If you don’t feel loved by God, you’re certainly not going to offer love to anybody else. It is impossible to be a loving person unless you understand and remember the way God loves you.

You need to remind yourself every day what God thinks about you — not what the world thinks or what you think about yourself. That is what removes your fears.

Let me give you four things God thinks about you, to help you remember why and how to love.

1. You’re completely accepted.
We spend much of our lives trying to earn acceptance from our parents, peers, those we respect, those we envy, and even total strangers. But you need to realize God has already settled this issue of acceptance: “Jesus . . . made us acceptable to God” (Titus 3:7 CEV). What Jesus did on the cross made you completely acceptable to God — no matter what you’ve done or will do.

2. You’re unconditionally loved.
God doesn’t say, “I love you if” or “ I love you because.” He says, “I love you — period!” You can’t make God stop loving you, because his love is not based on what you do but on who he is. Isaiah 54:10 says, “The mountains and hills may crumble, but my love for you will never end” (GNT).

3. You’re totally forgiven.
Because Jesus died on the cross and gave his life as a payment for your sins, you are totally forgiven once you accept that gift of forgiveness. Romans 8:1 says, “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (NLT). God doesn’t rehearse your sins; he releases them.

4. You’re considered extremely valuable.
There are two things that create value: who owns something, and what somebody’s willing to pay for it.

 You are a child of God and “have been bought and paid for by Christ” (1 Corinthians 7:23 TLB). Jesus Christ paid for you with his life. That’s how valuable you are.

When you remember that you are accepted, loved, forgiven, and valuable to the Creator of the universe, you will be better equipped to show that love to others and build deeper relationships.

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