God loves you
A while back I spoke at a retreat for the spiritual caregivers from Friendsview Retirement Community. I taught on leading a Listening Life, using some of the material I’d already prepared for the small group ministry at our church by the same name but in this presentation, I happened to mention that I think we cannot know the height, depth, and breadth of God’s love without opening ourselves in relationship to each other. Nor can we share it well with others when we’re not in close relationship with God ourselves. Our spiritual relationship with God, I said, is for the sake of others.
I used the example of a friend who I believe leads a listening life most of the time. One day, I stopped by the church office to drop something off. As I was leaving, I was about to cross the street when my friend came running out of the building calling me. He must have seen me walk past his office window. As he caught up with me on the sidewalk, he said, I just had a strong impression that God wanted me to tell you he loves you.
I said, I know he does but thanks, and as I headed back to work I wondered about the exchange. I was in a really healthy place at the time, do doubts about God, not feeling distant or abandoned, no burning questions or unanswered prayers, no need for reassurance that I could detect, so I asked God about it as I drove away. I think I said in my head something like, what’s up with that?, and the response – the thing that came clearly and powerfully to mind – was this: sometimes when you love someone, you just tell them.
I never told my friend the rest of that conversation. Life happened between then and now and I could never remember it at the right time. So, Gregg, thanks for leading a listening life and thanks all the more for following God's nudges to speak.
And, to anyone else who might ever wonder…You are a precious child, beloved by God, a beautiful person in his eyes.
I used the example of a friend who I believe leads a listening life most of the time. One day, I stopped by the church office to drop something off. As I was leaving, I was about to cross the street when my friend came running out of the building calling me. He must have seen me walk past his office window. As he caught up with me on the sidewalk, he said, I just had a strong impression that God wanted me to tell you he loves you.
I said, I know he does but thanks, and as I headed back to work I wondered about the exchange. I was in a really healthy place at the time, do doubts about God, not feeling distant or abandoned, no burning questions or unanswered prayers, no need for reassurance that I could detect, so I asked God about it as I drove away. I think I said in my head something like, what’s up with that?, and the response – the thing that came clearly and powerfully to mind – was this: sometimes when you love someone, you just tell them.
I never told my friend the rest of that conversation. Life happened between then and now and I could never remember it at the right time. So, Gregg, thanks for leading a listening life and thanks all the more for following God's nudges to speak.
And, to anyone else who might ever wonder…You are a precious child, beloved by God, a beautiful person in his eyes.
posted by kathy at
8:26 PM
2 Comments:
Sometimes God nudges us to do things that feel silly even to us as we do them. I think this may be a way of learning to do harder things, more risky, more humiliating. Like building up our spiritual muscles for listening and following.
By
Robin M., at 9:28 AM, October 16, 2007
God always nudges us toward doing the loving thing. The more we do it, the easier it becomes. And, so few people see God as someone who *loves* them. It's really too bad that he's gotten such a bad rap.
By
kathy, at 7:24 PM, October 18, 2007
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