Consider the incredible love that the Father has shown us in allowing us to be called “children of God”—and that is not just what we are called, but what we are.

1 John 3:1 (J.B. Phillips)

Draw near to our loving Heavenly Father who is the true source of love because He desires for you to receive and experience His love in a greater measure than ever before.

It is amazing that God loves us and accepts us despite our sins and failings, and He demonstrated this by redeeming us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Every barrier that separates us from God was forever removed when Jesus forever reconciled to God through His finished work on the cross. We now have an unbreakable bond with God as His beloved children. When we genuinely abide in God, every sense of unworthiness and hopelessness is replaced with an overwhelming acceptance.

God loves us just as much as He loves His only begotten Son, Jesus.

There is no place for fear in our relationship with God when we know Jesus already took the judgement of our sins. With the cost of our penalty and punishment paid in full, we can approach God with confidence, knowing He will always show us mercy and grace. This confidence empowers us to enjoy intimacy and fellowship with God.

Both intimacy and fellowship are inseparable. Intimacy closes the distance between us and God. Fellowship paves the way for God and us to have a genuine friendship. While God has promised never to abandon or forsake us, it is only through intimacy and fellowship that we come to a personal realisation that this is true. When we are unable to detect God or sense His loving presence, intimacy removes our personal blind spots, and fellowship opens our hearts and minds to know that God is always with us.

Knowing that God is love enables us to see and engage with the world in new ways.

An intimate relationship with God enables us to feel secure, safe and loved. When we are confident of how much God loves us, we are able to extend God’s love to others, despite their flaws, failings, and weaknesses. Jesus is the perfect model for us. During His earthly mission, His relationship and fellowship with God lays the foundation for Jesus to become a friend of sinners. In the same way, nothing says more about our relationship with God than our relationship with those who need to know and experience His love.