Loved to Death

Have you ever really loved something or someone so much that it hurt? The other day I heard someone say excitedly, “Oh I just love that show to death”! It caused me to wonder where that expression came from. I love words, and as a writer, realize the power they have. Where did that phrase originate? Have you ever said it?

Photo by Linda Jackman Photography

Have you loved something or someone that you would die for? It prompted me to ponder what has that kind of value in my life? My spouse and my children, “some” of my family members, but that is about it. I’d love to have a house at the beach but I wouldn’t kill for it, nor would I die for it.

What would it be like to be loved to death – imagine it. Loved so well and so much that you couldn’t stand it, you couldn’t speak or breathe you just felt nothing but love 24-7?

We don’t have to imagine, because we all have been. Jesus loved us to death. Literally.

Jesus Loved us to Death. Can you feel the power in those words? He didn’t give up on us. He knew we were going to try and fail and some of us not try at all. He knew we would lie, cheat and steal. He didn’t give up on us. He gave it all up for us.

Sometimes I feel like quitting, giving in and throwing in the towel – on myself, and on my projects. Nurturing, growing, improving, maturing me; it seems like so much effort. Sometimes I feel worthless and undervalued mostly in my own eyes because of my shortcomings and my failures.

But Jesus loved me to death.

In light of those words, quitting or giving up seems like squandering or wasteful. If Jesus thought we were worth dying for, and he is all knowing and never wrong. Why is it so hard for us to see ourselves as worth that? Worth dying for.

Perhaps it is the lenses we use to view ourselves. The world’s lens tells us one story, while the spousal or kid lens gives us another image. Then there is the parent or work lens which can give us a totally different perspective. The view changes based on the lens we are looking through.

Since no one ever gave up more for us than Jesus, we need to look at ourselves through His lens. It isn’t easy and it isn’t natural. I have a dear friend who struggles to do this ever and she is miserable. I have other friends who are confident women and it seems easy for them to use the “JESUS” lens. Personally, I struggle with it and it hinders me.

I am going to try harder to see myself through the Lenses of the ONE that loved me to death. Join me!

Point to Ponder:

What lenses are you using to view yourself? How would your life be different if you saw yourself as Jesus sees you – worth dying for?

Oxygen, Hydrogen, Carbon…Priceless!

“Who holds the wind in his fists? Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Who created the whole wide world? What is his name – and his son’s name?
Tell me if you know.”
Proverbs 30:4 NLT

Okay so I am pondering this. My daily devotions include reading through the book of Proverbs every month. There are 31 chapters in this book of the Bible, so all I need to know is the date and I am equipped. I have been doing this for several years. Last month I came across this verse as if seeing it for the first time and yes…TODAY is the 30th so… I came across it again. All I can say is WOW.

A Chris Tomlin song talks about “Heavenly storehouses laden with Snow” and then there are all the verses trust me, I have researched, that talk about God’s Creations and how magnificent they are. “He drew the boundary for the sea”, “He calls and the stars appear in order”… Does it get more awesome than that? I mean really! God really has it under control.

The postcards he paints via nature are like love letters to us. It is through nature that we not only see His awesome power but also gentleness and compassion. Showing others how to connect to HIM through creation is what Kissed By the Creator is all about.

How beautiful is the sunset? How glorious is the dew on a budding rose? How intricate is the web of an orb spider or the patterns of the wind on the sand dunes in the desert? With sweeping artistic strokes God has created a masterpiece that we get to live in. Drinking it in can be mesmerizing.

Guess what? The creator of all this beauty, this master of much also created you and me. Yes and not only did he create us, but HE loves us more than any of his other creations. We are the desire of his heart. He views us more special and worthy than anything else he created. So worthy in fact he was willing to die for us. We are his most priceless work of art!

I think of the music I have from musicians I admire, and artists whose work I collect and the books by favorite authors that line my shelves, things I consider treasures and priceless, but would I die for them? Nope. Then I think of God’s priceless treasures. We are HIS collection. We are HIS treasure. The Creator of the Universe and all its splendor and beauty tossed together some hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and a 6 foot strand of DNA and here we are…priceless.

Remember, your maker knows your value, even if others don’t. So today make it a point to respect yourself by making choices that reflect your worth. Don’t permit someone’s view of you to overshadow your importance to God.

Point to Ponder: How can you encourage someone today of their worth or their value?