However, an important question arises: Does God love us personally? Some may agree that God loves mankind in general, as John 3:16 says. But they feel, in effect, ‘God could never love me as an individual.’ The fact is that Satan the Devil is eager for us to believe that Jehovah neither loves us nor values us. On the other hand, no matter how unlovable or worthless we may think we are, Jehovah assures us that each of his faithful servants is of value to him.
For example, consider Jesus’ words recorded at Matthew 10:29-31. Illustrating the worth of his disciples, Jesus said: “Do not two sparrows sell for a coin of small value? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore have no fear: you are worth more than many sparrows.” Consider what those words meant to Jesus’ first-century listeners.
In Jesus’ day the sparrow was the cheapest of the birds sold as food. For one coin of small value, a buyer got two sparrows. But Jesus later stated, according to Luke 12:6, 7, that if a person spent two coins, he got, not four sparrows, but five. The extra bird was added in as though it had no value at all. Perhaps such birds were worthless in the eyes of men, but how did the Creator view them? Jesus said: “Not one of them [not even the one added in] goes forgotten before God.” Now we may begin to see Jesus’ point. Since Jehovah places such value on a single sparrow, of how much greater worth is a human! As Jesus said, Jehovah knows every detail about us. Why, the very hairs of our head are numbered!
Some might assume that Jesus was exaggerating here. Just think, though, about the resurrection. How intimately Jehovah must know us in order to re-create us! He values us so much that he remembers every detail, including our complex genetic code and all our years of memories and experiences. Numbering our hairs—of which the average human head grows about 100,000—would be a simple feat by comparison. How beautifully Jesus’ words assure us that Jehovah cares for us as individuals!
The Bible reveals something else that assures us of Jehovah’s love. He looks for and values the good in us. Take, for example, good King Jehoshaphat. When the king committed a foolish act, Jehovah’s prophet told him: “For this there is indignation against you from the person of Jehovah.” What a sobering thought! But Jehovah’s message did not end there. It went on: “Nevertheless, there are good things that have been found with you.” (2 Chronicles 19:1-3) So Jehovah’s righteous anger did not blind him to the “good things” about Jehoshaphat. Is it not reassuring to know that our God looks for the good in us even though we are imperfect?
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