"Oh How God Loves Us"

Feeling very worshipful on this gorgeous fall morning, I was in the kitchen preparing breakfast and loudly singing my new favorite worship song, "How He Loves Us" by David Crowder. Michaela was singing along with me when all of a sudden she stopped and looked at me and said, "Mommy, who loves us?" To which I of course responded "God" She then resumed her singing at the top of her lungs "OH, HOW GOD LOVES US, OH...HOW GOD LOVES US!" Even in my own worship and with my heart attuned to the Lord, it brought fresh perspective to my anthem. I think that when we replace the name of the Lord with a pronoun that sometimes removes the significance of the message, not that the message is diluted but sometimes the application is.

GOD LOVES ME!

Sometimes I have to take a moment to stop and fully acknowledge that. It was especially profound this morning that Michaela would make that lyrical swap since I had just read the following devotion:

Who Is Your Looking-Glass Self?

Not long ago I received in the mail a postcard from a friend that had on it only six words, "I am the one Jesus loves." I smiled when I saw the return address, for my strange friend excels at these pious slogans. When I called him, though, he told me the slogan came from the author and speaker Brennan Manning. At a seminar, Manning referred to Jesus' closest friend on earth, the disciple named John, identified in the Gospels as "the one Jesus loved." Manning said, "If John were to be asked, 'What is your primary identity in life?' he would not reply, 'I am a disciple, an apostle, an evangelist, an author of one of the four Gospels,' but rather, 'I am the one Jesus loves.'" What would it mean, I ask myself, if I too came to the place where I saw my primary identity in life as "the one Jesus loves"? How differently would I view myself at the end of the day? Sociologists have a theory of the looking-glass self: you become what the most important person in your life (wife, father, boss, etc.) thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees? Brennan Manning tells the story of an Irish priest who, on a walking tour of a rural parish, sees an old peasant kneeling by the side of the road, praying. Impressed, the priest says to the man, "You must be very close to God." The peasant looks up from his prayers, thinks a moment, and then smiles, "Yes, he's very fond of me." -Philip Yancey, Grace (Visual Edition) Q: "How would my life change," Yancey says, "if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?"

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The fact is, God loves me. Period. He loves me, not some idea of me at my full potential. He doesn't love me for what I might become, for what I will do for His kingdom, for the amount I tithe, or the number of hours I spend praying, reading, worshiping, or scrubbing the toilets at church. He loves me simply because I am His creation. Some of the other lyrics to that song are, "He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane and I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy" and I think about the visual and physical implications of those lyrics. The force of a hurricane is unstoppable. There is nothing in the path of a hurricane that can avoid being touched by the force of it's wind and rain. God's love is that overwhelming force, I am overtaken by His love, overwhelmed by the "weight of his wind and mercy."

The last couple of weeks I've really be pondering the volume of Christ's love for me and my family. Alex hurt his back at work about 2 weeks ago now. He's been in and out of the chiropractor's, worker's comp doctor and physical therapists' offices while he's been on light duty at work. While the situation seems tragic, and in many ways it is, it's been a bit of a blessing in disguise. For the last 3 weeks, Alex has been working in the office, and has been able to see a lot of the "behind the scenes" elements of the job and develop an even greater respect and appreciation for doing quality work. He also has proven his professionalism and dependability with the supervisors and may potentially be a candidate for a promotion at some point in the future. In addition, he's been able to have the weekends off, which means that he's been able to spend some really important time with me and the girls, including our camping getaway this past weekend.

I think if you asked Alex or I individually we'd both agree that we think we are a pretty romantic couple and generally speaking are both always looking for ways to display our love to each other, but it becomes just how apparent how much romance and closeness has been lost, when you have the opportunity to be alone together for 3 days and reestablish that closeness and romance. Getting away from all of the busyness and chaos of our schedules, having a break from the responsibilities of the children and housekeeping, of working and home maintenance and simply marveling at the wonder of God's creation was just what we needed. When I think about the last time we went camping (5 years ago), acknowledging and praising God for His creation was the last thing on either of our minds, as we reached for another beer and worked on our tan as we floated down the river. Having a REAL relationship with Christ and having that as the center of our relationship made this camping trip so much more rewarding for us! We had the opportunity to take a bike ride on the most beautiful wooded path, I've ever experienced. The 2 of us being alone, winding through the woods and marveling at the fall colors popping up around us, taking in the aromas after the morning rain and celebrating this amazing marriage that God has given us, was rejuvenating. Probably the most profound expression and celebration of God's creation and His love for us was our hike.

We took a 4 mile, or so, hike through some of the most amazing wooded paths we've ever walked. Feeling the healthy exertion as we climbed higher, gave us praise for healthy bodies, reflecting on even the minute details of plant life, mushroom hunting, marveling at the grandiosity of the trees that towered over us, and then reaching the pinnacle...McAdams Peak. This is one of the highest points in the hills and an amazing look out point. From here we could see the winding of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, the vastness of the prairie and wetland surrounding the river valley, and even an eagle soaring over the river, all in the warm late afternoon sun. As we stood there holding each other, we praised God for His creation, brought to fruition by the utterance of a word and that He would love us so much to give this to us!

Oh, how God loves us! I am the one Jesus loves!