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I almost didn't open my Bible last Tuesday.
I'd had a bad few days. The kind where you've snapped at people you love and avoided the prayer you knew you needed. Some part of me wanted to clean up first. Get the week back on track. Then come back to God when I had something better to bring.
That instinct is older than I am.
This week's theme: Known.
Today, the second name. Loved.
LOVED
Most of us learned love the same way.
You did something good, and someone smiled. You did something bad, and someone went cold. You worked out, quite young, that affection had a rate, and the rate was your performance.
By the time you got old enough to know better, the equation was set. Love was something you earned. You knew you had it when someone was being nice to you. You knew you were about to lose it when they weren't.
You may have brought that equation to God. Most of us do. You pray when you've been good. You hide when you haven't. You know in your head that grace is free, but in your body you're still keeping a running tally.
Then Paul writes this.
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
He's not writing a sentimental poem. He's writing to people being killed for their faith. The list is exhaustive on purpose. Death. Life. Powers. The present. The future. Height. Depth. Every conceivable threat, named and ruled out.
Then he closes the gate. Nothing in all creation will separate you from this love. Nothing. Not your failure. Not your distance. Not the version of you that hasn't prayed in a month.
The love that holds you wasn't earned, which means it can't be lost.
You know the prodigal son story. The son who took his inheritance early, burned through every penny, and ended up feeding pigs in a field. He rehearsed an apology on the road home. Not because he was truly repentant. He was hungry. He just wanted to be taken back as a servant.
Now watch what the father does.
The text says, "while he was still a long way off, his father saw him." The father had been watching the road. Every day, probably. He saw the son before the son saw the house.
And then this. "He was filled with compassion for him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him."
The father ran.
In that culture, men of his standing did not run. Running required lifting your robes. It was undignified. The father didn't care. He saw his son, he ran, he held him, he kissed him.
The son started to deliver his rehearsed speech. The father interrupted with instructions. Bring the best robe. The ring. The sandals. Kill the calf. We're having a party.
The son hadn't apologised properly yet. The father didn't need him to.
This is the picture Jesus chose to give us of God. Not a judge with crossed arms. Not a parent waiting for the right confession. A father who has been watching the road. A father who runs.
He ran before the son finished his speech. He sees you on the road today.
YOUR ONE THING FOR TODAY
Receive one small thing today without trying to repay it.
A compliment you'd normally deflect. An offer of help you'd normally refuse. A kind text you'd normally feel guilty about.
Don't balance the scales. Don't qualify yourself out of it. Just say thank you and let it land.
Father, I've been earning for so long I've forgotten how to receive. Teach me today to let something land. Stop the running tally. Help me believe you ran toward me before I'd even finished my speech. Help me sit, and rest, and be loved. Amen.
FROM THE ARCHIVE
If you want to go deeper into how scripture talks about God's love, this video took me weeks to make: I Read Every Verse About Love in the Bible.
OVER TO YOU
What's one thing you'll receive today instead of trying to earn? Hit reply with one line. I read every one.
God bless you, my friend.
The LowKey Christian
P.S. The cover of the new eBook reveals tomorrow morning. Built around these same seven names. Subscribers see it first, before anything goes public!