So Loved
I remember playing "So Big" with our kids when they were babies. We'd say, "How big are you?" and then we'd say, "Soooo big!" and they would squeal with delight.
I don't know why this game is such a big hit (see what I did there), but all babies seem to love it.
Sadly, that game doesn't transition well into adulthood. If someone tried playing it with me today and told me I'm "soooo big," I might haul off and slap them.
Wow, what an aggressive way to start our time together today. Sorry about that.
That precious little game popped into my head this morning as I thought of God's love for His Beloved children (yes, that means you).
How loved are you?
Soooo loved.
I mean it.
You are SOOOO loved.
We can't hear that enough.
God's love is so deep that it fills our empty places.
God's love is so unconditional that it covers our sins and weaknesses.
God's love is so vast that it looks beyond what we can see for ourselves.
God's love for His beloved ones is SOOO big.
So big, in fact, that to show how much He loved us, God sent a part of Himself in Jesus to show us what love for His beloved ones looks like.
God sent Jesus, a baby, to save us.
Jesus, the innocent Son of God, was sent through a miraculous and foretold birth to walk among God's beloved to show us the path to redemption and salvation.
Jesus, the prophesied Savior of the world, arrived to show us how to love and care for others despite how they treat us.
Jesus, the one who his friends and followers once loved, was betrayed, denied, tortured, and murdered- for us, His beloved ones.
The story didn't end there, though.
Jesus, the Son of God, rose from the dead and was resurrected, showing us the way to eternal life.
Gosh, if that's not BIG love, I don't know what is.
As we walk on this path together, beloved, do not forget for one minute that you are SOOOO loved.
Do not forget all that was done for you, God's beloved one.
No matter where you came from.
No matter where you've been.
No matter what you've done.
No matter what.
You are God's beloved.
And you are so loved beyond what you can even imagine.
Stand up - right this minute - stretch your arms out as wide as you can, and yell as loud as you can: "I AM SOOO LOVED!"
Because, beloved, you really and truly are.
John 3: 16-17
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.