A continuation of several posts expounding on each line of the song "How He Loves Us". I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
"And I realize just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me".
...But he who has been forgiven little loves little. Luke 7:47
.... when he came to his senses Luke 5:17
Kim Walker ~ How He Loves US with lyrics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-rW528qiYw
Love is an amazing emotion that God has given mankind the capacity to enjoy and reciprocate. The trouble is the human heart, on its own, doesn't fully understand love nor do we appreciate love or know how to give or receive love. This is only possible by the work of the Holy Spirit. I sighted these two verses because they are two of my favorite stories told in scripture that gives us insight into an appropriate response to God's kind of love.
The first is the story of a "sinful" woman who anointed Jesus feet while He was "reclining" with a group of men. I envision a group of guys hanging out telling stories and laughing, making lots of noise. And then this woman shows up and the room gets very quiet. As she breaks open the jar of perfume and begins to wash Jesus feet there are hushed whispers all over the room. No one can believe what is happening and that Jesus is allowing this "sinful" woman to continue. Jesus explains to Peter with an analogy of forgiven debt and delivers this powerful line, "he who has been forgiven little loves little". When I read this I think about my life and the rest of us who grew up in church all our lives. We grow up in comparison mode of lying to ourselves we are "good" people. We don't fall into any of the major sins therefore we are better and deserving. This is a dangerous horrible place to be because it limits our capacity to love Him.
Don't get me wrong I don't want my children to ever experience the consequences of dark deep rooted sin. But the reality is all of our hearts are deep and dark and filled with sin, we just don't know it until the Holy Spirit reveals our hearts to us. There is none good no not one. We believe the lie that we ever were. Because of this lie we sit around a room whispering while the "sinner" is absolutely captivated by Him.
Gratefully, but with much pain, I had a "come to my senses" moment back in 2007. I had chosen a path that continually and progressively led me to a dark place. When that moment came, I call it my 2x4 moment because it felt like I had been hit in the head with a 2x4, I came to my senses. In that moment I stood in my filth. I was disgusted by what I had done and who I had become. I was lost and I knew it. I had no hope and like the boy in the story in Luke 5 all I wanted to do was go home. But like him, I didn't know if He would have me. It is then I looked up in the middle of my mess; filthy, dirty, desperately wanting to be clean that I saw the Savior. All I saw was this pure, holy, "beautiful" God that looked at me with love and desire.
Unconditional love is so unlike anything that we could ever imagine or give or even receive on human terms. We don't even expect it from one another. We all believe that we have to perform, or provide, or be something of worth before someone will love us. As I stood there with nothing of worth but who I was; I had nothing to offer but me and who could love that? But He did. There is no explanation for why He chose to love me. Why He would choose me. It truly is of no doing of my own. He just does. There is no other words to describe it but "beautiful". In that line in the song it is so simple but so powerful, "and I realized just how beautiful Y0u are and how great Your affections are for me." This captures that moment. Like when the woman caught in adultery and Jesus lifts her head and ask where are your accusers? This is that beautiful moment.
I so wish I had come to this place without having gone the dark path. I so desire for my children to be spared the pain of sin and pray for mercy over them. But I also feel sad for church goers who aren't moved in worship by a Savior that is so great, and so gracious, loving, so forgiving and oh so beautiful. In that moment when I am so overwhelmed by, captivated by, enraptured by His great love I gladly forsake all my junk, my sin, my filth, for Him. If only for a moment I can possess Him, have Him, obtain Him. If were the whole realm of nature mine that were an offering far too small. Love so amazing so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.
