A Much Safer Subject to Think About

Some years ago I had a pivotal experience in my growth in understanding what God is like. While I knew the love of God in my life before this, the revelation of His love for me in this particular moment hit me unlike ever before and it set me on a path that I've been on ever since.

I had gotten sick just before leaving on a flight for Mexico City, and I got worse in the following days after arriving there. One night the pain in my body reached a point where I wasn't sure if I'd make it through the night. As I lay in bed hardly able to move at all and feeling like I could die, everything became clear and black and white to me; I sensed the Lord asking me, "Nita, what is the one thing you are most sure about?" Without hesitating, I answered, "...that I love You, Lord."

I sensed His kind response to me: "That's good but there is something greater, and that is that I love you!" In that moment the eyes of my heart were opened to the reality that what is most trustworthy and sure is the unstoppable, unrelenting, unfailing, never-ending love of God.

C.S. Lewis says, "On the whole, God’s love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him." The apostle John says that we love Him because He loved us first. Our love for Him may be real and sincere but it is His unfailing and unconditional love for us upon which we must rest and build our lives or else we are left with the burden of religion, ever working and striving to be deserving of love.

The love of God for humans is best understood in the cross of His Son, Jesus. In the sacrificial offering of Himself on our behalf, God in Christ has made clear that He is for us at whatever cost to Himself!

Because God's love for us sinners is more secure ground to stand on than our love for Him, we can only find our hearts anchored in peace as we contemplate His love rather than ours.

In our weak condition, we humans are severely bent towards contemplating (giving our concentration to) just about everything else but His love, so it is the work of the Spirit in our lives with our cooperation that empowers us to look at Him. The following are simple suggestions about ways to cooperate with Him in this practice of thinking about God's love.

First, ask the Spirit of Jesus to strengthen your heart to say 'yes' to His love so that the proneness toward not believing His goodness and love is corrected with each 'yes.' The most difficult time to receive His love is when you have failed, but it's also the most important time to freely receive His affection for you.

Next study the cross by simply taking time to read and/or listen to the stories about Jesus' death and resurrection and the way He lived His earthly life with weak, failing humans. Picture yourself and your fears and failures in Him as He died. Ask the Lord to help you understand why He suffered and died so that you get a glimpse of your value to Him (Rom.5:8 "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.").

And finally, practice thinking about His love throughout your day; ask the Spirit to help you see the daily little comments or incidents through the lens of the cross. Develop the ability to see the love and affection of the Father coming at you constantly, whether your experiences are positive or negative, knowing that He is with you in all of it.

As we think/contemplate on this "safer subject" and drink deeply of that well, the overflow of His love will spill out onto Him and others.