Personalizing God’s Love
At a men’s Bible study, I noticed something about the personalization of God’s love that I had never realized before. First, let me give some background.
Personalizing God’s Love: The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved
In the Bible, there is a disciple who is described as “the one whom Jesus loved” (John 20:2). At first, this may seem somewhat odd: Did not Jesus love all his disciples, and did He not love them all equally? If so, why is one specific disciple singled out as the one Jesus loves? If you are familiar with the Bible, you will know that this specific disciple was John.
I once heard a sermon from a pastor who pointed out that the description of “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:20) is onlyfound in John’s gospel. So it is John, who most scholars believe wrote the gospel that bears his name, specifically makes sure to note that he is “the one whom Jesus loved.” The pastor also highlighted the implied significance: “Actually, Jesus loved all the twelve [disciples] the same. But John knew it!” The pastor continued, “The Bible says, ‘We have known and believed the love that God has for us’ [see I John 4:19]. [This means that] it’s not enough just to know it mentally; [we]’ve got to believe that God loves [us]. [In Galatians 2:20,] Paul personalizes it, ‘The son of God who loves me and gave Himself for me’. Me. He personalizes it. [And] that’s what we need to do.”
Personalizing God’s Love: The Disciples and Peter
In Mark’s gospel, the women went to the tomb where Jesus was placed, but did not find Jesus there. Instead, an angel said, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you” (Mark 16:6-7). What is significant about this passage is that when the angel instructs the women to tell the disciples about Jesus being alive, the phrase “and Peter” only appears in Mark’s gospel. The angel tells the women to “tell his disciples and Peter that . . . you will see [Jesus], just as he told you.”
Scholars generally agree that the gospel of Mark is from Peter’s eyewitness testimony. As professor Craig Blomberg told Lee Strobel, “Papias . . . specifically affirmed that Mark had carefully and accurately recorded Peter’s eyewitness observations” (Strobel, The Case for Christ, 12).
Thus, only in Peter’s eyewitness account does the phrase “tell his disciples and Peter” appear. Just as John had personalized his own gospel, describing himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved,” so too did Peter personalize his gospel by specifically mentioning himself as someone who needed to know about Jesus being raised from the dead.
A few chapters prior, Peter had denied that he knew Jesus three times. It was arguably the worst mistake he made in his life. When he realized what he had done, he “wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62) over these denials. The implied significance of “tell his disciples and Peter” is that in Peter’s worst state, just after his denials of Jesus, Peter makes sure to emphasize that God still saw and loved him. Mark personalizes that the angel was to tell all the disciples, and Peter in specific, that Jesus had won.
Personalizing God’s Love: Three Reasons Why It Is Important
So why might it be important to personalize God’s love for us? If it was important enough for John, Peter, and Paul, it probably is important for us to do as well! Here are three reasons why I think personalizing God’s love is important.
Personalizing God’s Love Helps You Know It: I like what the pastor said above: “Jesus loved all the twelve [disciples] the same. But John knew it.” When you personalize God’s love, it helps you elevate the intimate and unique way that God loves you, which in turn helps you know—not only with your head but also with your heart—that God loves you. I once heard a minister explain that when the Bible talks about how it is important to “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19), this type of knowing is experience-based—it is intimate and set-apart. In a similar way, when you know that God loves you personally, you focus your attention on how set-apart you are in God’s eyes. In turn, this helps you appreciate God’s love even more because it reveals how much God cares about you.
Personalizing God’s Love Helps You Believe It: Both Peter and Paul had some significant and public sins. Peter denied Jesus three times. Prior to his conversion, Paul persecuted Christians (see Acts 26). And both learned to personalize God’s love for them. In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul says that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (KJV). Contrast that with how Paul personalizes what Christ did for him in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” The juxtaposition of these two verses highlights an important point from Paul: If God’s love could be personalized toward him—the chief of all sinners—God’s love can be personalized toward you. That God loves you personally becomes easier to believe once you know His love extends personally to the deniers and the chief of sinners. If He personally loved them, He can (and does) personally love you!
Personalizing God’s Love Helps You Receive It: An analogy here might be helpful: When a boss sends an email to his entire staff thanking them for their hard work, this is received quite differently compared to when the boss sends a personal email to you, thanking you for your hard work. The generalized email is easy to dismiss or ignore; in contrast, one is more receptive and attentive to the personalized email. Similarly, when you move God’s love from a generality (e.g., “God loves everyone”) to a personalization (e.g., “God loves me”), it can help you receive the love that God has for you. “God loves everyone” is easy to ignore or dismiss because it does not readily apply to your specific situation; in contrast, “God loves me, and things specific about me—he cares about the problems I’m facing, the joys I’m experiencing, and the hopes I have.” This makes God’s love easier to receive because it has much higher relevance to your life.
In a world of 8 billion people, God loves you personally. This is an amazing thing! His love for you truly “surpasses knowledge” because God is able to love you as if you were the only person on earth. Personalize God’s love for you so that you can believe it, know it, and receive it. May this be your daily prayer (with emphasis): “And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”