I Love You This Much!

My girls are now teenagers, but every once in awhile they still play the game, “Do You Know How Much I Love You?” You know that precious game where as parents we respond, “How much?” and our little Delightfuls stretch their arms out as far as they possibly can, responding through squinted eyes and strained heart vocals, “This much”. It never gets old. I love being told that I am not just loved, but loved to the full extent of who they are.

These precious memories are tucked deep within my heart; and there next to the snapshot of my girls’ outstretched arms of love for me, is another snapshot of outstretched arms of love. These arms however, are stretched across a wooden beam and held in place with stakes--Jesus on the cross; the crucifixion. Without a doubt, the cross symbolizes my faith. However, the cross is not just a symbol of a necessary sacrifice for my salvation, but it also symbolizes the pattern I hope my life reflects.

The cross has become so commonplace in our society that what it represents has been gravely skewed or forgotten about all together. I’ll admit that until several years ago when I would see a cross, it did little, if anything, to stir my heart or point my mind to Jesus’ crucifixion on that Golgotha hill over 2,000 years ago. And although it represented my faith, it did not actively serve as a relevant tool in my walk with Christ. The work of the cross had been done and my eyes were (and are) firmly fixed on the One who once hung from those beams, not the beams themselves. However, as I have spent these several years relishing in the friendship and guidance of the Lord, I’ve come to have a whole new appreciation for the symbol of the cross in addition to His Lordship.

Marinating in the heaviness and humble surrender of that Friday afternoon, picturing my friend nailed to those wooden beams, I find that I am drawn to know more about Him. If you believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, you know He had the power to escape such excruciating torment and unjust death. As Christians, we believe He not only allowed this to take place, but intentionally sacrificed His life in place for ours—what unfathomable love and grace for us---Perhaps the most profound piece of this equation is that in order to die for us, Christ had to set aside His power.

Maybe that sounds like a no-brainer to you, but I had never reflected on that fact before. Of course, He had to set His power aside. But as we consider what occurred three days later, that Christ rose from the dead, we have a better understanding of what 1 Corinthians 1:18-24 is talking about when it calls our attention to the fact that “Jesus Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God”. Think about that for a moment. We are not saved because of God’s power. We are saved because He laid His power aside and humbled Himself for our sake. Brennan Manning, author of “The Signature of Jesus (1988) refers to the cross as “The signature of the risen One”. I love that. “The signature of the risen One”. (sigh) That description causes my heart to beat wildly and cry out in gratitude to my Beloved Jesus.

When Christ set His power aside, He was showing His unconditional, inconceivable love for us. Manning reminds us that “power forces us to change. Love moves us to change. Power affects behavior. Love affects the heart”. With this in mind, think about the cross. Do you see Jesus’ suffering love for us? Does it not stir the deepest longings in your heart to be loved this much?

“Christ on the cross is not a mere theological precondition for salvation. It is God’s enduring word to the world, saying, ‘See how much I love you. See how much you must love one another’”. The cross is not just a symbol of my faith anymore; rather, it is a reminder of how much Jesus loves me and how much I am to love the world around me. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus tells us that if we want to be His disciples (Christ followers), we need to “take up our own cross and follow Him”. Essentially, He is saying, “let go of what power and control you think you have and look to me; follow me. I promise I will lead you to the well-spring of life where you will never thirst again”. My mind wanders to the tender words of the Apostle Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Cor. 12:9).

With my own arms outstretched, palms facing toward the heavens, as a symbol of my own sacrifice for Christ, I hold on to nothing, I relinquish all of myself, all of my dreams, plans, and notions about this life to Him and allow Him to lead me. I fully believe that Christ treasures His own snapshots of us, holding them close to His heart and saying, "She loves me thiiiiissss much".

Bragging Rights

Seemingly out of the blue, the story of the Israelites came to mind this week.  Remember, they were the Lord’s beloveds, His children, and though they had been in captivity for a great number of years, the Lord never turned His back on them, He remained with them as they endured trial after trial. He walked beside them even when they turned their back on Him, ultimately rescuing them by parting the Red Sea long enough for them to pass before enclosing it upon their enemies. Without a doubt, the Israelites were grateful. In their humble gratitude, they built a monument of great significance that would remind them of the work, the promise the Lord had fulfilled in their lives.

