“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.”
How could God love us before he made the world? We didn’t even exist yet, but he loved us. Have you ever daydreamed of something you hoped would happen someday? Perhaps prayed for your children or grandchildren before they were born? God’s been doing that since before time existed. He decided he wanted to adopt us into his family before we ever knew we needed one.
Why did God love us? Why bother? For reasons likely far beyond our understanding, it brings him pleasure to love us. It makes him happy. And it is for his pleasure, happiness, and glory that we are designed to exist. He showers us with kindness because he loves doing it. We don’t earn those gifts, he just wants to give them.
Here’s your freedom for today: God is generous by nature. People have a lot of ideas about who God is, and those ideas come from a lot of different places. But if we explore what the Bible says about God, we find a whole lot about how kind, generous, and loving he is. What about his anger? He’s like a protective dad whose kids got bullied on the playground. Injustice and oppression burns fury within him. But his children — those who say “yes” to his offer of adoption — he loves and defends fiercely. Open yourself to God’s generosity today. He wants to shower you with kindness — will you say “yes” to his offer of adoption?