Not long ago, after I’d gotten home from vacation, a song came on Christian radio, and the host said, “That’s so true!” The line of the chorus said, “I’m not loved because I’m worthy; I’m loved because You’re good.”
And that made me burn to say:
NO! That is wrong! You are, you are, you are worthy of love!
The fact is, you and I and all humanity were made in God’s image.
I’m reminded of a saying from when I was in high school: “God don’t make no junk!”
As it happened, a string of four Sonderquotes I posted after I heard that song also affirmed that we’re worthy, we’re loved, we’re delighted in. The one above is from Maggie Smith.
Sharon Baker points out that God loves all humankind.
Gregory Boyle affirms often in his writings that God not only loves us, God delights in us.
And I think I like how Madeleine L’Engle puts it best. Because being worthy of love isn’t about what we do. So we can’t do something that makes us unworthy of love.
As Madeleine L’Engle puts it, “God loves us in our complex isness.”
I have a lot of thoughts on this, so let me try to put them into a psalm of praise:
Praise for God’s Unfailing Love
Give thanks to our Maker,
for God is good.
God’s love endures forever.
I’ve been taught that
You can’t look on sin,
but Bradley Jersak points out
that Jesus ate and drank with sinners.
And Jesus came to show us what God is like,
so God can delight in us
even if we aren’t perfect.
I’ve also been taught that
God can only love us because
when God looks at us, God sees Jesus.
But George MacDonald writes vehemently against that idea.
When You see us, God Who Sees,
You see us clearly,
and yet You love us.
Lorna Byrne says that when You create us,
You put a small spark of Yourself inside us,
and that spark is our soul.
I think that’s what theological types call
the Image of God.
She says that infants come into the world
as bundles of pure love.
Look at any newborn and say that isn’t so!
Now, I do believe that we hide Your image,
and we lock away our love.
But still, the spark is there.
And every one of us is worthy of love.
I also believe that You delight in our quirky uniqueness.
I choose to believe that my love for books and math and great blue herons
brings You joy.
Maker, You crafted each of us
as a unique expression of Your image
and being ourselves expresses Your creativity
each in a different way.
You love us as a parent loves a child,
even though the child is not perfect,
even though the child isn’t even always trying to do the right thing.
But Your faithful love delights in the child You’ve made,
the unique expression of Your image that we are.
Lord God, You love us because we’re worthy of love.
And You love us because You’re good.
Praise the Lord!
***
I’m still writing my own psalms as examples, hoping you will try it yourself. Check my website, prayingwiththepsalmists.com. You’ve got tips for what the different types of psalms include – and then links to my examples on this blog.
I’d love for you to try it and then post your own example in the comments!
What do you think? Do you dare to say, “I am worthy of love”? I believe with all my heart that you are!
***
Updated later that same night:
I’ve been reading through old Sonderquotes as part of #Sonderbooks25, my 25th anniversary of writing Sonderbooks. And this is what I had to learn when my husband left me – that I am still worthy of love.
This is summed up in the affirmation written by Steven Stosny that I posted on October 10, 2007. I think this affirmation may show up in all of his wonderful books.
I am worthy of respect, value, and compassion, whether or not I get them from others. If I don’t get them from others, it is necessary to feel more worthy, not less. It is necessary to affirm my own deep value as a unique person (a child of God). I respect and value myself. I have compassion for my hurt. I have compassion for the hurt of others. I trust myself to act in my best interests and in the best interests of loved ones.
Yes. I absorbed this message from him back in those early days I was learning to live on my own – and I fully believe that’s what enabled me to go on to live a happy and fulfilled life, even on my own. And why I reacted so strongly to that song!
Yes, yes, yes! I am worthy of love.