I imagine this monument was in the middle of town and would be passed regularly by the town’s people.  When their children would ask about the monument, their parents would stop, scoop their wee ones onto their laps and with tears in their eyes, begin to share in detail their testimony—the mighty work the Lord had done in their lives. The children’s eyes would widen and their mouths would drop with each turn of events--- enthralled by the story.  The children would beg to hear it each and every time they passed the monument. Can’t you hear it? “Momma, Momma, tell us about the time when…” The story never got old. Instead, it introduced them to their Heavenly father on a personal level and gave them a deep hunger to know Him personally. As they grew and had children of their own, they too, would share their story.

Testimony: the evidence we experience of Christ working in our lives as He works to reveal His glory as He tenderly transforms us into the likeness of His Son.  Our testimony does not begin and end with our story of discovering who God is and inviting Him to be the Lord of our lives (salvation), as often believed. Rather, our testimony, likened to transformation, is on-going, continuously being added to, never complete until we enter Heaven’s gates where we’ll find ourselves embraced, (engulfed, I like to imagine!) in the tender folds of our father’s wings.

Perhaps one of the best examples of transformation is that of a caterpillar to a butterfly.  Francis Chan, author of The Forgotten God, poses the question: “Ever wonder what goes through the caterpillar’s mind when it wakes up from its long nap to discover it can fly?” Seriously, how amazing is that? The caterpillar does not even resemble who it once was. He is a new creation.

We are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Think about that for a moment. We are in the midst of being transformed. Our minds have been renewed. The old has gone away and the new has come (2Cor. 5:17). I’ll admit that I take this for granted time and time again, that I forget that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead and parted the Red Sea dwells within me. I often brush past the countless times He has refined me—where He has allowed me to glimpse His glory. Perhaps, we all get distracted, lose our focus, get whisked away by the seemingly urgent or beautiful, sparkly things in this world, buying into outside experiences to furnish a personal sense of meaning. We forget that we are not what we do.  I have a feeling even if we were to build a monument like the Israelites did, even that would lose its splendor and eventually we would not even see it. 

So the question then, is how do we live intentionally for God, keeping Him in the forefront of every thought, every word we speak, and everything we do? We surrender daily to Him, submit to His leading daily, live like we have been transformed from a measly caterpillar to a new creation-- brilliant in color, pattern,  and can fly! As I reread these words, they sound so simple, they sound predicable even. We have heard them before, perhaps countless times, and yet we disregard such simplicity because we know it is anything but simple. It requires work on our part. It requires us to make a conscious choice daily, sometimes hourly, to live intentionally and fully surrendered to Christ. We are a generation of wanting our cake and eating it too… at no cost to us. We want intimacy with Christ and….

In writing these words, I am brought to tears and my heart is grieved that I take the work of the Lord (my testimony) for grated as times, brushing past who I once was, skimming over the mighty work the Lord has done in my life. I can fly for crying out loud. I can soar with eagles because my hope is in the Lord and it is Him who strengthens me (Is. 40:31).

Beloved, ponder these facts for a moment: we have been redeemed. We have been bought for a price that cost Jesus everything. We have been forgiven. We were created not because God needs us, but because He wants us. His thoughts are about us constantly and He desires to fill us with Himself. We are loved, treasured really.  Overwhelmed by His grace for us? Me too. And then when I reflect on the countless ways He has revealed Himself to me (revel in the specifics), transforming me more and more into the image of His Son, I am left speechless, my heart begins to beat wildly, and I am left in a place of utter worship. I cannot help but to fall to my knees in humble gratitude before the throne of my God.

Having an appropriate view of God dictates how we choose to respond to His magnitude and the work He has done in our lives. Honestly, when we live intentionally for Him, we cannot help but to boast of the work the Lord is doing in and around our lives. The choice is ours to make. Today, I will choose to live in a place of gratitude and relish in the work the Lord has and is doing in my life.  And Lord knows, I have incredible bragging rights because in my weakness, His power has been made perfect (2 Cor. 12:9). What about you?


“Gratitude awakens the soul to the sweetness of being tethered to God” (Margaret Ashmore).