Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.-Hebrews 11:1
One of my favorite ways to kick off adult retreats-especially men's retreats-is to have them sing the children's song Jesus Loves Me. Grins and groans always greet me when I try this, but I know a secret: Most of the adults in the room no longer feel like Jesus loves them, if they ever did.
It isn't that these adults (including, probably, most of you reading this devotional) doubt Jesus, or the Bible; it's that they feel too hypocritical or too unworthy or too distant or too flawed or too sinful to believe Jesus could love them. From the front of the crowd it's truly amazing to watch as the song's simple truth plows through years of stress and hurt, leaving some even fighting back tears.
What few of them realize is that the song takes their doubts into account. It isn't "Jesus loves me this I know, for I joyously feel it so" (heart knowledge), but instead is the more comforting, more familiar, and infinitely more realistic (head knowledge)...
"Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so..."
Except for the very small percentage of Christians to whom God gives the gift of faith, most of us will never feel worthy of God's love (and hence will never feel loved by Him), but must instead accept the truth of His love because He says He does. This is, in fact, the great battle of our lives: To hold on to truths because we believe God's Word more than we believe our own feelings. God's Word never lies or deceives or misleads His children; our feelings betray us constantly. The song acknowledges our weakness in its' next line...
"Little ones to Him belong; they are weak but He is strong..."
Even now, as you read this, some of you are resisting, certain this doubt you have is sinful; further evidence, you think, of the inadequacy of your faith. To the contrary, however, it is the ability to trust a truth when we don't feel it that is the heart and soul of faith (Hebrews 11:1); a test of wills between the heart (which deceives) and God's Word (which never deceives!) As if to conquer our doubt, the song's chorus does what Jesus so often did: Teach a truth by repeating it again and again ("blessed are the, etc....; the Kingdom of God is like, etc....")
"Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so."
To be sure, there will be moments when we feel His love; when we catch a glimpse of the certainty we'll have in eternity. But for most of us, the journey will be what it's always been, a shaky but determined movement towards God in two-steps-forward, one-step-back fashion, interrupted by periods of retreat marked by one-step-forward, two- steps-back slippage punctuated at times by stops forced on us by life's overwhelming stresses.
Just as our salvation isn't based on being worthy; neither is God's love. Wherever we are in this journey of faith, Jesus loves us. And joy of joys, once we've accepted His gift of grace, Scripture promises nothing will ever separate us from His love. (Romans 8:35-39)
This Christmas, sprinkled among the hymns and carols we've grown to love, let's slip in a couple of verses of Jesus Loves Me to remind ourselves of the gift only He could give.
Never let your heart or feelings trump God's Word. Never forget in the darkness what you know to be true in the Light.
Merry Christmas! Joy of Joys, Jesus loves you!
--Randy Kilgore
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