Words are cheap aren’t they. If someone says “I love you” that’s fantastic, but it doesn’t prove that they do. The evidence of love is in what they do. It’s true of people … and it’s true of God. I mean, if God were put on trial, accused with loving you, would there be sufficient evidence to convict Him?

The Bible says that God is love. The Bible says that God loves us – you, me and every other homosapian on this earth. The Bible says that we’re created in His image, and that despite our rebellion, despite the fact that that original image has been marred and disfigured almost beyond recognition, He wants to restore us back into that original image. The Bible says …

Now at this point, I know what more than a few people are thinking. The BIBLE says! Whoop. Big deal. Come and look at my life. Come and look at my lousy marriage, my rebellious children, my loneliness, my pain, my financial hardship, the losses I’ve been through, the complete lack of hope for the future.

Come and look at that … and then tell me what the Bible says. And if you relate to any of that, just a bit of that, then today, I want to share some good news with you. I want to put God’s love under the microscope for you. Let’s make like we’re in a court of law, in a trial that accuses God of loving us.

The question I want to answer here is this: Is there enough evidence to convict Him. Now please don’t right in or email or call – I don’t mean that disrespectfully at all. I simply want to see what the evidence tells us as to whether God loves us or not. So … where do you begin. I’d like to suggest that we begin at the beginning. Let’s take a look:

Genesis 1:26–31: And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

So God goes on to create the whole universe and then … then He gives it away to you and me. The whole, cotton pickin’ lot. But it’s not just that. It’s not just an act of incredible generosity, it’s an act of incredibly vulnerability. Not on our part, but on God’s. Because He creates us knowing full well, that, having given us a free will, we would turn our backs on Him. We would rebel against Him.

In fact, if you like, that’s the whole story of the Old Testament in a nutshell. God’s people rebelling against God. The name “Israel” literally means to struggle with God. And through all the ups and downs of the Old Testament, one thing becomes abundantly clear. It’s this: that in our relationship with God, we will never, ever, ever be able to hold up our end of the bargain. We will always fall short. And that’s exactly what the Apostle Paul writes in the New Testament:

Romans 3:23: For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. … and

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death.

So … what to do? Now God has a dilemma. If He truly is a God of love, does He put sinners to death? That is after all what it says there. I mean if He truly is a God of justice, He has to follow through. So His response to this dilemma is a real test of His love for us.

So, what is His response? Well, let’s look at the whole of Romans 6:23:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The price of justice is paid when Jesus, the Son of God, takes our sin on His shoulders so that we can be forgiven. In fact, when you think about it, this is the only way to solve the dilemma, by meeting the requirements of both justice and love.

So, forensically, what does this tell us about God’s love? Again, Jesus puts it this way:

John 15:12–13: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Just the other night on the evening news where I live, there was a story of a father who died, drowned in the surf saving his sons who were caught in a rip. Now, you might expect a father to do that for his sons. They after all HIS sons. He loves them. If I had to put my life in harm’s way for my children, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t even think about it. I love them. They’re my children.

The question however is, would you put yourself in harm’s way for someone who has treated you badly? Would you lay down your life for someone who has rebelled against you, spoken badly of you, turned their back on you? Well, would you? Have a listen:

Romans 5:6–8: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

And that my friend, right there, is proof positive of God’s love for you. I know that things in your life may not be perfect in every department. I know that you may be suffering over this thing or that thing. And I know, believe you me, I know – I’ve been there – that life can sometimes look so bleak, so desperate that you can’t even see how you’re going to make it through until tomorrow.

But right in the middle of whatever it is that you’re going through at the moment, God has something to say to you. Through His Word today, He’s saying “I love you more than words can ever say. Just look at my Son. Look at how He suffered and died for you.” That’s how much I love you. That’s what you are worth to me.

And you know, it’s not until we feel loved that we can ever love other people. If you don’t feel secure in love, you don’t have any love to give. So many people are missing out on the abundant life that Jesus came to give them because they know about God, they just don’t know Him personally.

And if that’s sounds like you, then why not pray this prayer with me:

Father God, I’ve heard about your love today. I’ve heard about Jesus and I want to accept Jesus as my Saviour and the Lord of my life. I want to experience for real this love that I’ve heard about. So please forgive me, please accept me just as I am, please fill me to overflowing with your Spirit and your love. In Jesus name. Amen.

If you just prayed that prayer, you are forgiven, you have been made whole. And your life has just completely changed, for ever and ever. Amen.

And please don’t forget about that free life application booklet I’ve been telling you about. It’s called Love Is … and it’s all about picking up on some of the teaching in this series, and helping you apply it to your life.

You can request your free copy right now, online at christianityworks.com. You’ll see that free offer right there, in the middle of the home page – you can’t miss it. Just click on the offer, pop in your name and email, and it will be on its way to your inbox in a flash. It really is that easy.

And while you’re there, don’t forget to check out the audio lounge. A treasure trove of teaching resources, arranged by topics that will interest you. You’ll find the Audio Lounge in the Resources section of the site.

But back to that free booklet. It’s called Love Is ... and the web address, is christianityworks.com.

Love Is.  My prayer for you ...