by Elyse Fitzpatrick
See what kind of love the Father has given to us.
1 John 3:1

How would you live today if you knew at the very bottom of your soul that you were loved? You know what that would do? It would free you from having to make sure you were being loved. How much chasing after being loved have you done? How much effort have you poured into your pursuit of being loved?
God’s one-way love for us is the only love that can free us from our incessant pursuit of the love of others. We must be done with all that! I’ll tell you why: because no matter how many people you get to love you, it will never be enough. Let me remind you of Haman in the book of Esther. Haman had everyone in the entire city bowing down to him when he rode by, but it wasn’t enough. He didn’t have Mordecai’s worship, and it drove him crazy. Even though we can see the stupidity of Haman’s deadly desire, you and I act the same way. It doesn’t matter how much we are loved by others; it never totally satisfies because the holes in our hearts weren’t meant to be filled by anything other than a perfect love—the love of God.
But here’s the good news: through the gospel, we get to be free from that slavery. We’ve been loved by Somebody who knows our hearts, who sees every dark and doubtful thing within them. And yet He loves us and He gives Himself for us.
God’s grace liberates us from this kind of gluttony for love. I don’t need to seek endlessly and fruitlessly to be loved anymore. The perfect love of Christ has satisfied my need and driven out my fear.

Thought to Remember for Today

You are already more loved than you could ever dare hope. This love didn’t come to you because you are wonderful; it isn’t something you earned by your good behavior. That’s really great news, because if God’s love were something we could earn by our good behavior, then His love would be something we could lose by our bad behavior. God’s love rests on us because of His gracious choice of us in Christ, and that love is indestructible.

Fitzpatrick, E. (2016). Grace untamed: a 60-day devotional. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook.