II Thessalonians 2:16 “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,”
There is no thought more pleasing than to meditate upon God’s love toward us, an underserving people. Personally, I often wonder, ‘how could such a righteous and holy God love someone like me’; “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing” (Romans 7:18) and “I know” that I am “an unclean thing, and all” my “righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). I also know that in our day, many will think that those who see themselves in such an unworthy state is somehow mentally ill; for, they just don’t have any self-esteem. The truth is, I have plenty of ‘esteem’, but it is in the Lord our God, not in me. It is a blessed thing to know that, in spite of our unworthiness, our God loves us with a “great love” (Ephesians 2:4) from which we can never be separated (Romans 8:35-39). But, the text says, “hath loved us” (past tense), meaning that He “hath” demonstrated His “great love” for us in some monumental way. And, He did! He “gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16) and “this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” (I John 4:9)! Oh, what a blessing it is to know that we are so greatly “loved” by our Almighty God!