Unlovable vs. Recklessly loved

Beneath it all, the worry, the shame and the impatience, the source of all this insecurity is the heart-cry of “am I loveable?”. When there is not another person to desire us, to affirm that we are beautiful, to remind us that we are valuable, our fragile human ego sinks into the misbelief that we are not attractive, that we are not loveable.

But for those of us who have a greater hope, this is not the end of the story. As Christians, we experience a form of love radically different from that offered by any human. Jesus loves you so much that he laid down his life for you, he suffered under the weight of your sin and freed you from death. Friend, who do you know who can match this? No one! In John 15:13 it is written, ‘greater love has no-one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’. You are already so loved, you always have been. Jesus’ crucifixion is proof of your ‘loveability’.

When we forget that we are loved perfectly and recklessly by the creator of the universe, we feel unloved and unloveable. It is no surprise that looking instead to the imperfect and conditional affection of another human does not fill us in the way we desire and expect. This frail human love is good and beautiful, but it is a pale shadow of the love we already have from our creator and his son.

So, friend, remind yourself constantly, in conversation with the Lord, that you are already loved. That the thrill and joy of finding a partner on earth is a wonderful gift, but whether you have found that or not, you are already loved beyond measure, for eternity.

Action points:

1. Reread the story of the Crucifixion (maybe John 19). Read it slowly, process that Jesus died for love of you.
2. Praise God for His immeasurable love.
3. Go out into the world filled with this wonderful truth.