Sermonette: December 9, 2024

What is the good news?

God loves you just because of who you are. He made you in His image and likeness. There is nothing you can do to make Him love you more or less. His love is unconditional. Let us just let that concept sink in. It is easy for us to simply dismiss this. It is easy for us to simply say, "I have heard that before. So what?"

However, let us ponder for awhile the implications. When you are doing virtuous acts and displaying great works of charity and everyone is telling you what a good person you are, God loves you. When you are caught in the midst of your most embarrassing sin and everyone is telling you what a terrible person you are, God loves you. The world is fickle. One moment, you can be held on a pedestal and the next you can be treated as someone with whom no one wants to associate or acknowledge. God is not fickle. He loves you the same in both circumstances. His love is unconditional.

Which takes us to the next implication. If God loves you the same regardless of the circumstances, it reveals to you that you are always loveable. If God loves you, it means that you can and should love yourself under all circumstances. This often becomes very difficult. Why? How do we love ourselves in the midst of a trial when the world turns against us and tells us we are not worthy of anyone's love? We have to look to God for that love and recognize that if He loves you, you can and should love yourself.

Does that mean you can do whatever you want with no consequences? No. God gives you free will. He loves you the same despite circumstances. However, He created you for a purpose. It is living that purpose that will enable you to experience the greatest joy in life. Since God loves you, He wants you to experience the greatest joy in life. The Good News is whether you fulfill that objective in life or not does not change the fact that He loves you unconditionally.