Do you view yourself as a wonderful person?  If you are inclined to say yes, what standard are you using to come to that conclusion?  Being loved, is one of our most basic needs.  If we are loved, we often conclude we must be wonderful.  Pets, especially dogs, love us unconditionally.  Unconditional love transcends the matter of whether we are a good person or not.  These special creatures are models of God’s love.

Thankfully, God’s love is not predicated on whether or not we are a good person.

Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.  But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation…So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Romans 5:7-9, 11 NLT