I have not achieved many of the labels that I have invested in and strived for. I am not an artist, I am not a leader, I am not an academic. I am not legitimately entitled to be labeled a friend or a daughter or a mom or a wife because I have failed to fully achieve what it really means to be any of those titles. This is not self-loathing or poor self-image; it is a recognition of reality. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. Romans 12:3. I fall woefully short of the ideal; I have not reached or attained the characteristics that define such beautiful concepts as wife or mom or friend or artist or….
And yet, Jesus loves me perfectly for who I am today. He also perfectly loved me for who I was yesterday and for who I will be tomorrow. It is not His goal for me to achieve label status in order to become His beloved. I am “God’s masterpiece,” created “anew in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:10 [NLT]) I am His beloved; yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Jesus loves others that same way. There is no basis for jealousy in that fact. Jesus’ time and attention will not be diverted from me to attend to another’s needs. Jesus is unlimited and is perfectly sufficient to meet all our needs – everyone’s need to be loved. For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. Romans 11:36. His love for others does not reduce His love for me one iota. While a spouse may shift love and resources to another person, “God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change His mind.” Numbers 23:19.
When I see another walking closely with Jesus, it is not an indication that I am failing in my relationship with Him or that I should feel shame for not connecting with Jesus in that same way. Seeing another’s special, faithful interaction with Jesus can either be:
- The recognition that we are each uniquely made and “we have different gifts, according to the grace given us” (Romans 12:6). Jesus knows and loves us so individually and personally that the expression of faith and communion with Jesus that I see in another person is a beautiful reflection of who God made that person to be. I am different and a similar expression of God’s love to me would not necessarily carry the same meaning, or even make sense, based on who He made me to be.
- An invitation to open a door in my soul that I may not have realized was closed. Perhaps I have a portion of myself that I have not yet explored with Jesus and seeing this reflection of Christ’s love to another is a gentle knock, requesting that I recognize my need to journey further with Jesus. The Apostle Paul spoke of his ministry to the Gentiles and hoped that by seeing how Jesus’ love blessed the Gentiles, that his fellow Israelites might desire to come to know that same love, too (Romans 11:13-14).
I pray that these same realizations arise in the lives of our spouses. May they be gently called back into an abiding relationship with Jesus. For, “if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again” (Romans 11:23).
May we all recognize and enjoy Jesus’ unique, abiding, unlimited love for us.
God bless,
Warnecke in Texas
