Loved?
Author: The Rev. Dr. David Bridges, Priest
July 29, 2020
At John 13:34, Jesus is
quoted as saying, “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same
way I loved you, you love one another.” (The Message Bible)
This advice is to recognize how much we are loved and to
love others the same way. That is often the difficult task; recognizing how
much we are loved. Everyone experiences times when we feel unloved,
unappreciated, neglected, or even hated.
Even in those times, we are loved by our Creator. Even at
our worst, we are loved by our Redeemer. How do we know we are loved? We know
our Creator loves us because the sun came up this morning and we are here to
experience the wonder of life. We are alive to endless possibilities.
Amid all the noise at play in the world today, we can
forget how much we are loved. If we refuse to listen to why we should be angry,
or why we should be frightened, we could actually feel the peace of God.
I believe our Creator wants only what is best for us. We
are the ones that often want only what makes us happy, even if it takes away
someone else’s happiness. We tie our own hands by not recognizing the value of
others.
When we begin to understand how much we are loved, we can
begin to better understand why the world works the way it does and why we, as
individuals and as a society, need to feel loved.
Without love, we feel dull and meaningless. With love, we
are invigorated and renewed. How much are you loved? You were created by love.
You were redeemed by love. You are supported by love. You – are – loved!
One Sunday morning many years ago a young man emerged
from the Sunday School room and proclaimed to me, “God made me, and God don’t
make no junk!” He was exactly right … God don’t make no junk. How much are you
loved?
You are here, aren’t you? Then, you are loved. Human
society may have you believe differently, but I promise you, God loves you.
When you begin to realize this, you will be more free to love others.
Oh, and by the way, God wants you to love yourself. Not
in some weird stuck-up way, but in a way that reminds you that God loved you
first and always will. Look for the ways you are loved and write them down.
Make those things the focus of your life and love will increase. Love is one of
those things you can give-away and it will never run out.
Blessings and Peace to You
All,
Fr. David+
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