God Created Me to Love Me

“Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.” Ephesians 1:4 (MSG)

Often my problem isn’t that I don't love God enough. My problem is that I don't understand how much he loves me.”

Love is always a response to love. The Bible says, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV). When you say, “I don't love God,” it's because I don't understand just how much he really loves me.

In fact, God loved me even before he created the earth. The Bible says it like this in the Message paraphrase: “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love” (Ephesians 1:4).

To understand my life’s purpose and calling, I have to begin with God’s nature. God is love. Love is the essence of his nature.

And the focus of his love is me. I was created to be loved by God.

If I grasp that profound truth and let it sink into my soul, I will find great strength, confidence, and peace. God created the entire universe in a specific way to support the existence of human beings so that he could create you and love you.

The most important thing I can know is that God created me to love me. The most important thing I can do is to know and love him back. Loving God back is my number one purpose in life. Ants and snails do not love, but I was made in God’s image, so I can love.

Most people go their entire lives missing their purpose. They know all kinds of things—stock quotes, sports scores, the latest technology—but they don’t know God. They miss out on discovering the depth of God’s love and all the blessings he has in store for them.

But that doesn’t have to be true for you and I. God’s priority for my life is clear. It’s important to serve, obey, and trust him. But my first purpose is to love him.

In summary:

God’s love for me did not begin with my effort or understanding—it began before creation itself, when God chose me as the focus of His love and created me to be made whole by it (Ephesians 1:4). My struggle to love God is often not a lack of devotion but a lack of understanding how deeply He loves me, because love is always a response to being loved first (1 John 4:19). Since God’s very nature is love, and I was created in His image, my primary purpose is not simply to serve, obey, or achieve, but to know His love and love Him in return. When I grasp this truth—that I was created to be loved by God—it brings clarity to my purpose and fills my life with strength, confidence, and peace, keeping me from missing the most important thing I was made for.

Bottom Line:

I was created to be loved by God—and my primary purpose is to love Him in response.

Next steps:

Slow down and intentionally receive what’s already true—that I am deeply loved—and then act from that place, not for it. Don’t rush to do more. Let love anchor me—then move forward intentionally.