"How do I know that God loves me?"
We just began a parish podcast which is a lot of fun. Hopefully it will be good and helpful for listeners. You can listen to our episodes through the parish website. The topics for the episodes are determined by online questions from parishioners. When you hear the podcasts, you might think that the questions are not from “lost sheep”, and you’re probably right. But you can submit your own questions! I would really enjoy talking about topics and questions that you raise online or in person. I will suggest something that someone away from the Lord or Church might ask: how do I know that God loves me?
If I’m instructing people about the Church, Truth, and God’s Love, I ask them what is the most real thing in their lives. The question gets them thinking about reality and how do we really know what is true. They ponder it and usually respond by pointing to the love of their spouse or a parent. Love from another is the most real thing in their lives. They know the other’s love is real more than anything else in life. And yet, they don’t know 100%. Love can’t be measured in a lab. So, it involves faith. They have faith that the other loves them based on everything he or she has shown them. That belief is so strong that they say they know it’s love and it’s real. It’s the most real thing in their lives.
It's the same thing with God. We don’t know 100% that God loves us. We don’t know 100% that He is real. We believe that He is real and that He has revealed Himself to us. We believe firmly in the Bible and in the Church which means that we believe in Christ. In following Christ, we have experienced all that He promised, namely God’s love. We are as certain about being loved by God as a spouse is certain of his wife’s love or a child is certain of her parents’ love. It’s an experience in the heart and soul that is beyond a feeling which can pass. It’s a deep, lasting affirmation of who we are. It’s peace, happiness, and joy that the world does not offer. It’s the peace, happiness, and joy that God promised in Christ which is the exact experience that Christ’s closest friends have experienced in their hearts and souls for 2,000 years.
