God put you on Earth to love you. You are a child of God, no matter who you are or where you are from, you are valuable.

According to the New Testament, in particular the Gospel and Letters of John, love is what matters most in our relationship with God and one another. When God created the universe, the Earth and all life, he had already you and me in mind.

Created to be loved

From the very beginning of creation God had a plan and knew all that would happen. Isn’t that a great feeling? You may ask how can that be?

God put laws and commandments in place, the same laws scientists find out about more and more, like the law of gravity, the laws of motion, the way the atom works, or how chemical processes work. Some of these laws work in our minds and souls, like the so called mirror neurons that help to develop empathy.

Today we can predict the weather of tomorrow with great accuracy. The more a meteorologist knows about air masses and temperatures the more precisely she can predict the weather of tomorrow.

Of course, computers and AI support that prognosis. If we could ever know all the relevant data, we would be able to make even more precise predictions. However, our database is still limited, and thus there might be small mistakes in the weather forecast or other predictions, especially when we want to predict a whole week.

However, the principal is true, once you know all data, and once you have the computing capacity to work with all that data, you could predict what will happen.

That is how God could create the world over 13 billion years ago and already know at the beginning, that Earth would form a couple of billion years later in a solar system, water would be there, life would come from the water and in the year 2025 you would sit on a Saturday morning and read this article.

God has His own AI

God created the world using what we nowadays call AI, artificial intelligence, except, it is GI: godly intelligence. This GI can predict everything, and God limited himself to let the laws He put in place run without Him interfering constantly.

After all, there are so many variables in place that many systems God created repair themselves over time. The Moon “catches” most of the asteroids that could harm Earth. Our magnetic field shields us from harmful radiation from the sun and at the same time may produce most beautiful polar lights. Nature counteracts lots of our thoughtless actions that may endanger its balance. Scientists find ways to help nature, and God knew that they would do.

God thought of you from the beginning

So yes, God created all the universe with you and me in mind. God knew when and where we would live, God predicted the genetic make-up of you and me, knowing all about the biology of reproduction and human behaviour. He wanted you to be around right now, so that His love would have an object. God is love.

In 1. John 4:7 (NRSV), John writes: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” My family and I really like the Beatles, and their song All You Need is Love says it all.

Love is a great commandment

This is one of God’s good laws as well. Love is contagious. Just as you are worthy of God’s love and the love of others, you can pass this love on. Being worthy of God’s love means that nothing can separate us from the love of God (compare Romans 8:31-39). This love does not depend on being perfect or sinless. We all make mistakes at times and lack something.

Still, God even gave us a way to repair that. In John 3:16-17 (NIV) we read: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

God came into this world in the flesh in Jesus Christ who carried our sin for us. There is nothing between God and us. Wow – awesome!

Bermuda heroes of love

Reading last week about Bermuda Heroes Day I thought it is great that Bermuda looks for civil heroes to honour. There are so many “heroes of love” among us, more than you can officially list. There are parents and other relatives who give their genuine love to their children. People volunteer, help and support each other when they see others in need. The king recognised a couple of Bermudians and Bermuda-linked personalities as well. Among them was Juliana Snelling who organises free giveaways both for pupils and for adults.

She uses her time, money and talents to organise all that together with many volunteers. I am so glad she got recognised by the King for that.

There is a young group of Bermudians who do something similar: Bermuda is Love. Among the founders and leaders of that group are grandchildren of the late Reverend Erskine Simmons, a great man of God and leader of the people, and I am glad I met him and befriended him over the years.

Most volunteers will tell you, it’s not about the official recognition. Think of all the volunteers in Bermuda, from Meals on Wheels to the Pink Ladies, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the great work of the Salvation Army, and so, so many others. Thank you all for your selfless service.

Love actually

There are so many who do what they can do and become to others “heroes” of every day life. People who give of their time, talent and treasure to make Bermuda and this world a better place. Some are organised in churches and charities, others find ways to promote love individually. Some are recognised and others prefer to stay anonymous.

There is so much love among us and all around the world, we are connected to friends and family in love, the most powerful force on earth. It reminds me of my favourite Christmas movie: Love Actually. A movie that underlines that people want to love each other.

We might at times not know how and mess up. Thus, we need to practise love. A first step could be to actually spend time with others. Every day has 1440 minutes. Make an inventory and try to think how many of those minutes you can spend with family and friends, not online, but being together, showing interest, complimenting and supporting each other.

Let’s have meals together in our houses again. Let’s sit down for a cup of coffee or tea, in a real cup, together with others, and not just on the run.

Let’s love more

In fact, I truly think: we are created to be loved and to pass this love on. When Jesus was asked about the highest commandment his response was just that (Matthew 37-40; NIV): “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

And in John 3:34-35 (NIV), Jesus says: “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

So we can choose to love others and to grow in a spirit of peace and goodwill to all, even tolerating differences in peace with ourselves and others as best we can. So let us live to love and love to live.

• Karsten Decker is a German theologian with a double degree equivalent to an MTheol and MDiv. He studied in Marburg (Germany), Knoxville (USA), and Toronto (Canada) and comes from a united church of Lutheran and Reformed Churches. He was the pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Bermuda from 2010 to 2017, and after returning from Germany is now the temporary pulpit supply at Centenary United Methodist Church in Smith’s