Never Been Unloved (Even though I totally don't deserve the love)

Today hasn't been the best day. I woke up crabby, went through my chores still feeling crabby, begrudgingly did the things I needed to do or irresponsibly put them off for another time. One thing I did do was spend a few minutes reading Romans, which reminded me of 1 John 3:1-2. Read the incredible message in these words.

How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it does not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

There is so much hope in these words. God's love for us is so great that he would actually call us children, despite all of the horrible things I have done and continue to do. Am I even his child on these crabby days when no one wants to be around me and I wish I could just crawl back in bed and start over again tomorrow? Oh yeah, even on those days. Just like my biological parents wouldn't have given me up on my crabby days as a child, God's love is even bigger than theirs.

And oh, what incredible hope to read that what I will be hasn't yet been made known. I am still a work in progress, I am still living a sinful life here on earth. But the message here is very clear: I am not who I will be when God appears. I will be perfect because he is perfect, not because I have finally attained perfection on my own. The song below seems to fit my needs today perfectly.

Michael W. Smith
Never Been Unloved lyrics

Songwriters: Smith, Michael W; Kirkpatrick, Wayne

I have been unfaithful
I have been unworthy
I have been unrighteous
And I have been unmerciful

I have been unreachable
I have been unteachable
I have been unwilling
And I have been undesirable

And sometimes I have unwise
I've been undone by what I'm unsure of
But because of You
And all that You went through
I know that I have never been unloved

I have been unbroken
I have been unmended
I have been uneasy
And I've been unapproachable

I've been unemotional
I've been unexceptional
I've been undecided
And I have been unqualified

Unaware
I have been unfair
I've been unfit for blessings from above
But even I can see
The sacrifice You made for me
To show that I have never been unloved

It's because of You
And all that You went through
I know that I have never been unloved