Handcrafted with love
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
Do you ever doubt God’s love for you? As a believer, we “know” that God loves us, but I would assume, like me, you’ve had moments, or even seasons, where you’ve questioned if God truly does love you. Nothing I could say could convince you of His love; you have to believe it for yourself. But I would encourage you to see what He has to say about His love for you. And sweet friend, the Bible is filled with God’s declarations of love for you. The entire Bible is often referred to as the greatest love story of all time. If fact, John 3:16 has become the most quoted bible verse for a reason— “For God so loved the world.” It was His love that moved Him to action to save us from our sins. Do you ever wonder why God loves us so much? I mean truly, when we (as mankind) have been so awful, and when I, (as an individual), have been stained with sin and sinned against God? It baffles us because we find it hard to love others who have wronged us, and yet “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
It would take a lifetime to unravel that question. And Christ seeks to help us understand as we walk with Him. Paul prayed for the Ephesians that they “may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love and to know Christ’s love that surpasses all knowledge” (Ephesians 3:18-19). God wants you to grasp and fully know His love for you.
Read the first part of this verse and let it settle down into your heart.
I have loved you with an everlasting love.
Close your eyes and repeat that declaration again. When I read these words, I feel His love wash over me. It soothes me. It restores me. It is a divine balm on raw areas of my heart that only His love can heal.
When I turn these verses over and over, I’m caught by the boldness of the words behind them. God ardently declares His love for us. Even Mr. Darcy’s declaration doesn’t hold a candle to God’s. He does not hold back. He is not shy. He does not wait for us to declare our love for Him first. Moreover, he is not wayward in His love. His affection for us does not change. God doesn’t say “I have loved you most of the time.” He says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” God is steadfast in His love. He is sure about His love for you. He does not have second thoughts about it. This is like no love you’ve ever known on Earth, but “God is not a man that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19) and we can be sure of His love.
The first time I sat down and read this first, I took the verb “drawn” quite literally, and meditated on the verse as if God took a pencil and drew me. I don’t think this is too far fetched when we consider that God made us, that he knit us in our mother’s womb. (After reading a few other translations, it dawned on me, that the verse means he draws, pulls us, to Him. That being said, my post and thoughts are centered around the idea that God handmade us.)
I love finding items that are handmade. If I am out shopping and discover something is handmade, I am even more excited and impressed by the item than if it weren’t. Isn’t there something appealing about a handmade item? If you’ve ever made something, you understand the time something like that takes. You appreciate the effort, the quality, the individual attention given to that item. Handmade items typically cost more for that reason. They are worth more. They have more value. Not necessarily because the item is beautiful, or made from high quality items, etc. The value comes from its’ creator.
Don’t lose sight of this: God created you. He knit you in your mothers womb. He drew you. He handcrafted you with love. You were not mass produced. You were made with the attention of a craftsman. And unlike handmade knick-knacks, that typically have some flaws, you were made perfectly because He makes no mistakes. Now, this is not to say we are perfect, but that he perfectly made us. Our value is not found in how good we are, but in the One who made us.
You are an expression of His love. You are precious to Him. You are infinitely more valuable to Him than you could ever imagine. Simply put, God loves you because He made you.
