You are loved.
Three words. So easy to skim over them, “mmhmm, that’s nice”.
But imagine if they were true.
Imagine!
A lifetime time ago I was trying to figure out who I was. Who I wanted to be. I wrote down that my purpose in life would be to know God’s love for me, and to love God in return.
That’s it. Decades later, that has not changed. This is what I pursue.
I decided that if there was only one sermon I could preach, only one message I could share, it would be of God’s unconditional, unending love.
For you.
And you, over there.
And the person in the next room, humming that weird tune.
Also that person you really dislike. They are loved too.
(Sorry. I don’t make the rules.)
I have stated more than once that if we really grasped - if we actually comprehended - “how high, and how long, and how high, and how deep”1 the love of God is for us, everything else would fall into place.
Because imagine if it were true.
Imagining, for me, is exercising faith. I think that’s maybe one reason that we have imagination.
Try it:
Imagine if there was nothing you could do to cause God to love you more.
… or less.
Nothing.
What would that change?
I think it would dispel fear, for there is security in love like that.
And selfishness. I don’t need to make things about me. I can be generous in every way, because the love doesn’t run dry.
I could rest. Because I’m not trying to prove anything, and even if I bomb, I’m still loved, so it’s ok to have a nap.
Imagine.
I smile, as I say it - “imagine”. And I wait for you to imagine what it might be like, just for one second, to trust, to relax into, to live from a place of God’s unending love for you.
And for one second, you do. And then the grid of expectations and insecurities and fears slams back into place - don’t worry, it happens to all of us - but for that one second, you had it. You imagined it.
—
Listen. I know there is a lot in this world that is a mess. Oh, do I know. My head spins some days. I ache, longing for justice, for mercy, for peace.
But I wanted you to know that, with all of my heart, I believe that you are deeply, profoundly, personally loved by the God of the universe.
Let’s start there today.
This is from the Bible. It’s part of a prayer (Ephesians 3:18-19 if you must know). “May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” I mean, is that not the most beautiful prayer?! I pray it for myself sometimes. And I pray it for those around me too.