Risky business

Every year my daughter receives a beautiful single red rose from her father for Valentine's Day. It's his way of reminding her that she is profoundly loved, cherished, and of irreplaceable worth to him. What a wonderful thing to know in your heart - you are deeply loved - not just with words but with promise - the one who loves you will never abandon you.

I have been reading a book by Rob Bell called Sex God, Exploring the Endless Connections Between Sexuality and Spirituality. I snuck the book out of my daughter's apartment because she sneaks my clothes into her suitcase....and also because she stated that every guy needs to read this book. That intrigued me to read it. Rob states,

"Love is handing your heart to someone and taking the risk that
they will hand it back because they don't want it. That's why it's such a
crushing ache on the inside. We gave away a part of ourselves and it wasn't
wanted."

Where Rob went with that thought stopped me in my tracks. He began to paint a picture of how that 'ache' is universal, but it originated with God...God has a broken heart!

"God takes this giant risk in creating and loving people, and in the process God's heart is broken. Again and again and again. Divine heartbreak....The story the Bible tells is of a living being who loves and who continues to love even when that love is not returned. A God who refuses to override our freedom, who respects our power to decide whether to reciprocate, a God who lets us make the next move."

Rob goes on to show how God, whose physical presence we wouldn't be able to handle, desired us to see His deep love. But how could He show us when He couldn't get near us?

"Jesus is God coming to us in love. Sheer unadulterated,unfiltered love.Stripped
of everything that could get in the way. Naked and vulnerable, hanging on a
cross, asking the question, 'What will you do with me?' "

It was risky for Him to go all the way to the cross with such a deep love inside. He was giving away his heart and himself, but some would just hand it back and not want Him. He could have just called the whole thing off. But God is love. He identifies with the crushing ache of abandonment and rejection.

And He knows how it feels to be cheated on.

Some who pledge their love and devotion to Him above anything or anyone, spend all their time with someone else....another love....a more appealing distraction...coveting... cheating....unfaithful.

And I wonder at times if that's me.

Imagine if my daughter received her Valentine rose from her Dad, told him with a hug that she loved him, and then threw the rose to the ground, crushing it below her foot. How would her father feel? Such a depth of love trampled... with words of affection, but no true devotion in return.

I'm thinking that's just a little taste of how God grieves.

I want His risky sacrifice to be worth it.

I don't want to cause more grief and ache for my Father.

I'd like to return the love in more than just words and pretense... and be forever faithful and devoted to the One who would give His very life for me.

It's truly the ultimate love story!

"You lived to die rejected and alone

Like a rose trampled on the ground

You took the fall and thought of me

Above all"