oh, how He loves us.
if you are unfamiliar with this song — pls go listen to it ! preferably the MBL version ! right now !

this song has been a vital part of worship to our squad. we sing it all the time — on the bus, while making dinner, random worship outbursts — it’s on constant loop. it’s an oldie but a goodie, and unfortunately, it’s all too easy to get caught up in the familiar words and go through the motions. recently I was reflecting on the lyrics and was just completely wrecked by our Father’s jealous, unfathomable, unconditional love for us.

at ministry one day, a young girl asked “why does God love us?” I immediately was like “oh I got this! easy!” it’s so easy to think HOW He loves us, but I began to ponder, why does God love us? it’s not anything we have done or haven’t done, and there isn’t any profession of praise we could give Him to make Him love us more, so why does He love us? God loves us because He himself is love. Love is fundamental to who He is. There’s a line in the song: We are His portion & He is our prize. He loves us so much He deemed us worthy of being beaten, tortured, and crucified for (His portion!). He loves us so much he made a way for us to dance in eternity with Him forevermore (our prize!). We are treasures in His sight. We are precious in His sight. He is OUR PRIZE! this grace we have been given and this love we get to experience — it’s unlike anything I’ve ever known. I never want to leave it. this love hasn’t been, can’t be, won’t be earned, but has been & will always be freely given to us! THIS KIND OF LOVE! the kind of love that feels like a big hug after a bad day, the kind of love that feels like twirling outside in the rain, the kind of love that feels like diving into the cool ocean on a hot day. This is the love of our Father: all encompassing, joyful, & refreshing.

Something I’ve recently come to realize is the love we experience through others here on this earth are just micro expressions & sweet blessings, of Him. the way my sweet mama loves me so well is a reflection of Christ’s agape love, the way my “framily” in Missouri prays for us every week is a reflection of Christ’s hesed love, and the way my sweet friends check in on me & keep up with me while I’m half a world away is a reflection of Christ’s phileo love. how sweet He is, to give Himself to us in these ways so we may experience daily the ways He knows us and loves us.

If sharing Christ’s love is the only thing I can do here on this earth, this will have been a life well lived.