He Loves You Just The Way You Are!

Ephesians 3:17-18 tells us:  “…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ…”

        Are you wanting to be loved, wanting to know what real love is and feels like, and yearn for the anticipation of that void being fulfilled?  Are you coming up hurt and broken while looking for it in all the wrong places like I used to and would do almost anything to have that aching fulfilled?  Sadly, I can remember how I used to start the New Year off in pursuit of claiming that satisfaction like so many tender hearts do through relationships or vices such as eating disorders, alcohol, drugs, shopping, being a workaholic, and ended up feeling rejected, unfulfilled and abandoned in the end.

Why is the need to be loved so intense after the holidays?  Is it because people realize how lonely and unfilled they really are after all the busyness the festivities and celebrations that the holidays brought are over; or the perceived love and companionship from family, friends and even coworkers bring (even after complaints about the hustle and bustle); but now without all the noise and activity, we become restless and sense that void which magnifies the loneliness.  This gives birth to seeking out another person or vice to fulfill that void of warmth and true love that never leaves.  I remember that sense of loss and purpose and how it led me to the wrong “people” and “vices” to fulfill that loneliness that only true love can.

The Bible’s definition of love is beautifully articulated in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.”

I wish I could love like that!  I am trying!  I am trying because I have received and embraced this kind of love.  It is patient and kind; it does not easily anger and it keeps no record of my mistakes (hello!); it always protects, but most of all, this Love never fails.  It is there every morning when I arise and it is there every evening as I snuggle up good night!  It’s always there!  I can’t leave its presence no matter what.  The Lord’s love is as wide and deep as the ocean.  It never ends!  Watch the sunset at any beach and you will see there is no end in sight.  God is faithful and His love endures forever!

I don’t know about you, but I love hearing “I love you just the way you are.”  Every imperfection!  Spending time with the Lord, reading scripture and getting to know who God really is, He will overwhelm and satisfy your deepest longing with love that you had no idea existed.  He will also show you your value and worth. There’s nothing you will have to do or change or perform or conform to “be-loved.”  This is why God calls us His Beloved, He designed us to be-loved.  He wants us to be loved, and He loves you just the way you are…….

God wants to love us with this love that has and knows no boundaries that Ephesians 3:17-18 tells us:  “…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ…”

Let Him in.  He’s tugging on your heart for a reason.  Receive and embrace His love; God longs to fulfill the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).  He puts them there for a reason!