God Made You to Love You

by Rick Warren — September 11, 2022
From Live Your Calling: What on Earth Am I Here For?

“The Lord takes pleasure in his people."

Psalm 149:4 (GNT)

God created you to love you.

The Bible doesn’t say God has love. The Bible says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8 ESV). Love is the essence of his nature.

The Bible says, “For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased” (Revelation 4:11 NLT).

Everything was created because God gets enjoyment out of it. He wanted to love it. God loves every rock, every plant, every animal, every star, and every human being.

As Psalm 149:4 says, “The Lord takes pleasure in his people” (GNT).

God takes pleasure in you all the time. Why? He created you. He’s your heavenly Father.

Some people think God is only smiling at them when they’re doing something “religious.” Nothing could be further from the truth. God gets pleasure in watching you be you because he made you you.

God planned you for his pleasure, and he wants you to learn to love him back. Jesus gave the ultimate summary of the Bible when asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36 NIV). 

Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38 NIV).

Life is all about love. If you don’t get that, you’ve missed the first purpose of your life—to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Before my feet touch the ground each morning, I pray this: “Dear God, it’s another day. And if I don’t get anything else done today, I want to know you a little bit better, and I want to love you a little bit more.”

If you find yourself at the end of an awful day—full of your own mistakes, sin, grief, and pain—but you recognize that you’ve learned to love God just a little bit more, your day isn’t a waste.

You’re doing exactly what God made you to do.

Talk It Over

  • Why do you think people struggle to accept the truth that God loves them and takes pleasure in them?
  • Why do you think people often miss this first purpose of their life—to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength?
  • If you really internalized the fact that life is all about love, how would that change what you prioritized in your day?

God loves you, regardless of your sin

God created you to love you, and even though you’ve sinned, God still loves you. In fact, God loves you so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to wipe away your sins and bring you into his family.

If you’ve never accepted God’s love and invited Jesus into your heart, I want you to have that opportunity now. Pray this prayer: “Dear God, I don’t understand it all, but thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus to save me.

I confess I have sinned, and I ask for your forgiveness. I need Jesus to be my Savior, and today I want to ask him to come into my heart. I want to follow him and do the things he tells me to do.

I want to fulfill what you made me to do. I want to learn how to love and trust you and to be in your family forever. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at [email protected] and let me know. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus.


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