Have you ever noticed how the Apostle John described himself in his Gospel account?

He never referred to himself by name - only as the disciple whom Jesus loved. The love of Jesus, so powerful and personal, captured John's heart and shaped every aspect of his life.

He described this reality in his first letter: "So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love, abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 John 4:16).

What if you described yourself in the same way - as the person whom Jesus loves? How would walking in this truth change your life? How would it change how you relate to God and with everyone else you know?

For John, it changed everything. It compelled him to trust Jesus as the bread of life, the light of the world, his good Shepherd, the door to salvation, the way, the truth and the life, the resurrection and the life, and the vine of life. John found in the love of Jesus everything his heart longed for.

This story is not unique to John. God so loved the world. Which means, he loves you. He fully demonstrated his love for you by sending Jesus, so that you might live through him (1 John 4:9).

It is this good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ - his death, burial and resurrection - that connects you to the overwhelming, unimaginable, life-transforming love of Jesus Christ and gives you the confidence to describe yourself as the person whom Jesus loves.

John put it this way - See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him (1 John 3:1).