“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)
A while back, a man came into my office and said, “I’m a Christian, but I don’t feel like I’m going anywhere in my spiritual growth. I’m kind of stuck in neutral.”
I said, “What do you think the problem is?”
He said, “I think my problem is I just don't love God enough.”
I said, “That's not your problem. Your problem isn’t that you don't love God enough. Your problem is that you don't understand how much he loves you.”
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 you don't understand just how much he really loves you.
In fact, God loved you 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 your life’s purpose and calling, you have to begin with God’s nature. God is love. Love is the essence of his nature.
And the focus of his love is you. You were created to be loved by God.
If you grasp that profound truth and let it sink into your soul, you 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 you can know is that God created you to love you. The most important thing you can do is to know and love him back. Loving God back is your number one purpose in life. Ants and snails do not love, but you were made in God’s image, so you 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. God’s priority for your life is clear. It’s important to serve, obey, and trust him. But your first purpose is to love him.
Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer known for founding Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He has written several best-selling books, including The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 35 million copies in 200 languages. Time magazine named Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since stepping down from the lead pastor role at Saddleback in 2022, Warren has continued to inspire people through his Daily Hope Devotional and podcast Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. His first book in a decade, Created to Dream, was released in April 2023.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
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Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California with campuses in major cities around the world. He is the author of The Purpose Driven Life, which has been translated into 90 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. You can listen to his daily radio broadcast at PastorRick.com.
