I have always been filled with the fires of the love of a God not old, and now to this has been joined the passion of the love of a young man. That love, dear earth, drives Me to your salvation. ~ Gene Edwards, The Divine Romance But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. ~ G_d, through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 43 You have captivated My heart, My sister, My bride; you have captivated My heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How beautiful is your love, My sister, My bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice! Your lips drip nectar, My bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. ~ from Song of Songs 4 Oh beloved, it is true. And yet, we live like it isn’t. We are Loved by G_d. He has moved heaven and earth to make the way home. And even in the face of the evidence, still we live like miserly paupers. There is only one failure here, and it is not G_d’s. We choose not to believe. And may this fool of a writer be so bold as to say that some of us who call ourselves Christians – are not? We are not, because we will not believe.
For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son.
That whosoever believes in Him,
shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
~ John 3:16
We somehow hold onto the illusion that we control our destiny by controlling our behavior.
We believe we have to do something to become worthy of His Love.
We think that we can dress ourselves up in such a way that He will Love us more.
We (some of us) feel we are worthy and deserving of His Love on our own merits.
OR
We think there is no way we could ever be made Lovable.
We live in the dread that we are too far gone to be Loved.
We are somehow convinced that His Love is not big enough for the job.
We have never really been loved, so we have no idea what it feels like.
And in doing all the above, we miss the point of what Love really is altogether. For Love is Him. And He is Infinite both in scope and goodness.
He made us
He redeemed us
He called us
He owns us
He is with us
He protects us
He paid dearly for us
He sees us as utterly precious
He honors us
He Loves us
He has given peoples and nations in trade for us
His heart is captivated by us.
He Loves the glance of our gaze
He Loves the curve of our neck and its jewels
He Loves our love for Him
He Loves our prayers to Him
He Loves when we clothe ourselves in His righteousness
And still we doubt? Why? Oh beloved! Why!
Tonight is the night beloved. Just believe.
As for that which is beyond your strength, be absolutely certain that our Lord loves you, devotedly and individually, loves you just as you are…. Accustom yourself to the wonderful thought that God loves you with a tenderness, a generosity, and an intimacy that surpasses all your dreams. Give yourself up with joy to a loving confidence in God and have courage to believe firmly that God’s action toward you is a masterpiece of partiality and love. Rest tranquilly in this abiding conviction.
