I remember being able to discuss the love of God at length, long before I had actually experienced it. You see, I had an intellectual knowledge about His love, but not an experiential knowledge. What I needed most was to experience His love in reality for myself.

Christians can talk volumes about the love of God, without having ever experienced it.

At the time, I could easily say, “God loves you unconditionally, brother. That means He has made a decision to love you. You may not ever experience it with feelings, but He loves you.” Since experiencing His love personally, I have realized the emptiness of that statement.

Imagine if my wife never experienced my love or kindness. Let’s pretend that she never experiences my love because I never communicate face-to-face, touch her, or even spend time with her. What if all she ever receives from me are occasional typed letters from my office, delivered by my secretary, telling her that I love her and care for her dearly? Imagine that one day, she tearfully bursts into my room and throws herself at me in complete desperation, sobbing, “Arthur, I want to experience you! I want to feel this love you say you have for me!”

Imagine me responding coolly and casually, “Well, honey, I have made the decision to love you. Don’t you worry about it! All you need to do is believe it,” and then turning around to functionally ignore her again as I get back to the many pressing tasks of my international business.

Will she ever truly feel loved by me? Of course not! Yet that’s how you and I feel God treats us. We’re told that all we have to do is read the Word and believe that He loves us, but we can never seem to feel or experience it in a personal way. Friend, God’s love can be experienced. He is not too busy for you. Your heavenly Father’s love is there for you to experience today and every day!

Taken from my book, Knowing and Experiencing God.