No one will ever love you like Jesus does.
You were made to be cherished, and you are. Yes, really. You are.From the moment your parent's cells fused together to become you, it was love at first sight. God cradled you, hushed in the warmth of your mother's womb, and crafted you with infinite care. For months, it was His eyes only that softened at the very sight of you, weaving your DNA into a symmetrical double helix formation and imprinting bold and beautiful dreams into your newly beating heart.
And then the time came for you to be delivered, and whether you were welcomed or unwanted by your parents, all of heaven hushed as God kissed breath into your infant lungs.Your tiny fists clenched as you wailed dissatisfaction at this cold, harsh life, and you've never escaped that lingering taste of discontent. You want more than this messy, sin-splashed planet can offer, because you were born for another world.
The gaping hole in your heart was made to turn you heavenward, and all the loneliness was meant to remind you that Christ was abandoned by His Father for a dark afternoon so that you need never be forsaken. Tell me this: has anyone in your whole life completely, totally, and thoroughly known every crevice of you, and then unflinchingly died for you? How about someone you've betrayed, ignored, and disrespected...what about then? Jesus did. No one will ever love you like Jesus does.
Now I know, you want arms to hold you close, and someone to whisper sweet nothings in your ear, and there is nothing wrong with wanting any of that. When loneliness pushes hard and wounds grow scar tissue, feeling unlovable is easy. The honest truth is that when we are stripped to our very core, we are unlovable, prickly, self-centered people with a few nice streaks tossed in to pretty things up a little. The good news of the Gospel is not that God loves the lovely, but that God loves sinners.
You and I may be unlovable, but we are not unloved.
There is good news for anyone feeling just a little bit lonely this Valentine's Day. Tender-loving is not some painful memory from the past, or some not-yet-realized dream for the future. It's your birth right as God's beloved. The Almighty, brushing close to fill the hollow places, can be your love affair. Jesus shouted it from a blood-soaked hill, whispers it from every tissue-thin page of every Bible across the world, and sings it unblushingly loud from the stars in deepest space to the very molecules that comprise your every cell. The earth still quivers with the power of that love. No one will ever love you like Jesus does.
Don't miss the message in all of this mess: Jesus will never, ever, not even for a second stop loving you. He sees every last sinful, shredded piece of you, and He wants you anyway.
If you trust only in the saving work of Jesus on the cross, then you are His forever. No prettying up needed. God loves you at your worst, and He is prepared to help you grow into the breathtaking image of His only Son.
No matter what rejection you’ve experienced in this life, no matter how many times you’ve felt last place and not good enough, let this sink deep into the hollow places: You're not God’s last choice - you're His first. No one will ever love you like Jesus does.
Real intimacy is accessible to anyone, anywhere– whether you’re in a lonely marriage, or you’re a lonely single, or you’re in a lonely place in a good marriage… intimacy is for you, because you were made for it. More than lacy things and chocolate strawberries, Valentine’s Day can be the perfect reminder that Jesus came to woo and to win His bride for all of eternity.
True intimacy is about stripping the pretense away and letting yourself touch and be touched in the deep places of your heart.
It's about baring your soul and knowing that Christ bears your faults with gentleness. It’s letting Him look at the nakedness of your soul insufficiencies, and letting His perfect love hold you close. It’s letting His love press into your brokenness and hold your heart with utter gentleness. No one will ever love you like Jesus does.
He can be trusted with your heart, with your future, with your past and your present. He can be trusted with your dreams and your longings. And it’s okay to still want arms to hold you close and someone to bring you roses and chocolate. But if it doesn’t happen this year or this decade or even this life…you still have a love story for the ages. You are still cherished and utterly precious to the One who knows you best and loves you most.
You want an epic romance?
Brace yourself, because your Hero is perfect, strong, loving, understanding, and romantic. And not only will He love you forever, He died to keep you for all time and eternity. You are His cherished friend, His delight, His treasure. You are His bride. When He looks at you, it's through the eyes of love, unstained by sin.
This Valentine's Day, don't forget that Someone thought you were worth everything. He’s yours, beautiful friend, and you’re His…for always. Because, although I may have mentioned this before…No one will ever love you as sweetly, strongly, beautifully…as Jesus does.
