January 27, 2024
“Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without a compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. … He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.”
— Dieter F. Uchtdorf
One of the greatest tragedies of life is that many of us consider ourselves unlovable. For many foolish reasons. We’re not pretty enough. We’re not handsome enough. We didn’t graduate from a great college. We were criticized by our parents. We were picked on at school. We’re flawed and imperfect. Yes, there are so many things we believe make us unlovable or unworthy that the list can be a long one.
In fact, we could spend the rest of our lives cataloging everything that’s wrong with us and all our imperfections.
The even greater tragedy is that we can’t comprehend how God could love us just the way we are. All our life, we think we have to earn his love. Because we usually look at him the same way we look at our boss, our spouse, our kids, our parents.
But God isn’t like them, and thinking we have to earn his love ultimately hinders our spiritual growth. We should not look at God’s love as transactional like everything else in our society because it’s not. Until we overcome that thinking, we will never really appreciate how much he loves us as we are, flaws and all.
Why does this matter? Because as we try to heal in our grief, we need to know we’re loved beyond human comprehension by God, who knows more about us than anyone else, even ourselves, and who still loves us with an intensity we’ll never grasp in this life. His is a love that heals, a love that enlightens, a love that sustains.
If you think you’re unlovable or if you doubt God’s infinite love for you, start your day by saying this prayer: “Dear God, may I recognize your personal love for me today in my life.”
And then make an effort every day on your Healing Journey to look for his “personal love for you in your life.” If you look, you will see it in small ways and in big ways.
By the way, “personal love” means it’s intended for nobody but you.
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