Broken and Beloved - Aimee Taylor

Broken and Beloved

WE ARE BELOVED…

I lived a long time not knowing how loved and pursued I am by the Lord. Though I felt that God loved me when I was saved at 16, I definitely let my zeal and joy in the Lord fade as time, life, sin, and well-meaning people pulled at me. I don’t think I ever really understood the true extent of His love for me or understood why Jesus wanted to buy me back at the cross. I knew that I was a sinner, and that I needed Jesus to save me from my sin. But I had no idea what for … other than the fact that if my sin was swept away, I could somehow bring glory to God. Oftentimes that’s where it stops... but much to my surprise that is not all He wants from me or you. When I think over my journey with Christ over the last few decades, I see how I missed so much of what Jesus really said to us - His whole creation - in the Gospels. I mean look at some of the things He has said to us!

In Matthew 6 He tells us that we don’t have to worry about what we will eat or drink because our Father in Heaven sees us and knows what we need and actually wants to give us what we need.

He declares in Luke 11 that if we ask, seek, and knock he will give us good gifts, not a snake instead of fish, or a rock instead of bread.

Jesus calls out to us in Matthew 11:28-30 to come and be yoked (always connected) with Him, because He wants to teach us how to live humbly. He also wants to relieve our weariness and bear our burdens with us. Just what kind of God wants to do that?

In John 14-17 He says I am going to prepare a place for you, so that you will be with me where I am. What? He

wants us to be with Him when He returns to the Father? He also says that when we give ourselves to the Lord that the Father and the Son will come and make their home in our hearts. Wait, what? He wants to make His home with us?

And then finally at the end of the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus prays to the Father asking that He make us one with Him (John 17), just as He and the Father are one. So we are invited into total union with the Trinitarian God, beckoned into their perfect glorious fellowship - me?

Seriously, how did I miss these truly intimate, glorious words in scripture for so long? And there are so many more! How did I not hear them and instantly drop to my knees weeping? The God who made the whole universe has been continually shouting to us saying these incredible things, and we have been missing it. He has been saying that He sees you and sees insignificant me and that He wants us - not just to bring Him glory - but because He delights to be with us. Not for what we can bring to the table, but because He just wants us. Wow.

How have we missed this? It’s not enough just to know these things in our heads. Just having a mental assent is not enough to rest in. Though we may have had moments too, where these truths have sunk into our hearts, ugly circumstances often drive the truth of God’s love away as if it never existed there. You may read those verses and think, ‘I know this, but I don’t KNOW this!’ I knew them too, but only generally. It didn’t feel specific to me. It felt like a general call for everyone in the world, and though I appreciated being saved, it didn’t feel like He cared and saw me and my life specifically.

Maybe you need to have a time with the Lord, like I did, where He makes the Word come alive and speaks these things directly into your soul. And we have a God just like that! He united His amazing love to the center of my soul and joined it with faith (Hebrews 4) so that now it has become a part of who I am! This has changed my whole foundational make-up! So as the truth becomes planted within, you will be able to live from the wellspring of His love for you. Then neither of us will have to skulk around in our flesh trying to get any old kind of love from the people around us.

As the truth takes up residence and exists in your core in such a way that nothing can shake this foundation-making truth … suddenly all of life is full and abundant, just like Jesus says it will be! Can you believe that we have such a God who wants to do that for us!? Jesus wants you to feel loved because you most definitely are loved! This is displayed magnificently at the Cross! Jesus died not just to give us freedom from sin, but removed our sin so that we could be welcomed into fellowship with Him! He wants you to walk up to His throne confident not just in your salvation, but confident in His love for you. He wants to tell you that He is captivated by you and that you take His breath away (SOS). He wants to tell you that He sees your beauty and longs for you to rest in these truths. He is calling out to you to know Him with your whole being so that you might learn to live in the glorious union with our amazing God. And yes! He longs to gaze into your eyes as if you are Mary sitting at His feet and declare over you that you have chosen the One thing that matters - Him (Luke 10: 38-42). So look into His eyes and ask Him to tell you how loved you are. I guarantee He wants to tell you. He has arranged all of history so that He could rescue you to be in a love relationship with Him. I know it sounds completely insane, but it’s true, He really does want you and me. He really does.