Have you ever wondered if God really likes you? Because you're a John 3:16-believing Christian you know that God loves you, but does he like you? We all have people in our lives that we "love" but that we struggle to like. You know the sort I'm talking about. Maybe it's that relative who always has horrendous breath and insists on carrying on a conversation six inches from your face. Maybe it's that person in the church who feels compelled to offer "constructive criticism" on everything you do. Maybe it's a young punk in the church like me who likes to listen to their music at ear-bleeding decibel levels. All of us have people that we love as Christians, yet struggle to like.

At times we often wonder if God feels the same way about us. Of course we know he loves us, because, after all, God is love. But does he really like us? Does he enjoy it when we come to him in prayer? Is he really glad that he saved us? Or does he just put up with us?

Zephaniah 3:17 speaks very clearly to this. It says, "The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." Do you realize that God is singing over you? He so delights in you, so loves, so "likes" you, that he's singing a song over you. God is singing a loud, joyful, cheerful, happy song over you. God doesn't just tolerate you, he REJOICES over you! He's glad that he saved you. The moment you came to Christ, all of heaven burst into celebration.

God loves you, and he likes you. Why does God love you? Because he sees you clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. When God looks at you, he doesn't see your sinful wickedness, he sees Jesus' righteousness. And when he sees you wrapped in these robes of righteousness, it causes him to sing.

As you go about your day, remember that there's a soundtrack to your life. God is loudly singing over you because he loves you - and he also likes you.