie their significance to how much Jesus loves him. I love this so much! He is actively tying moments that matter most back to Jesus. More on this next!
Tip #3: Marking Milestones
“Yes, Brooke, I hear you. I’ve heard about God’s love through the verses John penned, but now what? How can I walk in this identity of being fully loved by God? What does even begin to look like for me, a busy Christian mom?” I got you, girl! Glad you asked. This brings me to the final tip of the 3 tips for feeling loved based on the disciple John from the Bible.
Flashback to the guy we heard about last week, Paul! Sometimes hearing the same thing in slightly different words by a different human helps our brains. You know, just like when you tell your kid over and over that doing their best in the classroom is extremely important, but that doesn’t really sink.
Then one day they come home from school going on and on about how grades are important because coach says so. Coach’s perspective: Don’t be upset that they listened to them and not you. Be thankful you and coach are on the same page. Plus, it takes the average person seven times to hear something before it begins to sink in. So, good job being diligent about saying it the first six times (or million). Poor kiddo and their undeveloped brain may need more reps at hearing the good stuff.
Speaking of good stuff, let’s hear about God’s love from Paul. This is the guy from last week’s episode. If you’re curious, go back one episode to hear about his redemptive story. Here’s what Paul wrote in Romans 8:37-39:
“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:37-39
Nothing can separate us from God’s love! John said it verse after verse, and then Paul confirms the same thing. God’s love is bigger than our human brains can grasp. So, how do we live it out? Let’s do what John did!
Mark Milestones
Marking milestones with God’s love is a wonderfully creative way to keep the perspective of God’s love and how He comes through for us. You can do this a couple of ways:
- 1) Think back over your life. What are the milestones? Think of the good, the bad, and the ugly, because John sure did. In the bad moments, God loves you. In your best moments, God loves you. When you mess up, God still loves you. Mark your milestones with God’s love.
- 2) As you go forward in life, take note of how your future milestones come along, and how you can mark them with God’s love. Again, tie God’s love to all milestones. He loves us in the valleys and on the mountaintops.
Here are a few examples from my life from the last decade-ish. I’ll give some examples of previous milestones and for upcoming ones. Use it, tweak it, make it work for your life:
- Marrying my husband, Morgan, and how God has refined us and bonded us together these past 14 years. I am loved by God.
- We have three amazing kids! Sloane, Scout, and Rhett are sweet, goofy, and enjoyable to be around. I am loved by God.
- Rhett was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age three in a terrifying series of events. We live in a day where we have access to insulin that keeps him alive. I am loved by God.
- God is doing a good work in me, and one day, I’ll get to be in Heaven. I am loved by God.
- There will be struggle on this side of Heaven. There will be awful things that happen, and we will have to face them as they come. God makes all things good in the end and makes it all right. If it’s not good, it’s not the end. I am loved by God.
Let’s make an effort to mark our milestones with God’s love. When we do this, we can do a better job with appreciating the magnitude of His love; therefore, we can go out into the world, loving others well.
Podcast Recap
Embrace your identity of being loved by God. You are His child, and he loves you no matter what! Here are the three tips
- Tip #1: Mind Your Mind
- Tip #2: Moments that Matter Most
- Tip #3: Marking Milestones
Scripture Recap
- John 3:16
- 1 John 3:1
- 1 John 4:16
- 1 John 4:19
- Romans 8:37-39
I am the daughter of the King. I am chosen, forgiven, redeemed. I am loved and I belong. I am bold, brave, and strong. I am seen. I’m accepted. I am able. I’m protected. Through Him I can do anything. Because I’m the daughter of the King.
Busy Christian Mom Credo, Brooke Collier
Links from the Show:
- Brooke Collier Instagram
- Busy Christian Mom Etsy Shop
- John Bible Study by Melissa Spoelstra
- Love Does by Bob Goff
- Identity Crisis Mini Series
