Love Runs Both Ways...

    Lately, I have been realizing that God loves me. Yah, I know. That sounds pretty typical. Even a 2 year old knows that! But I mean just what I said: He loves me. Think about that for a minute. Why in the world would God love me? What have I done where I would deserve such love?

   We got my Mom the David Crowder Band CD "Church Music" for Mother's Day. We all love it, and there is one song that sticks with all of us. Its called "How He Loves".
 "He is jealous for me,
 His love's like a hurricane, and I am a tree.
Bending beneath, the weight of His wind and mercy."

 We truly are trees. We soak up the living water, we grow only because He shines His light and gives His love, and we bend (not break) beneath His wind and mercy. The fact that His wind and mercy is so much and we still don't break beneath it's weight is amazing! The fact that God loves us at all is amazing! New mercies each morning. Wow!

  The best part about His love, is that He sent his one and only, beloved son, to be the sacrifice for our sins. We should have had the place on that cross. Not Jesus. Yet, He took it anyway. And what did we do? We laughed, and scoffed. But He forgives us even then! He is so merciful and loving. Even when we were scoffing Him, He was thinking, "I love you and I'm doing this for you."

  Yes, God loves me. And do you know what? I love him too. I used to feel like all God expects from us is our respect and reverance. Yah, He wanted love too, but He was always the scary God who scared me into loving Him. Now I know that He doesnt want that kind of love. He wants the kind we give freely. And He wants it because He first loved us. I love Him, because He first loved me.

   God loved me before I existed. Don't you think I should love the God that sent His son to die for me? That gives me new mercies everyday ? I do. And I do love Him. He loves you too. My hope is that I will learn and grow in God. Learn more about His love :) I hope this makes sense...I really want it too! And don't think that this is a brand new discovery, because I figured this out a few years ago. Well, more like God revealed it to me a few years ago.

  Before I go, I would just love to mention how excited I am about Advance 2011!!! It's coming fast! June 2-5. AHH! God meets me and all the other teens in my youth group there, and it is truly amazing. Well, have a great Wednesday!
<3 Bailey