Loved?

Loved

When she was six years old, my daughter came up with a secret way to say, “I love you.”  Any time she squeezed my hand three times I was to know I had her heart. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been holding hands on a walk, watching TV, or even at prayer time when I’d feel her squeeze three times. She’s 13 now and it still happens. Joy always overflows my heart and shows on my face as I squeeze her back.  I pray it never stops. It’s my favorite way she says, “I love you.”

There are times when the devil and the world team up to make you weary and wondering if God loves you.  It’s even worse when your own conscience makes you feel unlovable. Wouldn’t it be amazing if God reached down from above, grabbed your hand, and squeezed to assure you of his love?

He could do that, but God has chosen not to reach down his hand but to send down his Son from heaven.  Instead of grabbing your hand, his Son grabbed a cross of wood and carried it to a hill called Calvary. It wasn’t three squeezes that expressed his love but three nails driven through his hands and feet.  By raising his Son from the dead, God the Father wants you to know you have his heart. It’s his not-so-secret way of saying, “I love you.”

In heaven, you will be able to grab and squeeze the nail-scarred hands that saved you.  Who knows, maybe he’ll squeeze you back three times as a smile comes across his face. But until then, focus on the gift of a Savior in Jesus and let the joy overflow your heart and show in your life. God sent his Son for you. It’s his favorite way to say, “I love you.”

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. – 1 John 4:9

Loved?