“How will I know if he really loves me?” sang Whitney Houston in an old classic.  It’s an important question.  We live in a world filled with tangible realities but it seems that the most important questions of all remain in the realm of the immeasurable.  Unquantifiable.  Unknowable.  You say you love me but how do I know?

God says He loves us and that He has proven His love once and for all.  Apparently, He wants us to know it.

John 3:16 is often the first Bible verse anyone ever memorizes.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Or this one.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:8

Or how about this? 

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  1 John 4:10

There are some things that we need to KNOW.  We need to know that we are LOVED.  Christianity teaches us that we are.  Christianity is not a religion based on feelings, experiences, or intuition.  It is a historical reality that deals in facts.  We may be more comfortable when we relegate our beliefs to remain in the realm of opinion, but we are not meant to merely believe.  We are meant to know.

Too many people today think that religious “truth” has to remain in the belief arena and not move into the realm of knowledge.  But not only can we know that we know that we know the Bible is true and Jesus is real, we are supposed to.  Not only can we know God and know Him intimately, we are meant to.

And know Him here.  Now.  On this side of eternity.

Now this is eternal life: that THEY KNOW YOU, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.  John 17:3

For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.  John 17:8

Don't worry.  Being grounded, certain, and sure of our beliefs does not make us hard, dogmatic, rude, or unkind.  In love, we are to be curious of others.  Gentle.  Inviting.  Warm.  Look at Jesus!  He was certain.  He KNEW.  And He was welcoming, alluring, immeasurably kind, and sure.

We can be sure.  Unshakable.  We can know.  We can know God and the Son whom He sent.  We can be certain of our eternal destiny, understand the world we live in, recognize the spiritual forces at play, and rise to our role in the Larger Story unfolding all around us.  We need to be teachable, yes.  Having a teachable spirit is a great good.  So press in.  Ask.  Seek.  Knock.  Become a student of the Word.  Read quality books and participate in Bible studies that open the Scripture to you.  Follow leaders who are following Jesus.

You are loved.  You are meant to know it.  You can.