02-04-26

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 4, 2026
Jesus hopefully loves me,
I wish I knew.
For some say the Bible
Tell us how to earn that love.
I don’t know if I good enough.

Ok, I know this rewrite of the children’s song does not rhyme, and the meter doesn’t come close to working, but I am amazed at how people are left feeling as if the love of God revealed in Jesus is maybe something they can earn if they only work hard, pray the right prayers, read the Bible literally, and stay away from the long laundry list of bad things. What would we think if a parent told his/her five-year-old, “I will love you if you clean your room”? Most of us would be pretty troubled by the linking of love to a child’s choices. A parent still wants the child to make good choices, and I’m guessing most parents are hoping that their child’s bedroom is sort of clean. But in both success and failure, love should be the one irrefutable consistency. And the God I meet in Jesus is probably going to do things better than even the best of human parents. In a world where lots of people want to drain life from others with guilt and fear and constant anxiety, the Spirit is still at work speaking a message of peace into the universe, and it begins with the words, “You are loved unconditionally!”

Whisper once again your message of love, O Heavenly Spirit, for sometimes I hear a lot of noise from those who seek to tear down and rip apart. Let me quiet myself and hear the words, “You are loved!” Amen.