I freely admit that I’m a former (some say recovering) English major. As a former English major there are certain phrases or uses of language that just hurt my ears. Like, well, the over use of “like.” Like incorrectly ordered objects in a sentence, like “me and Jim Young…” and most recently: “Really” as a questioning statement of disbelief and disagreement. “Like, Jim wants this article turned in by tomorrow. Really?”
But every once in a while the answer really is “really.”
The focus of my church-based teaching, reading and writing over the last several decades has been sharing God’s love with one another. My presentations about sharing God’s love are sort of “out there,” so that people I talk to can acknowledge and begin to think about God’s love. Honestly, I don’t fully comprehend everything about God’s love but I think the message is important enough struggle with ways to bring others along in the journey.
There are some commonalities among the people I am reaching out to each week. We understand rules. We understand reason and logic. We understand the need for order. We understand justice. We even understand that the scriptures hold profound eternal truths. We also understand that if people knew our real thoughts and motives they won’t want to stand too close to us.
Sometimes I think I get it, that the God who parted the Red Sea and worked numerous miracles in to reach Jonah’s heart really cares about you and me personally. Other times I just cannot apply it to my daily life without consciously invoking faith and prayer.
Probably the biggest reason that the people I speak with have trouble with the concept of God’s love is they simply don’t believe it could be true about them. It could be true about others but not them. They will tell me that John 3:16 is a wonderful verse and it applies to everyone else but just not them. They are simply not worthy of God’s love in their own eyes. Many believe they are imposters sitting in the pews with their friends and families. They have a feeling that someday God will realize just how rotten they are and give up on them. Really?
So here is what I know for sure. Even though I may not always feel God’s love it is there nonetheless. Every translation of Colossians 3:12 reads that you and I are “dearly loved” not just “loved” but “dearly loved” and “chosen.” Interestingly, He said that before I was born, and said that knowing that I would sometimes struggle to fully understand and embrace the love offered by the unchanging God. So, like, it must be true.
Really? Yes, really.
In Christ,
Phil
From the “What Have I Been Listening To Lately?” department: Most musicians probably knew about this composer but I’ve just been introduced to “When David Heard” by Eric Whitacre. A friend who is walking through his own deep grief shared the recording, based on a text describing a devastating time in King David’s life. I watch/listen to the YouTube version by the BYU singers which has the musical score so I can try to sing along. The key to singing along is to turn up my computer sound loud enough to annoy any neighbors, then no one has to listen to you try to sing this complicated piece of music. I said I was a former English major, I’m still in denial about my singing ability. Really.