God… but let Him love you too. Actually, He loved us first. If you think you’re not as good as you want to be with the first half of the sentence, you are undoubtedly right. But I also consider this as a ‘good’… especially when we allow ourselves to motivate us in a more intentional way. Being ‘intentional’ is a great mindset to cultivate. And when it is anything related to The Father then our attempt, our opportunity to demonstrate our love for Him as we relate to those around us, is only a plus.
However, I would also say that you/we are terrible with the second half of the sentence. What do I mean by ‘letting Him love you’? Let me start with another question – are you love-able? Are you ‘worth’ being on the receiving end of love from The God of the Universe? The answer to the first half of the question is – of course you are love-able. You may not always do, say, act love-able, but the decision on whether you should be the object of love, that the choice to love you is not yours to make. Did you really see, read that – not your decision. Before the beginning of time, God chose to make man, and particularly and specifically you – in His image. He breathed the breath of life into you. He chose. And He didn’t just dust His hands off saying, ‘well that’s done’. Since the very beginning He had continued to be with us, caring for us. It is we who walk away. But He still loves.
The second half of the question – are we worthy – is NO. And we can’t purchase or attain ‘worth’ through our own actions. But we can receive it through the gift of God. I find this totally amazing that we can attain worth by accepting a gift! And… it’s the only way, because accepting Jesus as Lord is the only way. (Acts 4:12, Ephesians 2:1-10, 2Corinthians 5:17-21) I hope I’ve learned that there is nothing that I can DO to earn favor or mercy or grace or any of the gifts that come with accepting Jesus as my personal Lord. But these are some of the gifts that become ours with this acceptance.
There’s a hymn that says it all, ” Love so divine, Love so amazing.” This is the description of the Love that the Father bestows upon us. Remember that ‘Love’ is a verb, an action word. Our Triune God has chosen to be involved in our lives to the extent that WE allow Him. The Lord is like the perpetual suitor, constantly wooing us because of His great Love. And as incredible as it sounds – it is always our choice to allow ourselves to be loved.
