God’s Great Love For Us

I found a golf tee today. For some reason, it reminded me of a walk I took in my old neighborhood a few years back. I’d had a bad day, and I was hoping that the walk might reorient my mood. I prayed as I walked, pouring out my heart to God. About a mile in, as I was asking Him what He had done for me recently, I noticed a reflection on the ground. I was in awe when I realized that it was a simple gold cross. How on earth could I forget? I praised God for His goodness, love and mercy. I confessed my ungratefulness and bad mood. I thought about keeping the cross, but I decided to leave it there for the owner to find.

I kept walking. Within a half mile or so, my bad mood resurfaced.

I started complaining to God that I felt unloved. At that moment, I looked down at the sidewalk and was stunned to see an open heart charm lying on the ground.

Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. I’m interpreting these found items as tangible evidence of God’s great love for me.

On my own, I’m no one special. But crazily enough, I am adored by the Creator of the universe. I am His “special possession” called to “declare the praises of Him who called [me] out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). How is that possible?

Romans 5:8 tells us that “God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” He loves us first, during and last. We are “God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). He wants the best for us (but perhaps not necessarily what we want), and He loves us despite our failings and flaws. And if you’re anything like me, there are lots of those. Yet still, “God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship” (Galatians 4:4-5).

Jesus goes further by actively seeking us out first: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). We are not the ones responsible for “finding” our faith or even for “finding” Jesus for that matter; He finds us. Once He does, we find Him when we seek Him with all our heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

How are we to respond to this great love?

We confess our need for a Savior. We trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation. We walk in dependence on our Heavenly Father, and we submit our will to His in all areas of our lives. We read His word. We pray. We seek out a community of faith. We listen. We let the Spirit show us the way forward. He teaches us how to cultivate His heart for others. We are commanded to “love one another” so that “everyone will know that [we] are [His] disciples” (John 13:34-35). Faith in Christ requires us to “love each other in the same way [He has] loved [us]. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13).

Today’s golf tee was found in a hospital parking garage.

Sometimes, it’s just a found object. Or are you open to the possibility that it is an invitation to tee up for the tournament of life?

Photo credit: sculpies