"Am I Unlovable?"

What Easter Says to Our Deepest Doubts

Can you mess up your relationship with God so badly that He no longer loves you?
Here's what the story of Easter says to the person who fears they’ve gone too far.

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A Real Question from a Real Student

Right before Easter, my husband Roger and I were on the road visiting some of our ministry partners. One youth pastor we used to serve with invited me to speak to his students and do a Q&A. Toward the end, one student asked:

“Can someone mess up their relationship with God so badly that they’re unlovable?”

Unlovable.
That’s not just a theological question. That’s a deeply human one.

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What Does the Bible Say About Being Loved by God?

My answer came from a place I tend to return to often: I started with the nature of God—specifically as the source of life.

“In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:4)

God is not just the giver of breath—He is Life itself.
And this same God—this Being who is Life—willingly entered into death for us.

We often explain God’s work on the cross with phrases like:

• “For our sins.”

• “In our place.”

• “As a substitution.”

All of that is true. But still, I ask: Why would the source of Life die for us?

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The Heart of Easter: God Restores Because He Is Good

The answer I keep circling back to is this:

God restores because it’s in His nature to restore.

Creation wasn’t a one-time event. It’s a rhythm, a reflection of God's character.
He doesn’t throw away what’s broken. He remakes it.

That’s the part of Easter we often overlook.
We talk a lot about human sin and the cost of forgiveness. And yes, it matters.

But we don’t always stop to consider what Easter reveals about the nature of God—a God whose goodness is not just redemptive, but restorative.

He’s not just holy.
He’s holy and His goodness is generative.
He doesn’t just forgive—He resurrects.

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Is God’s Love Unconditional?

When I think of that student’s question—“Am I unlovable?”—I don’t hear immaturity.
I hear awareness. I hear fear. I hear the echo of a question that most people, at some point, ask:

“Is God still willing to love me, even after what I’ve done?”

That’s not just emotion. It’s philosophy. It’s moral realism. It’s theology.

And it points to why we need Easter.

Because the God who is Life didn’t just offer forgiveness for our evil—He entered into death itself to defeat the consequence of our evil.

“But God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Not after we cleaned ourselves up.
Not after we became ‘lovable.’
While we were still sinners.

That means your worst moment, your deepest doubt, your most destructive season—none of it disqualifies you from God’s love.
Our fractured selves didn’t awaken His love—it demonstrated the undeniable depth of it.

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What Easter Says to Those who feel Unlovable

The resurrection doesn’t ignore destruction.
It assumes it—and still declares that love has the final word.

This isn’t moral tolerance.
This is cosmic restoration.

We’re not invited into this because we’re already whole.
We’re invited because we’re not.

So—“Am I unlovable?”
The cross says: Even now, you are worth dying for.
The empty tomb says: Even now, you are not beyond resurrection.

“Behold, I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)

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The Easter Promise

Even when we’ve lost all sense of our own belovedness, the cross declares a love that never wavered and a goodness that still reaches for us.

And thank God for that.