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"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
(John 3:16, ESV)
In our household, we have two little boys: our oldest turned two in September, and our youngest turned one in November. So, as you can imagine, our house is wild, but an absolute BLAST!
Our oldest has entered the "parrot phase" where he repeats everything he hears! One of the fun things that he has been repeating recently and loves to yell at the top of his lungs is songs! He has recently been singing the oh-so-famous Christian top hit, "Jesus Loves Me." The lyrics are:
Jesus loves me, this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak, but He is STRONG!
(emphasis on the word "STRONG!" because that is how we sing in the Forshee household)
Yes, Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so!
This song is an older classic, and let's be honest, it is probably one you haven't thought about in a while. Or, if you have young kids or grandkids and they sing it, you probably read it in the tone and singing voice of your little one!
Recently, the part that has really stood out to me is the first two lines of the song. They are simple but profound, uncomplicated but rich, subtle but soul-stirring, and they remind me of our verse for today: John 3:16.
The first two lines are: Jesus Loves Me, this I know, For the Bible tells me so.
John 3:16 says: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
What does this tell you about your identity: You are loved by God! God loves you so much that He sent His one and only Son to make it possible for you to have a relationship with Him. God loves you so much that He didn't want humanity to be hopeless of ever having a relationship with Him. God loves you. Jesus loves you!
"God loves me" can be a hard truth for me to accept and a complex identity to take on. When I think about how much God loves me, I immediately think to myself, "I don't deserve it," and I shrink down in that worthless identity. What I need to do is lean into the fact that although I don't deserve to be loved by God and never will, He loves me anyway and always will, and I need to accept that. When I embrace the reality of my identity as loved by God, I find myself even more in love with God because, despite all my shortcomings and sin, He loves me and wants me to know it! Instead of shrinking away from God's love, I need to accept and embrace that God loves me!
Say this truth with me now and take it with you today: "Because of Christ, I am Loved By God!"
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