I Have Never Been Unloved

I'm not sure if you have noticed, but I have a wonderful "wordle" at the bottom of my main blog page (thanks to my friend Abbie since I "pirated" it from her blog...hehehe). The final thought of the "wordle" is "I have never been unloved." Everything God does is done out of love. God does and will always love us!

So, I am reading a new book, The Shack by Wm. Paul Young, and there is analogy in this book that completely summarizes this love. Here is the excerpt (a conversation between the main character and God, God is speaking):

"Most birds were created to fly. Being grounded for them is a limitation within their ability to fly, not the other way around."......"You, on the other hand, were created to be loved. So for you to live as if you were unloved is a limitation, not the other way around."....."Living unloved is like clipping a bird's wings and removing it's ability to fly. Not something I want for you."...."Pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly."...."And if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place."

This section had such a profound impact on me. By not accepting the love God has for me, I am limiting myself. I am limiting all of the possibilities that life has to offer me. I have typically not accepted God's love, because I have not loved myself, thus rejecting God's love. It is so important that we open ourselves up and let all the love that God has to offer in, it's so much that it isn't even possible to comprehend.

This chapter goes on to then discuss the impact of God becoming human through Christ. Again, this is God talking to the main character:

"Although by nature he is fully God, Jesus is fully human and lives as such. While never losing the innate ability to fly, he chooses moment-by-moment to remain grounded. That is why his name is Immanuel, God with us, or God with
you, to be more precise."......."I can fly, but humans can't. Jesus if fully human. Although he is also fully God, he has never drawn upon his nature as God to do anything. He has only lived out of his relationship with me, living in the very same manner that I desire to be in relationship with every human being. He is just the first to do it to the uttermost - the first to absolutely trust my life within him, the first to believe in my love and my goodness without regard for appearance or consequence."......."A bird's not defined by being grounded but by his ability to fly. Remember this, humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image."

PRAISE GOD!!!!!!