But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT).
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13).
When have you asked the Lord to prove his love for you? What was his response? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1331).
Asking the Lord to prove his love for me would indicate a measure of doubt as to his love for me. In questions such as this one, I always first think of my own childhood and my parents love for me. It would have seemed bizarre beyond measure to ask them to prove their love for me – something that was proven (if that’s the right word) beyond measure daily.
This family experience easily translates into my understanding and awareness of the relationship between my heavenly father and me. He has never done anything to suggest that he does not love me or that obtaining proof of his love is indicated.
Of course, every whim and fancy that I’ve ever yearned for has not been fulfilled. It would be silly to suggest this should bring God’s love into question. My approach to such matters is that divine love is faithful to us even when our perception is blind to what is in our own best interest. This is sometimes called “tough love,” but I don’t like the term very much. In one sense, all love is tough love, but it is really not tough (as if there was a macho point to prove) so much as love faithfully steady to what is in our own best interest—however imperfect we ourselves might perceive that interest to be at the time. I rejoice that the Lord has on occasion stayed my hand in moments of danger and vulnerability.
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