“Regifting the Joy of Christmas” ~ Women’s Christmas Celebrations 2013 is just a few weeks away! We are excited to have Anita Renfroe as guest entertainer and Babbie Mason as guest speaker and worship artist! We welcome Babbie to the blog today as a guest writer! Whether singing, composing music, teaching students, hosting her TV show, speaking to women or sharing her heart through her books, her heart shines through like a bright star. We hope you find encouragement as you read Babbie’s reminder of God’s love!
“Embraced by God” by Babbie Mason
When I was in the third grade, I got my first love letter from a little boy two rows over. Billy (not his real name) wrote the letter in a way that only a third grader could. He folded it up, origami-style, in the shape of a paper cup. He risked being caught and severely reprimanded by our teacher. When she had her back turned to the class to write on the chalk board, he passed the letter to me. Making sure that our teacher was still writing at the chalkboard, I opened the letter up and read it. This is what it said:
I don’t remember how I responded to Billy’s proposition to be his third grade sweetheart. But I do remember how it made me feel. I felt preferred and uniquely chosen knowing that someone in that classroom thought I was special. I recall even now, how I felt. Even though it was only a third grade crush, just knowing that someone loved me and thought enough of me to tell me so was very special indeed.
The Bible is God’s love letter to you. From cover to cover He’s calling out your name. From the table of contents all the way to the maps in the back of the Bible, He’s charting your life’s course. From “In the beginning God” to “Behold, I am coming soon”’, God wants to write His love story on the tablets of your heart. From the first hallelujah to the last amen, God is singing your victory song. Every chapter and verse is a proclamation of His great love and care for you. Each page is engraved with His invitation for you to come and be refreshed by His goodness and favor. Every promise is signed, sealed and delivered as if it were an arrow aimed straight for the target. Remember, you are the object of His deep, sweet love.
It was for you that Jesus wrapped Himself in flesh and came into the world.
It was for you He lived.
It was for you that He laid His life on the line.
It was for you He was crucified, He died and was buried.
It was for you He rose again from the grave and it is for you He will come again.
God loves you passionately and the beautiful thing is He wants you to love Him back. He wants you to respond to His love by giving Him your heart and life. God loves you, not for who you are but for Whose you are.
So, the next time you hear the words, “God loves you”, don’t just say, “Isn’t that nice” and then walk away unaffected to live beneath your privilege. But as a blood-bought, born again, child of God, begin living as one who knows that God loves you as if you were the only one to love. Turn that fundamental truth over and over in your mind then let it sink to the very depths of your soul. When you make it a practice to rehearse the powerful promise that God loves you just as much as He loves His Son, Jesus, you will begin to discover what most people fail to even notice.
It all begins with God’s love.
