Do you know how much Jesus loves you?

We’ve been told that He loves us so much He died on a cross for us. But that is so huge, so unfathomable, we don’t easily grasp the depth of love in it.

I want to tell you how much He loves you.

He watched you as you slept last night. He sang songs over you as He absorbed the wonder of you (Zeph. 3:17). He was with you as you crawled out of bed. He ached for you as you showered and imagined those conversations you really want to have with your mother-in-law.

He was with you as you ate breakfast. When you yelled at your kids for the third time this morning, His hand gently rubbed your back.

On the way to work, when your eyes strayed past your wedding ring to the guy in the car next to yours, He whispered how much He loves you and how desperate He is to heal you.

When you poured yourself a drink, the secret one that you slip into your coffee or cola, He called you His daughter and spoke words of love to your heart. He aches to free you, to make you whole.

His love is the desperation of a father who sees His child entangled and snared by the lies and pain of a life disconnected from Him. This love drove Him to rescue you.

Imagine a child, dirty and abused. Hair snarled and tangled with dirt and lice. Clothes filthy and torn. That is a picture of us before Jesus came into our lives. Before the ultimate price was paid for us.

Now  picture a child of royalty. Oh, how she glistens. Her eyes sparkle, her clothing is the finest imaginable. She is fresh, rested, peaceful and fully clean. That is a picture of who we are now. We may not see it, but our Father does.

Every curse, every sin, every stain was paid for and washed clean at the cross of Jesus. Every pain you’ve felt, every humiliation, every horrible word you’ve hurled at someone you loved or hated. Every terrible act you’ve committed: the lies, the cheating, the unfaithfulness, the murder you’ve executed  in your heart. Every awful thing you’ve said, done or thought—–each one has been dealt with. Jesus took it all onto himself.

He did this for you.

Every awful thing you do tomorrow, next day or next year or when you’re eighty. It’s all been dealt with.

The anger of God toward your sin went on Jesus. Every bit of God’s anger was extinguished in the person of Jesus. There is no anger left. No disappointment over your choices. Just a longing to free you from the unhealth in your life. The places he doesn’t inhabit. The broken places that aren’t working any more.

He wants to fill you from the inside, so full of His love that you start seeing and believing the reality of who you are: a child of royalty. A beloved daughter.

You are a princess in His household. In the Kingdom of God. You fulfill a place in His heart that no other person ever can. He longs for you. There is so much He aches to tell you of His love and His plans for your life. Plans that will excite and delight you.

The Bible is not a list of do’s and don’ts. It is a love letter He wrote to you. In it He tells you that He is love
(I John 4:8) and He tells you all about his character (1 Cor. 13). How kind and patient He is. And He has the best sense of humor and longs to laugh with you.

He will never turn you away or turn away from you.

Come to Him all you who are weary and lost and without hope. He longs to give you rest (Matt. 11:28). To show you a new way that is full of life, rest and peace.

It starts with a quiet conversation. Confession
(1 John 1:9). He isn’t a disapproving father, impatient to hold your failures up for inspection.

He wants to remove the shame from you (Isaiah 61:7).

Confession lifts them from your back to His. He can’t take them until you hand them over. Then let yourself feel the embrace of His love. His tears and joy washing you into freedom.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, reveal the sins I need to confess to You and repent from. I give You each of these sins and fears. Bring Your freedom to my soul. Heal me of my hurts and diseases. Let me experience Your love and Your embrace as You hold me close, washing and cleansing me. Teach me, Holy Spirit, how to grow in You and experience You in deeper ways. Thank You! In Jesus’ name, amen!

Thoughts . . .

How deep do you want to go with God?

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