The Love of God

I love my dog. Really I do. He's a big softy even though he looks like he could bite your hand off. He's part Rotweiller and part German Shepherd with a beautiful dark black coat. My favorite part of his coat is right behind his ears where he has two little light brown patches. I also love how where his legs turn from brown to black, the brown is peppered with black. I love how excited he gets when I come home and how all he wants to do is play all the time. I love how he loves to have his belly pet, his back scratched, and his ears rubbed. I love that every morning he wakes me up by wagging his tail back and forth so it thumps against my bed and my cedar chest. I love that his face is the first one i see in the morning as he waits for me to put my hand over the side of the bed so he can lick it and sit under it while i scratch his head. I love that as I put my face close to the side of the bed he licks it til i move (ok i don't love the slobber, but i love the gesture). I love that he looks sad as i leave every morning. I love that he can't wait to go for walks with me. I love that he loves for me to chase him. I love that he is good with my nephews and my niece. I love that he can play dead when you turn your fingers into guns and say "bang bang". I love that he can give me a high five. I love that when i ask him for a kiss- he licks my face. :) In otherwords, i love my dog.

The other day we were getting ready for bed and i was so thrilled that God had again provided a beautiful, wonderful dog for me. (granted, i'd love for Him to provide a husband too, but a dog is a great companion.) Riley was lying at the foot of my bed and I laid down next to him, propped up on my elbows, and began to pet his head. I wanted to hug him and squeeze him and let him know how much i loved him, but i knew somehow he didn't understand the depths of my love for him and i was saddened by this thought. Then I realized, how saddened God must be as He pours out His abundant love on us and we either refuse to receive it or refuse to believe it. How often do we say God loves you to others but don't really believe it for ourselves? How often do we call Him a liar by saying "no God, You really couldn't love me"? How often do we live in bondage to fear of opening our hearts to accept His love? Do we really understand the depths of His love for us? And when we say He loves us, do we really live it as a reality or do we just say it because it's the thing to say? Has it become just another cliche in our lives?

See here's the thing. If we truly even grasped a bit of His love for us, we would stop living in fear, as His perfect love casts out ALL fear. We would no longer fear rejection, we would no longer fear what others think of us, we would no longer fear being wounded and hurt, we would no longer fear healing from our wounds. If we truly even grasped a bit of His love for us, we would no longer be unable to forgive ourselves as His love for us is constant and not based upon our actions. His love is steeped in mercy and forgiveness as it was displayed on the cross of Christ and in His resurrection. If we even truly grasped a bit of His love, we would understand who we truly are and would no longer live in guilt of what we used to do, or in shame of who we used to be. We would know that we are His Beloved, His child, His lover, the one whom He adores. We would know that His delight is in us, that He rejoices over us with singing, and that He is a warrior on our behalf. We would know within the depths of our being that we are secure in His love. See, even if Riley doesn't understand the depths of my love, he knows that he is cared for, that he has a home, that even if he messes up, i don't hold it against him. The one time i've really seen him look scared is when i take off his collar. To him it's a symbol of belonging. I took it off to fix his fur, but he looked concerned- like he was no longer mine, but he will always be mine. No matter what he does, i will continue to love him. He knows that he belongs to me. When he runs off he knows where his home is and how to get back there. He knows I'll be waiting for him. When I leave in the morning, he knows i'll come back to him. So while he may not understand how deeply I love him, he knows that there are securities in our relationship which are outward expressions of my love for him.

We can easily see the outward expressions of God's love for us. He displayed it in the offering of His Son for each and every one of us. There is no greater display of love than this. Jesus laid down His life for us- so undeserving, yet worth it to Him. Sometimes that act of love is so hard for us to grasp- so hard for us to relate to because it seems so long ago, but it is the greatest gift we will ever be given. It was once for all of us and it is how we know that God loves us. See I took Riley as my own, but I didn't leave it at that. I feed him, i pet him, i give him a place to sleep, i scratch his back and his belly, i rub his ears, i walk him, i play with him, all because i love him and i know those are things he enjoys. It's the same with God. He purchased us at a sacrificial price that gave us undeserved worth and displayed His love for us. But see He continues, even though He doesn't have to, by being faithful to us, by helping us walk day by day, by having grace and mercy and forgiveness readily available to all who ask for it, by giving us nourishment in His Word, by calling us His Bride and His Beloved. He loves each of us. He loves us. He loves me. He loves you and it's not just a cliche. It's Truth, and we can bank on it.