God’s love for me crosses incredible distance.
His love reaches to the heavens and his faithfulness stretches to the sky.
He is not shy to jump across colossal cracks just to win me back.

God’s love for me is broad; easy to access.
No complicated process or bureaucratic maze
No resumes required; I’ve already been hired!

God’s love for me is never busy,
I have his full attention.
His love is not hidden behind his secretary,
Some scary gatekeeper of his schedule.

God’s love for me doesn’t drive in the fast lane,
Isn’t aiming to pass me or leave me in the dust.
It invites me to trust, to slow down enough that I don’t rush on by.
God’s love for me wonders why I think speeding up is more spiritual than slowing down

God’s love for me is thick;
More sticky than honey.
It’s got enough viscosity that it doesn’t stream away.

God’s love for me has changed my name and my identity,
It is the highest authority on the question “who am I?”
It’s defied all other answers to define me as a son,
A precious one, a beloved who belongs.
God’s love for me is strong.

God’s love for me is jealousy,
Wanting my full affection.
It’s unwilling to share my attention with any other rival.
It doesn’t settle for my idols or give them any space.
God’s love for me, in its grace, demands that they depart.
And it will have all of my heart or none of it at all.

Yet God’s love for me is in it for the long haul, committed to the process,
Patient with slow progress and kind even in my relapse.
God’s love for me doesn’t collapse when I do
It never cuts its losses and moves on, it runs long.
God’s love is pleased to journey with me.

God’s love for me isn’t a critic,
Not an evaluator for me to impress or entertain,
What a drain that would be!
What a waste of energy!
God’s love for me ain’t got no taste,
Not searchin’ for sophistication,
It’s fully okay with me being human.

God’s love for me isn’t threatened by my mess,
Not scared off by my selfishness.
God’s love for me is confident that it can make me clean.
It’s more than qualified to restore my soul and make my heart pristine.

God’s love for me displays object permanence:
It’s existence doesn’t depend upon my ability to perceive
I don’t need to worry when my eyesight gets blurry,
Because God’s love for me doesn’t cease to be just cause I can’t see it.
I might lose sight of his love but it never loses sight of me.

God’s love for me descends into dark valleys just to keep me company.
Though at times I feel lonely I’m never really alone.

God’s love for me coexists with suffering,
Sitting silently by my side when my heart feels like I’ve died.
God’s love for me knows exactly what pain feels like,
It is fully familiar with piercing agony.
There is an intimacy only available through shared suffering,
And his love is 100% willing to meet me in that space.

God’s love for me is heavy,
It has a gravitas like gravity.
It’s weightiness keeps pulling me in.

God’s love for me loves to hide in tiny moments,
Treasures eager to be found if I just opened my eyes:
Golden skies with clouds of countless textures,
Simple pleasures like a deep breath of crisp air,
Ripe pears: juicy and sweet,
Functioning feet that take me where I want to go.
There is no such thing as saying “thank you” too often.

God’s love for me is life-restoring, pouring hope into my story.
Death is overcome by glory, happily ever after.

God’s love for me is laughter, joy-bestowing, overflowing gratitude.

God’s love for me loves recycling.
Somehow redeeming the deepest darkness and bringing forth beauty.
It has the uncanny ability of transmuting curses into blessings.
God’s love for me doesn’t waste a single tear.

God’s love for me is not some fluffy “follow your heart” nonsense,
It doesn’t cheer me on as I follow my feelings over the cliff.
His love knows where my foolish heart goes and gladly opposes my self-destruction.
God’s love for me is protection,
Willing to risk my rejection by saying “no” to my ego.
It doesn’t tiptoe around hard truth just cause I have a hard heart.
It doesn’t give in to my sin, my stubborn will or tantrums
God’s love for me is wisdom
It’s more concerned with my wholeness than my temporary happiness.
God’s love for me seeks my welfare even when I don’t care.

God’s love for me is reckless, unconcerned for its own safety,
It empties itself, not clinging to self-preservation.
Case in point: the crucifixion!
Throwing caution to the wind and winding up on a bloody cross.
God’s love for me didn’t stay a safe distance away,
It entered into the fray and got caught in the crossfire.

His desire is that this love would be shared
And God’s love prepares me to love others in return.
It’s the way I unlearn the social exchange theory,
How I change from merely calculating the pro’s and con’s of other people,
To a sacrificial selflessness.

God’s love for me contains the power to pass it on to others,
To love my brothers AND my enemies.
It is the supernatural energy to actually forgive,
To give my anger into God’s hands
And speak grand prayers of blessing upon people who’ve caused me pain.
God’s love for me isn’t tame and it doesn’t allow me to stay the same,
It doesn’t grant permission to drink the poison of resentment.
It doesn’t feed the silly sentiment of my own superiority.
God’s love is for me…but no more than he is for the people who drive me crazy.
He lavishly pours it out upon the sinful and the weak.

God’s love for me is not unique,
Not some chic gift I got for being squeaky clean…
Not a reward for my moral hygiene, no!
God’s love for me sees my heart’s hidden cancer
And it is a doctor eager to bring healing as soon as I’m humble,
When my denials crumble and I accept his intervention.

But ultimately, God’s love for me can’t be captured by words,
It largeness isn’t as limited as language or linguistics,
So this poem is a clumsy collage of snapshots,
My “connect the dots” imitation of divine revelation.
It’s an invitation for me to taste and see that He is good,
A way to remind myself of his kindness.
And I hope it served that same purpose for you too.
May we ever discover other aspects of his love,
And forever find fresh reasons to draw near.
Because God’s love for US wants to be clear.