Birds have begun to fly south, looking for a place to nest and settle in for the winter months. They each have a specific need, and yet they have been given a place of rest. The birds are God’s creation and He has provided for them; do you know that you are much more important to Him?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 6:26

God is love, and all that He does is based on His love for us. In several stories of the Bible, He shows just how much He cares for us, and wants to encourage us as we love others.

Luke 7:36-50 is one such story that illustrates how special every single one of us is to Him. While Jesus was visiting Simon, a woman came to Him and washed His feet with perfume and wiped them clean with her hair. Simon judged the woman harshly because of her past, but Jesus responded with love and replied,

“Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss of greeting, but she has been kissing my feet since I came in. You did not put oil on my head, but she poured perfume on my feet. I tell you that her many sins are forgiven, so she showed great love. But the person who is forgiven only a little will love only a little.”

Despite the woman’s sins, Jesus showed her love and forgiveness, so that she may love greatly. Jesus saw her past but chose to wipe it clean by His mercy. This is great love.

God knows us inside and out. He knows the hairs on our head and when we sleep and wake-up. As His children, we are continually on His mind. He guides us and protects us, and in times of trouble provides us with comfort and peace. Through Him, we can show great love to others, as He has shown great love to us. We can all rest in the knowledge that He will always be there, waiting for His children to come to Him.

Let us praise Him, and embrace just how much He love us!