Love

The timing of this post, and you reading it, is no accident...

It's been on my heart for years, and I have even put pen-to-paper a few times on the subject. I have had a yearning to speak about it again for the last few days. We do not have internet at our house yet, but the stars aligned today and I was able to sneak away and leach internet off of Shawna's parents.

Today is February 13th. This day so many years ago I asked my wife to marry me just before a "sweethearts" dinner. This is also the date of our third daughters birth. But this isn't the date so many of you think of when you hear the word love. That's tomorrow.

Many of you hate Valentine's day. Many of you live for it. And many of you have such high expectations for this one lonely day of the year that you will be depressed by tomorrow evening.

Maybe I can help.

God loves you.

There, I've said it. Let it wash over you. Stop rolling your eyes... It's true. God loves you.

His love for you never changes. He won't give you coal at the end of the year. He won't make you sleep on the couch because you snore. He won't make you ride in the back seat because you haven't showered in days either.

I can list a thousand reasons that our fellow humans use to determine whether or not they love us. But I can't find a single one that would cause God to say He will deny me His love.

Whether you feel worthy of love or not, it's there for you.
Are you Gay? God loves you...
Are you straight? God loves you...
Are you poor? God loves you...
Are you rich? God loves you...
Are you a criminal? God loves you...
Are you a terrible parent? God loves you... <whew>
Have you had an abortion? God loves you...
Have you done some things that make you feel unworthy? God loves you, and says you are worthy.

See, God loves us without condition. I don't know about you, but that's huge for me. I drank quite a bit in college. I smoked a little pot in college. I <deep breath> dated a cousin for a while in my teens... I smoked cigarettes for almost two decades. I was addicted to some unsavory websites for a while. I am a broken human. All of the things I listed are things that other humans may use as a condition for loving me. To be truthful, some of those things were secrets until now. Look down on me if you want, that's your choice. I know there is no condition on Gods love. I am thankful that I am worthy of His love only because He says so. I could never do anything to "earn" it. I just have to accept it.

I heard on the radio yesterday that saying the words "thank you" out loud and feeling grateful releases dopamine and serotonin. Apparently that makes us feel happy.

Listen, God wants us to be happy. God wants us to be successful. God wants us to know He loves us. But, God also wants us to love others. I have always liked the story of the "good samaritan". Twice in the last year I have heard more about the story than I ever knew. Jesus knew what He was doing when the religious scholar asked him what he needed to do to have eternal life. Its in Luke chapter 10.

Understand first that this "road" the story talks about is more like a pathway that winds through mountains. Robbers attacked a man and left him naked and for dead. First a priest comes by. The bible says the priest walked by on the other side of the road. One way I heard it told was that the priest most likely had to step around or over this man. The next person to come by also avoided helping. Lets back up for just a second. The man who was robbed and beaten was walking from Jerusalem to Jericho and was most likely a Jewish man. The priest was most likely a Jewish man. The Levite was a Jewish man. Plot twist, here we go... The third man that came by was a Samaritan man. He took pity on the man that was beaten and left for dead. He cleaned him up, bandaged him, and put some oil on his wounds. He went a step further by putting him up in an inn and paying for the bill while the man got better. The Jews and Samaritans didn't like each other. They hated each other. For Jesus to tell a Jewish scholar that in order to have eternal life he had to love his neighbor - and then tell him that the Samaritans are his neighbor... Mind blown....

That should tell each and every one of us something.

We.
Are.
Called.
To.
Love.
Everyone!!!!!

Stop placing conditions on why you love someone, or why you think they are unworthy of love. Here's the thing, whether you love them or not, God does.

Let me circle back around to the beginning. Valentines day is a holiday where we buy things for people we love. Generally its the sappy kiss kiss kind of love we celebrate. That's fine. It just got me thinking about all of the years I went depressed and forgotten. If you are one of those people who will be alone tomorrow, maybe sulking because you've been turned down for the umpteenth time - take a deep breath. You are important. You are beautiful. You are loved. You are being prepared for something so great you can't even grasp it yet. You are worthy.