Loved

There is a quote by Zora Neale Hurston that goes as follows: "Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place."  How true this is!  People who know they are loved glow.  There is no shell shrouding the light of their face.  They beam with the knowledge that they are valued by someone else. 

Even Nero and Genghis Khan desired to be loved.  I'm sure of it.  No stony exterior can convince me that love is not needed in a life.  Every human craves it and is born with a drive to find it.   

The problem is that human love is imperfect.  Human love sometimes shifts, falters, or fails.  Even those with the best of intentions don't love others well all of the time.  How, then, would anyone be able to remain consistently exposed when there is a chance that the light of reflected love will be dimmed?

How? By accepting the love God offers through Jesus Christ.  God is Love.  He is perfect Love.  He created us and loves us more than we can imagine.  He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die a cruel death for our wrongdoings (John 3:16).  I cannot completely fathom such love although I know that embracing such love nourishes the human soul and brings every part of it into its warm light. 

I have been contemplating 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  In a sermon I heard this year, it was pointed out that these attributes are speaking first and foremost about Christ's love.  That is powerful.  Who could hope for such a love to be lavished on one's soul? It is almost too good to be true.  But, it's a marvelous reality for those who are justified through faith in Christ.  Realizing how I sometimes fail to demonstrate this kind of love to others is endlessly convicting.

Another amazing aspect of God's love is that it casts out fear (1 John 4:18).  Perfect love never leaves the loved one with the feeling that there is impending danger of the love being compromised.  Basking in God's love wraps our souls in a blanket of security.  If we know Christ, nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39).  How much joy should come from such assurance!

So, if today you are hiding in fear of being loved or because you feel unloved, crawl out from your darkness.  Christ offers the ultimate love for you.  He is what every soul needs as well as the only thing a soul needs.  His love is sufficient, unfailing, powerful, perfect, and healing.  I pray this truth will wash over you and me and will allow Christ's love to radiate from our faces.