He loves me

The most life-changing concept I have ever known is as simple as the title of this post. But the question is who? Whose love could be this life-changing? Whose love could make me walk with a new confidence...life in my veins? What love can give joy in darkness and peace in hopeless times?

Truly it is the love of my Heavenly Father that is making this difference in my life. For so long I felt that God must not be very nice. He loved me...but He didn't really care about me or my feelings. I truly believed that He didn't care if I was happy as long as I was holy.

Who wants to love a God like that?

I didn't. Oh - I wanted to serve Him because I knew I should. I wanted to serve Him because I wanted freedom from my past and my sin and my fear. But I didn't understand that I could enjoy my relationship with Him. I did not see that walking with Him did not have to be a miserable daily choice to trust an unkind deity.

What has changed? Without sounding sacrilegious, I believe that my God has changed. I now serve a God of love and hope - His mercies are new every morning - this is the God of Scripture. Oh, it isn't that God never demands justice or punishes sin. It is not that He is very soft and will never allow bad things to happen to me. No, the truth is that He loves me. And that is enough.

Walking with Him is about allowing Him to come into my heart and so fill me with Himself that I am changed into His likeness. Once again, I used to think it was about beating myself into submission...making myself more pleasing to Him. I now am vaguely catching a glimpse that I am most pleasing to Jesus when I am yielding myself (made whole by His love) to Him. It is then that He can fill me and make my life whole and beautiful and fulfilled.

I see that it is no longer about hating myself...tamping down me and becoming someone else. It is no longer about presenting the perfect face to society and gaining their love. God loves me the same...no more and no less...even if I have just stumbled and fallen. I believe He delights when I come back to Him and admit that I cannot make it on my own.

And so, whoever may read this, may I remind you that Jesus loves you. It is not about who you are, how you look, whether you have gained a bit of weight, that last decision you made that didn't turn out quite right, whether you feel like everyone is against you. It is about Him...and you. He loves you. He longs for you to realize that if you have given Him your heart, you are His beloved child.

Will you walk with Him and let Him love you? I think He is longing to surround you with love...because, to be honest, He is love. And once you accept that fact, things will never be the same. In a good way.

"Jesus loves me this I know.
For the Bible tells me so."