God's Love

Why do I have a hard time understanding God's love for me? It makes perfect sense when I look at my own children. They are not perfect - far from it - but I love them immensely. Why? I love them because they are mine. They are made in my image. I do not love them because of what they can do for me. I simply love them because they are. And....they love me because I love them. Yes, I provide for their needs, but I also discipline them. That is exactly how God's love works. We do not have to do anything. He loves us because we are made in His image - because we are His. He does not love us because we can do something for Him - He needs nothing we can give. Because of His great love for us - so great that He sacrificed His Son to pay the penalty for sins run rampant - we have no choice but to love Him. Oh, some people choose not to, but when I look at that I see nothing but loss. Think of it in terms of the parent-child relationship - and we see this way too often today. The parent that loves the child, provides for the child, disciplines the child, but the child doesn't like it - rather doesn't understand it - so they reject it and run away from it. It is the same way with God. People see (blindly) only the discipline - they forget about all God has provided and His immense love for us. They reject His sacrificed Son and run away from the one thing they need most. I have moved very far from where I was originally headed with this post - basically, looking at my relationship with my children helps me to understand God's unconditional love for me.