I noticed in the comments from yesterday’s Catch that there was an overwhelming sense of wonder as to what God saw in us that was valuable enough to make us worth saving when we know how messed up we are. And that made me think again, why does God love us? Is it something in us that is somehow lovable? I think not. I don’t think that God is responding to something in us as much as He is acting out something in Himself. His own love for us. That’s why John wrote “God is love.”
God loves because that’s who He is. He loves us because He is love. The love starts and ends with Him, and therefore, the value comes from Him. He loves us because He loves us.
The value we have comes from God’s love, it is not the cause of it. God doesn’t look from heaven and say, “John over there is a pretty good dude; I think I’ll save him.” Instead, it’s more like, “John over there is a mess, but I’m going to save him anyway.” Or, “The whole human race is a mess but I’m going to save it. I’m going to loved My creation back to Me.” The value is His, not ours.
So yes, we have value, but that is nothing intrinsic in us but that we are loved by God, and that is the whole deal. There is no reason for Him to love us except that He is love.
Why does God love us? Because we are worth it? Because we are so valuable? No. He loves us because He wants to. He chose to.
Noel Paul Stookey sings a song, “Danny’s Downs” by Michael Kelly Blanchard about how love imparts value.
Michael Kelly Blanchard
On the day little Danny arrived
His father stared and his mother cried
They knew his name but they didn’t know why
He looked the way he did
This thing happens to other kids
How in the world are we gonna live
With a boy like that?
Doctor said,”Dan’s the first bad news
Second is his heart won’t make it through
It must be fixed unless you choose
To send him back where he came
Starve the boy from his name
Just six short days of pain
Or maybe less”
Chorus:
Danny’s Downs but Love is up
It’s been known to be more than enough
For more and more of us
Danny’s downs but Love is up
“I’m not that strong,” his father said
“The dreams are gone, the hopes have fled
Won’t be long after he’s dead
We’ll try again to find
The child we had in mind
Where the hell are those papers to sign?”
And the man broke down
In a private room Danny’s mother wept
As an old Jamaican woman swept
And not by chance their eyes met
(And she said)
“God’s gifts are only good y’know
And there ain’t no Love the Lord can’t grow
Aw honey, take that boy with ya when ya go
Back home
(Chorus)
It’s been eight years since the surgery
His sister’s 5, his brother’s 3
He goes to school and he knows how to read
He takes the bus home by himself
Puts his lunch pail back upon the shelf
And he hugs his Momma till she melts
To the floor
They’re more than a home, they’re a family
‘Cause blood and bones are still souls y’see
And someone’s baby’s just another Danny
And in the guest room in the back
Lives this old Jamaican black
‘Cause when you give a gift
God gives it back again
Danny’s Downs but Love is up
It’s been known to be more than enough
For more and more of us
Danny’s downs but Love is up
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