Sunday Meditation 14

Smile, God loves you — and me, too

Somewhere in Heaven there’s a note beside my name in the Lamb’s Books of Life. It says, “Loved Since 1947.”

Can I prove that using chapter and verse?

I can’t. In fact, I adapted the phrase from a box of Milk Bone dog biscuits. (See photo above.)

Am I trying to be sarcastic?

Nope.

Funny?

Perhaps.

Truth is I feel loved. By God. Not because I’m lovable, but because I believe (deeply and profoundly) that God is Love.

John 3:16 says it best:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (KJV)

I’ve read those words in a bunch of English translations. Even Greek. They still resonate: God loves me. Li’ ol’ me. Imperfect me. Wretched me. Sometimes selfish, silly, stupid, me.

Why?

That, my friend, is a question I can’t answer. Not today. Not tomorrow. Maybe in eternity. Maybe …

Here’s the twist: It is that love (His Love — and the Love He is) that comforts me, like the comforting shepherd in Psalm 23. If that sounds preachy, so be it. I’m not writing this for you; I’m writing this for me — and Him.

I’m a little less than a year from 70. Health hasn’t been good. Overweight. Pre-diabetic. Back-pain. Leg-pain. Pain-pain. Trying to get my house in order. What if I end up living longer, to 75, 80, or beyond? I’ll deal with that if I get there. Until then, I plan to enjoy myself (emphasis on “joy”) with little things I used to take for granted: birds, butterflies; flowers, friends.

After all, I’m Jim Lamb — “Loved since 1947.”

You could look it up.

Jim Lamb is a retired journalist and author of “Orange Socks & Other Colorful Tales,” the story of how he survived Vietnam and kept his sense of humor. Sometimes he can get preachy. For more about Jim and his writing, visit www.jslstories.com.

ARCHIVE: Previous Meditations

Sunday Meditation 1: The Prodigal Son

Sunday Meditation 2: Ode to Jim Elliot

Sunday Meditation 3: House of Bread

Sunday Meditation 4: Run, Baby, Run

Sunday Meditation 5: When Jesus Prayed

Sunday Meditation 6: The Hebrew Alphabet

Sunday Meditation 7: Lost my Friends

Sunday Meditation 8: Jesus Saves & So Do Lifeguards

Sunday Meditation 9: Tim Tebow’s Dad & Me

Sunday Meditation 10: Coffee & Sweet Rolls

Sunday Meditation 11: What’s Love Got To Do With It? Everything

Sunday Meditation 12: ‘What’s Love Got to Do With it?’ Part 2

Sunday Meditation 13: ‘And Lead Us Not …’

My Testimony: Stealing Psalm 40