In the nearly 200 different world languages, each one of them finds a way to say, "I love you!"

  • ARABIC — أنا أحبك!
  • CHINESE — 我爱你
  • FRENCH — Je t'aime!
  • GERMAN — Ich liebe dich!
  • Greek — Σ 'αγαπώ!
  • HEBREW — אני אוהב אותך!
  • Japanese — 私はあなたを愛して!
  • Spanish — ¡Te quiero!

No matter the way "I love you" is written or spoken in another language, the meaning is the same: "I care. I value you. I appreciate you. I desire you."

We can express our "I love you!" with a kiss or a hug. We can demonstrate our "I love you!" by holding hands, by sending flowers, or by being gentle.

"I love you" is said at the end of phone conversations, written in cards or letters, before someone departs, when we wake up or getting ready to go to sleep.

There are many different types of love:

  • Puppy love is a temporary crush we have for someone.
  • Romantic love demonstrates passion, attraction, and caring for your partner.
  • Unconditional love says. "I love you" no matter what. No strings attached.
  • Brotherly love demonstrates our love for our community and neighbors because they are like a family.
  • Tough love says to someone doing wrong: "I am taking this action only because it will help you and because 'I love you.'"

Of all the types of love, God's love is the most amazing and sustaining. No matter what we do, say, or think, God loves us. No matter how we treat one another or even Him, He still loves us. God loves us for who we are. He created us.

It is true that God always wants all of us to put our BEST foot forward as we seek to reflect His glory and His grace. God wants us to study Scripture, tell the truth, be godly, act right, be honest, and love people unconditionally. Yet, when we are not at our BEST, He is and will always be at his best!

God says, "I love you!" by redeeming us. Redeeming means freeing someone from a burden. So often, our burden is sin! So, God took extreme measures to redeem us by giving us His son Jesus:

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son... (John 3:16).

God says, "I love you!"
King David said it this way:

God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he's rich in love. He doesn't endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs (Psalm 103:8-10 TM).

The beloved disciple, John, reminded us:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness [i.e., REDEEM us!] (1 John 1:9 NIV).

While God is in the redeeming business, he is also in the business of removing our sins from His memory bank, too:

I — yes, I alone — will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again (Isaiah 43:25 NIV).

God also says, "I love you!" by the sunsets and sunrises, by the crashing waves of the ocean, by the snow-capped mountains, by the blooming of the flowers, and the budding of the trees.

God says, "I love you!" in every language and in every moment of life!

Most of all, God has said "I love you!" in the gift of His Son, Jesus, through whom He redeemed us and bought us back as His own!