Jesus loves us. Yes, I knew that. I've heard it my whole life. I sung it as a child. I've taught children of all ages various lessons with that theme. I've made decisions based on that fact. I've held signs saying it and repeated it to random strangers. It's the motivation behind spending my summer in Asia.
Despite all of that, there was still a part of me that needed to hear how much God loves me. I didn't even realize that I wasn't grasping the fulness of God's love for me. And now that I have a bigger picture of His love and am more secure in it, I'm not sure I can ever fully understand it.
I didn't set out on a journey to discover God's love. It just kind of happened. It's like God's objective for this summer is to show me how deep, how true, how real, how unending and unfailing and unstoppable His love for me has been, is, and will always be. I wish I could express it in words. But I can't. God's showing me His heart for me. Someone else couldn't do it. And as much as I want to, I can't show you His heart for you. He has to do it.
There's a freedom in knowing - not just knowing, but experiencing - God's love. Love brings freedom. Because where there's perfect love, there is no need to prove oneself. Perfect love overpowers expectations. Perfect love abolishes fear. Perfect love is unstoppable. Perfect love creates freedom.
I don't know why God chose the summer I'm spending in Asia to show me this. Maybe because He speaks through people and events and it can't be coincidence that every single place I've gone has not only echoed but also amplified God's unending love for me. Maybe He's been trying to show me all along but I was too wrapped up in my surroundings to see it. Maybe both or neither or something else entirely.
What I can say though, now that I've spent time many places in Baguio, an orphanage in Bataan, the city of Surabaya, a youth camp in Borneo, a Muslim boarding school also in Indonesia, and the beaches of Bali, is that the most life-changing thing I've experienced this summer is God's love for me. If I had to choose between experiencing God's love and everything else I've learned in Asia (A LOT!), I would choose the former without any doubt.
We're back in the Philippines now and we still have 12 days left, but I don't think anything that happens in the next 12 days could change my previous statement. If things keep going the way they've been, these next 12 days will actually reinforce that statement.
I could say so much more, but my words don't really hold that much weight, if any at all. So my encouragement for you today is to ask God to show you how much He loves you. Don't try to study it or figure it out. Yes, there's a place for that, but today, just ask Him to show you. Don't doubt Him; He longs for you to know - to really know - the depth of His love for you.
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