Why does God love us? Is it because we are made in His image? Is it because His son loves us and gave his life for us? Are there more reasons? One reason draws us closer to Him throughout our lives: of all the living things in all creation, human beings are the ones who engage in the battle between good and evil both in the world and within themselves. The struggle in which we engage, engages Him, and He shares His Spirit with us to achieve our victory.

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:55) Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian faith, had been chosen by the Apostles to serve and minister to the early church. Because Stephen’s sermon was offensive to the members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, they could not endure his message and stoned him to death. Stephen received a vision of Jesus standing next to God Himself, who welcomed him to heaven as Stephen died. Stephen was an early believer in Jesus as the Christ, and never wavered, even when threatened by death.

The battle that Christians fight is an internal one as well . The battle to remain faithful, to renew our commitment to Christ, to forgive and to remain steadfast, is shared with us by the Holly Spirit; and our bond deepens. God loves this. It is a life-long experience and a journey that God loves to share. Because Jesus gave his human, physical life as well as his spiritual life to God we have favor with God. He has placed a path at our feet which, if followed, leads to more of Him in our lives.

Stephen found the path early, as did the disciples of Jesus. Paul found the path on the road to Damascus . Unknown numbers of people find the path in a local church, or in their own families, but each one must struggle to “keep the faith” in the face of a world of confusion and denial. “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord. . . will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” Why does God love us? Love is the very character of God. “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

God loves us because of who He is.

Love in Him,

Prue