For God so loved the world… John 3:16 (NKJV)
When babies are born, they do nothing to earn their families’ love.
They keep their parents up at night, mess their pants, spit up and cry. They don’t contribute to the household income, cook, clean or even say thank-you.
Babies don’t earn one ounce of love, and yet parents love them so much they would die for them. Parents front load love to their baby, meaning they give love freely before it’s ever earned. They pour their lives into that baby. They help them to learn and grow. When they mess up later in life, parents are often the first to be there for them, loving them through it all.
This is also what your Father God is like. God freely gave you His love before you could ever earn it.
I’m not saying that God doesn’t care what sort of trouble you get yourself into after you give your life to Jesus. He cares very much and wants to lead and guide you to make good decisions. But just as a good parent loves their children regardless of their mess ups, God loves you no matter what.
When parents teach a child to follow the country’s laws, they do it to protect them, not because following laws earns that child the right to be loved. God is the same. He gives us principles and guidelines in His Word to protect us, not so we earn His love by following them.
As your loving Father, God is raising you to be the best you can be not so that He can love you, but BECAUSE He loves you.