As many of you know I am in the process of writing a book that revolves around the questions What does God enjoy? and What does God enjoy about me? The writing of this book is a fascinating personal journey that has had me spending many hours contemplating and journalling about my questions.
Yesterday as a contemplative exercise I used my question What does God like about me? as a journal prompt. To be honest this is not something that I find easy to answer. Like many of us, I tend to focus on what I think God dislikes about me and what needs to change, but writing Ten Things God Loves About Me, on my journal page forced me to stop and think. God rescued me because he delights in me Psalm 18:19 tells us and of course we have all blithely sung Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. Yet when it comes to naming what Jesus or God love about us we hit a blank wall. God’s love for us and delight in us precedes his salvation of us. With that thought in mind, it was easier to start my list of what I believe God enjoys about me.
Here is my list: Passion for shalom, pursuit of wholeness, encouragement of others, joy in gardening, love of creation, commitment to justice, sharing of hospitality, willingness to change, generosity in giving, adventures in creativity, and by the time I had finished I felt I could have written another 10.
Your list will probably look very different from mine, but I would encourage you to take time today to prayerfully ask what God likes about you and use your creativity to record the results. I think you will be surprised.
And please share what you come up with so that others can be inspired too.
5 comments
YESSSSSSS! I BELIEVE, I LOVE, I THANK, I REJOICE,and ask this Godoflove, to helpme share tbis outlandish Lovewith Allthatis….
But Michelle can you list the specific things that God loves about you?
Christine, I find this a fascinating topic and have been reflecting on it a lot recently. I recently went through a period of longing to hear God’s words, “Well done good and faithful servant.” It was the wish to know God’s approval. Is there a difference between God’s unconditional love of us and God’s “approval?” I’m not sure, but I think there might be. I also wonder if the approval question is actually the wrong question. I find Luther’s struggle to live up to God’s standards, God’s approval and never quite feeling like he made it to be informative. Is God’s approval a gift that we receive through faith in Christ as a result of being LOVED? I think it might be something like that. Still wrestling. I might love to sit down and talk about this some day. It is a fascinating topic to me, personally, spiritually, and theologically. Do I know God’s “approval” through receiving the gift of that very thing through faith in Christ–all because I am first loved? Hmm, still needs more thought.
Thanks for this comment Coe. It would be great to sit down and chat about it and yes I think there is a difference between God’s approval which is an acknowledgement of accomplishment and God’s love. With a new puppy in our home I am thinking a lot about this too. I love her, the feel of her warm fur, the way she snuggles into me when I pick her up, her silly antics but it certainly has nothing to do with approval – she still bites, and pees on the floor and gets into things she shouldn’t. My love for her has nothing to do with that.
Thanks Christine. I have a note in my wallet which a friend gave me at a low time a few years back – ‘you know Lisa that God is head over heels in love with you’. This same friend told me I was ‘great’ today. Could it be that God pours out his love and favour through the lips of friends. Could it be that it is God saying, ‘Lisa I am passionately in love with you’ and ‘I think you are great!’ All those encouraging things we say to others, lets speak them overselves, cherish them from the lips of friends, and believe them.