I Want You Back
On October 6th, 1969, Motown released the hit, “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5. It became the band’s first number-one hit in 1970 and today, it’s still a favorite by so many.
The message of, I want you back, speaks to our desire for love and being loved. There’s something about this, that is a universal language because everyone wants love. Every culture, and nationality, is reaching for the same thing, love.
But this is from God because the Bible says that God is love.
“But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
1 John 4:8
What’s amazing is that God’s love is unconditional and nothing can change His position toward us. This is a challenge because on our best day, our love is conditional and a lot of things can change our position with others. Have you been there?
For married couples, this is the basis of almost all the fights that happen and really, in all of our relationships. One person gives love in doing something, and expects something in return, when that doesn’t happen, yeah, arguments ensue.
But with God, His love never changes no matter what we give or don’t give back to Him. Through Jesus, the price was paid for our sin, which was the love of God in action toward us and whoever receives Him, has eternal life.
Think about this. God freely gave us Jesus, with no guarantee, we would respond to Him. It was and will always be a free gift. Furthermore, God set it up, that nothing can separate us from His love.
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”
Romans 8:38
He gave it to us before we gave it to Him. He loved us before we loved Him. He died so we can live. This is LOVE, and we all are reaching for it.
So no matter how far we run from God, He always says, I want you back!
Have you ever cut someone off?
Sometimes this needs to happen and we’re better for it because the relationship is unhealthy.
But, have you ever cut off someone because they annoyed you? Have you cut them off because something about them brought conviction to you? Have you cut them off because your expectations weren’t met? The answer is yes!
But God doesn’t cut us off when we annoy Him. He doesn’t cut us off when we don’t meet His expectations. Conversely, He daily gives us His benefits and shows us love! This is amazing grace. This is amazing love. This is Jesus and he never changes His position toward us.
Today, God is saying, I want you back. Now, this statement is not just for those who are far from Him, this is for ALL of us.
Maybe you’ve drifted from your first love, and He’s saying, I want you back. Maybe you’ve stopped praying and fasting as much as before, and He’s saying, I want you back. Maybe you’ve stopped reading the Bible like you used to, and He’s saying, I want you back. Maybe you’ve stopped being a part of a local church, and He’s saying, I want you back. Maybe you’ve stopped worshiping Him with all you got, and He’s saying, I want you back. Maybe you’re disappointed with what hasn’t happened, and He’s saying, I want you back. Maybe you criticize more than you encourage, and He’s saying, I want you back. Maybe you’re holding on to grudges, and He’s saying, I want you back. Maybe you’re not forgiving others, and He’s saying, I want you back.
The truth is, Jesus wants us! So will we give it ourselves to Him?
Today I encourage you, give God a chance to do a miracle in your life. He wants to use your life to make a difference. He wants to use your life to make an impact and He wants to heal the broken places of our lives, so we reflect His love!
This is the heart of God and He’s saying to us today, I want you back!
God bless you and the best is yet to come,
PD