" I love you too Lord!"

I LOVE YOU TOO!
At that time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming out of the water, he saw heaven open and the Spirit descending on Him like
a dove, and a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased."
God spoke directly to Jesus "You are my Son, whom I love."
There are other references in the Bible of God proclaiming His love to His Son.
My question is: How do we know that God loves us?
I heard a pastor say the other day that we should say to God "I love you too!".
I love you (God) too!
We can easily say "I love you Lord", but how easy do the words came from us "I love you too".
Maybe as children we didn’t hear the words "I love you" spoken to us. Perhaps they were spoken, but the evidence wasn’t there to concrete them in to our beings. Maybe we had to live in fearful expectation of them not being said to us. In some homes, disorder is the menu of the
day, and a performance oriented child can perform in many ways to divert ‘bad happenings’. The word and definition of love gets mixed up, and ‘approved’ comes forth. We begin to work on being stamped ‘approved’ in all our relationships.
Every morning I pray to my Father in Heaven. As long as I can remember, I have prayed to God. Defining who God was and is has been a life long process for me. As a child, he was huge! He was up there- some where- way far off. He was someone to be feared. I knew it was the right thing to pray to Him, and I always wanted to do the right thing. I do believe that I felt his love but could not describe Him in any way except- Huge!
I was given a small ceramic piece- an opened Bible with the inscribed words, ‘God is love’. My mom gave that to me. She taught us that God is love! How did I interpret that?
As a teen I knew that I loved God. I knew He was love. I knew He loved me, but again I thought I had to be the perfect child- the pleasing one, to obtain His love. As I grew older and fell a time or two from my self obtained ‘lofty’ position, a new image of God appeared. In my despair and feelings of low self worth, God's image changed again. As I prayed and cried out, I found a merciful God... a forgiving God..a loving God who accepted me for who He had created me to be. God came to me in the most personal of ways. He longed to reveal Himself to me, and I didn’t fight that at all. I needed His forgiveness. I needed His love. I longed for it, for with His love came order-peace-joy- wholeness of mind and body. His love brought healing needed in the worse way...His love brought life to me - the life He always desired for me to have. I began to know Him as He had always desired me to.
Confession is good for the soul It is needed, Confession with godly sorrow is what moves us out of sin -out of darkness and despair, into light and divine love. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." In order for us to have that vital relationship with our Lord, honesty is all important. God knows us inside and out .
He longs for us to embrace Him with truth. We are His children. He longs to embrace us with forgiveness and wholeness.
If you look up the word ‘love’ in your Bible concordance, you would be astounded at the number of references. Perhaps not. Hopefully, like myself, you have been touched by His divine love and now can say with confidence- "I love you too!".
Father in Heaven, thank you. Thank you! You gave me loving parents. I never doubted their love for me. I think I doubted yours. They say actions speak louder than words, and as a confused child with so much chaos stemming from an alcoholic parent, I often wondered, "Where are you God?" You answered so many of my pleas- my sobbing prayers. You brought both my parents out of darkness- and in to your kingdom. Healing came forth from your hand.
I’m so thankful you brought me in to fellowship with you. You moved me from my sad position of constantly trying to make things right, to understanding that in my dying to self, you would make things right in me and others. It never was intended to be my job- It was yours all along.
Oh, I can still slip up Lord- how you know that! Thank you that you continue to remind me that the work is yours. I don’t have to be the perfect kid. I don’t have to be the perfect parent- you are. Obedience always comes with our love for you. It’s just a process when we finally come to understand your divine nature- your love and acceptance of us your children. I’ve learned that fearing you Lord means revering you. Being in awe of you mighty God.. of your Power- yes, but, also of your unfailing love for us.
Thank you! " I love you too! I do!"
In Jesus’s name. Amen.
Scripture references: Psalms 139 Psalms 25