do you ever stop to think?

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Do you ever stop to think about how much God truly loves you? The Bible tells us to do this. The apostle of love exhorts us to, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God" (1 John 3:1).

The Apostle John, the one in whom Jesus loved (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2), is exhorting us to "behold", or to take notice of, to study, or to literally stop and place our focus upon the incredible truth that God loves us!

This past Saturday night I took my wife out to dinner to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary, and while we were out, I was given the opportunity to do just that, to "behold" how much our Father in heaven loves us. As we were at dinner (with a window-seat that came with a beautiful ocean view), we couldn't resist taking some pictures together at sunset.

It was while we were taking photos that God once again caused me to stop and think about just how much He truly loves us. One of the photos that I took was of this man, who was paddle-surfing in the sunset. As I was watching the silhouette of this man surf across the ocean, it reminded me of a quote from one of my heroes of the faith, R.C. Chapman. R.C. Chapman said, "When we would consider the love of God in Christ, we are as one approaching the ocean; he casts a glance on the surface, but the depths he cannot sound."

This quote is so profound, and yet so true. Any one of us can go down to the beach and look out at the ocean, and witness the ocean disappearing into the beautiful horizon. Comparing such a wonder as God's unending-love that is found in Christ Jesus, with the ocean going far beyond the horizon is a beautiful reminder of how God's love is unmeasurable for us, we will never truly understand how far-reaching His love is for us. Furthermore, even though we can look to the end of the horizon and still not see the vastness of how far and how wide the ocean spans across the world, we will never be able to fathom how deep the depths of the ocean truly is either, just as we will never be able to fathom how deep God's love for each one of us is.

I want to encourage you to do as the apostle John, aka the apostle of love, encourages us to do. I want to encourage you to "behold", which in the Greek literally means, "to take special notice of". The Bible is telling us to stop, and to take special notice of "what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us." We are His kids, and He loves us, whether we are in utterly-despicable sin right now, or whether we are walking in the heavenlies. Whether we are in the darkest storm, and deepest valley of depression, or standing upon the highest mountain-top, He loves us!

Why don't you purpose it is your heart right now, to stop whatever it is you are doing, and take some time to really "behold", or meditate upon how much God truly loves you. Maybe take a look at this photo and try to imagine how far and wide the ocean really is, and then try to picture how deep it might go. Why don't you consider what it might look like to experience more than just the surface of God's love (which if it is represented by the ocean, is all we can see in this photo), by diving into the deepest part of it, and allow God to completely immerse you in His never-ending, ever-present love for you. Because as the Psalmist proclaims, the lovingkindness of God "is better than life" itself (Psalm 63:3).

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