12. IF I DON’T CONSIDER MYSELF WORTHY OF BEING LOVED, I WILL NOT EXPERIENCE GOD’S LOVE.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
TAKE A MOMENT. ASK YOURSELF, "AM I TRULY WORTHY OF GOD'S LOVE?" SPEND SOME TIME LETTING YOURSELF RESPOND TO THIS QUESTION. NOT JUST THINKING ABOUT IT, BUT FEELING IT.
WHAT ARE THE THOUGHTS THAT MIGHT CHALLENGE YOUR SENSE OF WORTHINESS?
CAN YOU NOTICE WHERE THESE THOUGHTS COME FROM?
QUIET YOURSELF, ASK JESUS, "DO YOU TRULY CONSIDER ME WORTHY OF YOUR LOVE?"
WHAT DO YOU SENSE? MAYBE TRY TO IMAGINE HIS FACE LOOKING AT YOU. WHAT DOES IT SAY?
The deepest need of every human is to be loved. Love is the essence of life, the energy that helps us live, the core desire of every person. In this, we reflect God's image and his deepest desire. God created us for love, to participate in a loving relationship with him. God loves us and longs for us to receive his love. But our sin and brokenness keep us from receiving that love and living in the loving relationship available to us.
Our brokenness can cause us to believe that we are not worthy of this love. However, our true worth, the person God sees when he looks at us, is more than worthy of God's love. But how we see ourselves, our image of ourselves, is defective and so we fail to receive what we most long for. This is an eternal and cosmic paradox. God loves us but we fail to believe we are loveable. Because of that, we miss out on what God has for us. We see it in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve hide from God's loving presence.
It seems, too, that we can see it in Mary the mother of Jesus when the angel appears to her. In Luke 1:28, before Gabriel has given Mary his message, he says, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you" (NIV). Reflect on this. What God first wants Mary to know is that he thinks she is amazing, wonderful, special, and worthy. Mary, like us, responds by being "greatly troubled at his words." Why was she troubled? Perhaps because she doesn't feel worthy. She is a teenage girl in a politically marginalized and patriarchal society. She comes from a town of no repute. She is pledged to be married and spend the rest of her life raising children, cooking, and keeping house for her husband. Mary might be thinking that the angel has the wrong address. Just like us,
Mary feels unworthy of the words of the angel, of God's message to her. Patiently, Gabriel repeats what God wants Mary, and all of his created children, to know. "Do not be afraid, [to think that you are worthy], Mary" he tells her. "You have found favor with God [and you truly are worthy of his love]" (Luke 1:30, NIV). It is not the fact that Mary becomes the mother of Jesus that makes her worthy; it is her worth that qualifies her to be the mother of our Lord. Can you imagine these words being spoken over you? "[_______ fill in your name] you are highly favored! The Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28, NIV). Unless we hear and accept these words, we will not experience the love that God has for us.