"She was loved not because she is lovable but because God is loving"
When you believe you aren't lovable, you'll doubt yourself unless you have applause.
When you believe you aren't lovable, you'll compare yourself to others
and complete for the position of "accepted and valuable"
the coveted prize handed down by the few who set the image standard
When you believe you aren't lovable you'll FEAR all the time
You'll worry you aren't good enough and be
anxious that they'll see your humanness so you'll craft images to hide it.
And when you fail, you'll believe you're less than others.
You won't know you're perfect just the way you are and loved because of
who you are not because of what you do or how you appear (image).
Would a father tell his daughter she isn't lovable? I can't imagine a good, whole hearted man who would ever tell his daughter she wasn't lovable.
As I read the words in quotes above, my heart twists and grieves for those who buy into such a philosophy. Not so long ago, I fell into that category, the one who doesn't know she is lovable. The basis of this thinking? God is good but I am not. God loves me because of who He is not because of who I am. I am his creation but I'm not lovable...that makes no logical sense.
I'm not sure how this gets all twisted up in our hearts. Maybe it comes from the idea that we humans are bad, born bad. Not that we're born human but born bad. That's not what Genesis says, it says God created and called what he had created good. And further states that the human he breathed the breath of life into was very good.
Have you ever looked at a baby straight from the womb? Have you ever just stared intently at the soft pink skin, the tiny fingers and toes and even smaller finger nails and marveled at the goodness of it? Those tiny humans, they're good, very good. They are magnificent creatures, born into a world that's all twisted up. Babies know from whence they've come, that they are "born of love". It's the adults who have forgotten. We've forgotten that we are created in love, born in love and always and forever loved fully, completely accepted and valuable.
I've been on a journey back, back to the beginning, back to find my true Self, the one who is made from love, the one created in the image of God. The image of man is empty. The images we curate to help us make sense of our world, to keep us safe and in demand, you know the ones. They're the Fear images. They show up at gatherings of other humans all spit shined, ready to do all the things that garner approval and please all the other people while neglecting themselves. They serve on committees and tell the jokes and cook the food and clean the things and keep the children in line and are never tired, seemingly and in need of nothing. But that's not WHO we are because we've forgotten that we are not what we DO or WEAR or MAKE or HAVE. Our identity is none of those things. Our identity is Love. We've simply forgotten.
But, what we believe in our heart about who we are will definitely play out in our every day. Believing we're not good enough, not lovable will keep us striving and working, trying to earn instead of resting, abiding with God in the love from which we were created.
There is a shift happening. The opening of the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf. Jesus said, He who has ears to hear let him hear. I don't think we're listening to the right voice. I know I wasn't. I had been conditioned since childhood to listen to the voice of a man outside of myself instead of the voice of God IN me. I trusted the humans outside of myself to tell me what I needed to do and how I should be spending my time and money and living my one life instead of listening to the voice in me. I was told so many half truths that it's taken a lot of years and some very intensive work in my heart/mind for me to really believe that I am loved and lovable. The untangling and the opening of my heart to love is an amazing journey with God.
I felt compelled to share my thoughts here, not because I want to debate or try to convince you of anything. That's not my place, not my calling. Why? Well, because I'm not God. I desire to tell a different story and I offer it here. If it resonates with you, great. Maybe you will begin to believe that you are lovable, fully and deeply loved as you are. You don't have to earn anything, you can just BE without DOing a single thing and you are lovable right now. You delight God to the point that He sings over you. I'm not sure God would sing over his creation that he didn't consider lovable.
she believed in her heart that she was lovely and she was.
the love radiated from a heart, broken open and put back together again.
she was so filled up with love for herself and all of creation
that it spilled out onto everyone she came into contact with.
fear and anxiety got out of the way because perfect love casts out fear
the love never ran out and never ran low and she blossomed and bloomed
into a sweet smelling garden of everything she was intended to be from the beginning
we need not compare or compete to be lovely
we need not show up as an image of perfect to be lovable
we need not fear showing our humanness
we need not wear ourselves out with the working
we ARE lovable
just as we are in this moment.
God is more than loving, God IS Love and we are created in HIS image.
1 John 4
