God's love for you

Spiritual resource to share: accepting God's love

I just finished another conference call testimony meeting today. This includes selected readings from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker. Today's readings were based on the theme "God's love for you." I loved putting this together -- searching Scriptures to see just how God's love was articulated and how Science and Health expanded on Love to uncover its healing principle.

In the Bible, I John writes about love that I will liberally paraphrase. He must have been thrilled to have had this idea about God. He must have felt a sense of relief in that recognition of what he always knew to be true. Everything he learned took on new and more profound meaning with this acknowledgement of God's love: the big "AHA" moment that transformed how he thought about God and how he thought about himself and others. I can see him talking to a group of people:

"Listen to this! Try to even imagine the love that God has given to us. Let's plumb the depths of the deepest love we can fathom. Yes! God is even now calling us His children.....We are precious, we are the beloved. Yes! Right at this very moment, we are the children of God....Will we take the time to really get what this means? Are we going to believe this? Think of it. God is Love. And the very fact that we are aware of love means that we are aware of God. We live in Love and Love in us. And that cements our relationship to Love. And because of our closeness to God, we don't ever have to be afraid." (taken from parts of 1 John chapters 3: verses 1 to 3 and 4; verses 16, 18, 19)

John is cool - in the way that calmness is cool. He knows, he loves, he is gentle and kind, visionary and confident. King David also wrote songs and poetry about God's love for him. This King was known for his adventurous spirit and spiritual curiosity. He knew remorse and repentence, joy and peace. He made big mistakes, but he did glorious things. I love this song about his most intimate and loving relationship to God. This is from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible:

Psalm 139
You have looked deep into my heart, LORD, and you know all about me. You know when I am resting or when I am working, and from heaven you discover my thoughts. You notice everything I do and everywhere I go. Before I even speak a word, you know what I will say, and with your powerful arm you protect me from every side.

Where could I go to escape from your Spirit or from your sight? If I were to climb up to the highest heavens, you would be there. If I were to dig down to the world of the dead you would also be there. Suppose I had wings like the dawning day and flew across the ocean. Even then your powerful arm would guide and protect me.

Your thoughts are far beyond my understanding, much more than I could ever imagine. I try to count your thoughts, but they outnumber the grains of sand on the beach. And when I awake, I will find you nearby.

God's assurance and love fills up the Bible in its messages and letters to God's children -- and that means all of us.

Different versions of the Bible from Jeremiah 31: 3 bring the point home:

"I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
"I've never quit loving you and never will.
"Expect love, love, and more love!
With love age-during I have loved thee, Therefore I have drawn thee [with] kindness.
"I love you people with a love that will last forever.
“ Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

God's love for us is infinite. All we need to do is accept it.



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