One of my favorite books is, "I Love You Stinky Face" by Lisa McCourt. A mom is tucking in her son for bed and he has lots of questions. "Mama, mama would you still love me if I were a big scary ape? Or a slimy swamp creature Or a super smelly skunk?" He is worried that she might not love him if..... Each time, the mom reassures him that she will love him no matter what. She comes up with creative and loving ways that would show her son that her love is unconditional. "I would dress you in colors that showed off your nice green skin. I would buy you a bigger toothbrush for your big teeth. I would move next to the swamp, and if you still smelled bad, I wouldn't mind, and I would whisper in your ear, "I love you, Stinky Face." ..." Many kids fear that no one will love them if people knew how bad they were. Many adults fear this too..they are unworthy of love. In this story the answer is very clear, "Nothing could ever stop me from loving you!" Of course every time I read this book I cry. The author somehow knew my mother's heart, "I will love my kids no matter what!" Do your kids really know or believe this? Does your husband know you feel this way about him? Have you told him lately that it's not about the job he does, the money he makes, or the all the reasons he has let you down..but you just love him? Do you believe this is the way God loves you? Or are do you secretly think that you have to hide from him because you also live with the fear that you are not good enough?
We have a saying in the Lee household, "I will love you for all the good you will do. I will love you even with all the bad choices you will make. I don't love you because of the way you might act or what you accomplish, I love you because you are mine!" This is actually harder to do than we might want to admit. We love our kids. They have our hearts! We would die for them! But our love is still human, still fallible. Only God's love is perfect.
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18
God's love is perfect. We do not need to be afraid he won't love us.
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39
Isn't that awesome...God loves us no matter what! If one of us is lost he will not only come after us but he will carry us home! (Luke 15:3-5) He loves us even when we are stinking with sin. Thank you for a God whose love never fails. I want to live like I really believe this!!!
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