I Love You, I Love You, I Love You.
The voice of despair says, “I sin over and over again. After endless promises to myself and others to do better next time, I find myself back again in the old dark places. Forget about trying to change. I have tried for years. It didn’t work and it never will work. It is better that I get out of people’s way, be forgotten, no longer around, dead.”
This strangely attractive voice takes all uncertainties away and puts an end to the struggle. It speaks unambiguously for the darkness and offers a clear-cut negative identity.
But Jesus came to open my ears to another voice that says, “I am your God, I have molded you with my own hands, and I love what I have made. I love you with a love that has no limits, because I love you as I am loved. Do not run away from me. Come back to me—not once, not twice, but always again. You are my child…I am your God—the God of mercy and compassion, the God of pardon and love, the God of tenderness and care. Please do not say that I have given up on you, that I cannot stand you anymore, that there is no way back. It is not true. I so much want you to be with me. I so much want you to be close to me. I know all your thoughts. I hear all your words. I see all your actions. And I love you because you are beautiful, made in my own image, an expression of my most intimate love. Do not judge yourself. Let my love touch the deepest, most hidden corners of your heart and reveal to you your own beauty, a beauty that you have lost sight of, but that will become visible to you again in the light of my mercy. Come, come, let me wipe your tears, and let my mouth come close to your ear and say to you, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’”
— You Are The Beloved - March 21st (Nouwen)
Beloved? (gentle)
You are loved. I most often like to consider you as a tender flower—a flower radiant in Beauty and splendor. I say this, and think this, and I believe this with hope…that it will also shape your precious perspective; that it might prove to be helpful—for your good. Because, after all, it’s difficult to invoke self-pity on something as innocent, as delicate, and lovely…as the most beautifully arrayed flower in all of His creation, yes? (tender)
I believe He sees us like this. How could He not?
We know a little about what it’s like to create something. For, we are, indeed, little creators - in a way - like Him. Although, we, of course, cannot create things that are inherently good, and we cannot create things from nothing. But, when we do create something, something that we feel is remarkable…we dote on it, yes? We consider it to be wonderful! In a way, we are implanting a small portion of ourselves into the very thing we create. Some part of our unique self is now fixed upon this new thing…some piece of our consciousness, our personality, our perspective, our thought, our longings, our wants, our needs, our affections, our passions – ourself – is instilled or embedded into this newly created thing. And, truly, as long as we feel as though the final result is an accurate reflection of us—who we are, what we are hoping to express, make manifest—we are pleased.
Now, of course, with God and us, it’s a bit more complex, yes? Because we aren’t really “fixed”, or I should say, it doesn’t feel like we’re precisely fixed. We have our own will, our own imagination, our own aspirations, wants, desires…and yet, we are created in His image. Which means that deep within our spirit, our very soul, we will only and truly be satisfied in Him—in the kinds of things that He loves. Any deviation from that matrix is a perversion, a separation, a mutation from His design—Him. But, my point is, We are created in His image, we are, in some way, a reflection of Him. He loves us!
Beloved? (gentle) Rest in this love, please.
I love you, I love you, I love you.