These words,
addressed to you by God, are the most important words you will ever hear
because, before you hear them, nothing is ever completely right with you, but,
after you hear them, something will be right in your life at a very deep level.
These are simple
words, but they capture what we ultimately try to do when we “lift mind and
heart to God” in prayer.
We need to open ourselves to God in such a way that we are capable
of hearing God say to us, individually, “I love you!”
This might sound pious and sentimental. It’s anything but that.
In the Gospel of John, we meet Jesus as an adult right on the
first page and the first words out of Jesus’ mouth are a question: “What are
you looking for?” That question remains throughout the rest of the gospel
suggesting that beneath everything else a certain search is going on. A lot of
things are happening on the surface, but underneath, there remains always the
nagging, restless question: “What are you looking for?”
Jesus answers that
question on the morning of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene goes looking for
him, carrying spices with which to embalm his dead body. Jesus meets her, alive
and in no need of embalming, but she doesn’t recognize him. Bewildered, but
sincere, she asks Jesus where she might find Jesus. Jesus asks her: “What are
you looking for?” Then he answers it. With deep affection, he pronounces her
name: “Mary.”
In doing that,
he tells her what she and everyone else are forever looking for, God’s voice,
one-to-one, speaking unconditional love, gently saying your name. In the end,
that’s what we are all looking for and most need. We need to hear God,
affectionately, one-to-one, pronounce our names: “Carolyn!” “Julia!” “Steve!” Nothing will heal us more of restlessness,
bitterness, and insecurity than to hear God say: “I love you!”
Moreover, prayer
is meant to be a mutual thing, it’s important too that we respond in kind: Part
of prayer is also that we with affection, occasionally at least, say the same
thing to God: “I love you!” In all our relationships, we have to occasionally
prompt each other to hear expressions of affection and reassurance. It’s not
good enough to tell a marriage partner or a friend just once “I love you!” It
needs to be said regularly. The relationship of prayer is no different.
Prayer is not meant to change God but us. And nothing changes us
as much for the good as to hear someone say that he or she loves us—especially
if that someone is God.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and let them know that “I
love them.”
