For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3.16
This is one of those greatly treasured verses, and it's easy to see why. It reveals something of the breadth of God's love. He loves the world. There isn't one person alive today that God doesn't love. In fact, there hasn't ever been a person who has walked this earth whom God hasn't loved. He loves the world. Understand what that means. He wants every single person to thrive, to flourish, to reach the fullest potential of what it means to be human, to be what He created us to be. That's His love.
When you pursue this a little further you will see more of what it means that God loves the world. So, for example, it would be easy to love perfect people. And loving imperfect people who at least loved you back - or just tried to - would make sense, too. But God's love goes further. The world includes people who hate God, some quite vigorously. But that doesn't change what that verse says. God loves people who hate Him. He wants even these folk to thrive, to flourish, to reach the fullest potential of what it means to be human. That's His love.
There's lots more to God's love. So, over the next weeks I will be writing about it. And my goal is not complicated. I want you to understand better and thus to enjoy better the love of God.