The Best Love We Could Ever Know

      Old, ragged, and faded pink. Baby was worn out, but I did not care. I took her everywhere with me. I took her to bed, to eat, and outside to play. It never mattered if I had gotten a new doll for Christmas; I still kept Baby right beside me.

      Did you ever have a blanket? A stuffed animal? Or maybe a doll you just could not bear to get rid of? That was me. I was the one with the doll. I played with her all the time. Even though I would get new toys for my birthday or Christmas, I could never give up Baby. I cherished that ragged, old, worn-out pink doll. As the years went on, my family made sure she came along with us wherever we went. To this day, my mom still has Baby. For some reason she’s never been able to throw her away.

      I forgot about Baby for a while, but then I recently read a story in a book called Love Beyond Reason by John Ortberg. Now I have a totally new understanding of Baby’s significance and why my mom has yet to pitch her.

      Dr. Ortberg tells of his sister’s doll, Pandy. Just like I did with my doll, his sister did everything with hers. She loved Pandy very much. But eventually Pandy got old. She lost an arm, most of her hair, and even her stuffing. Gangly and barely held together, Pandy was still her favorite toy.

      Dr. Ortberg remembers one year when he and his sister went on a trip to Canada, and as they were driving back, they realized that Pandy had been left behind at the hotel. So what did they do? The family drove all the way back to Canada just to get Pandy because of his sister’s love for her. Eventually she grew up and Pandy was put on the shelf. John Ortberg writes that the doll was a mess and should have been thrown out, but his mom could never do it. Instead, she wrapped Pandy in tissue paper and put her in the attic. Why not just throw the ragged old doll away? Why has my mom yet to throw Baby away? Dr. Ortberg explains that Pandy was worth saving because of his sister’s love for her. Her love for the decrepit doll made it valuable – and worth keeping. Eventually they had Pandy restored. Finally everyone could see why Pandy was so beautiful.

      I love that. Because of my little-girl-love for Baby, my mom decided to keep her. It was my love for Baby that has made her valuable. It is that way with God too. I am Pandy. You are Pandy. We are all Pandys. Broken. Worn-out at times. Hurt by the wear and tear of life and those around us. We sin and are sinned against. There are some of you that probably think you would be better off thrown away. But God loves you – you are valuable. You are worth keeping. He wants to keep you. He takes care of you. He carries you everywhere with Him and will even come back to get you when you are lost. He loves you. Love conquers your sin. Love heals your bruises. Love overcomes your pain. Love reflects your beauty. Love increases your value.

      The wildest part is that God does not have to love us. His being is utterly complete and perfect. He does not need me or you. Yet He chooses us, even considers us His inheritance. The greatest knowledge we can ever have is knowing God treasures us.

      Dr. Ortberg closed the story by saying, “There is such a love, a love that creates value in what is loved. There is a love that turns rag dolls into priceless treasures. There is a love that fastens itself onto ragged little creatures for reasons that no one could ever quite figure out, and makes them precious and valued beyond calculation. That is a love beyond reason. That is the love of God. This is the love with which God loves you and me.”

      A reporter once asked Billy Graham, “What is the greatest theological statement ever made?” It is said that Billy Graham thought for a moment and then replied, “The greatest theological statement ever made is ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’”

      But what exactly does the Bible tell us of God’s love? In Jeremiah 31:3 it says “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” And in 1 John 4:10 it says “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Then it continues in verse 16 by stating “and so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in Him.”

      No one has ever loved as God has loved. His love is unique, select, and uncommon. In the face of rejection – He loved. In the face of hatred – He loved. And in the face of unbelief – He loved. It is not possible to be “too bad” for God to love you. His love transcends our evil nature and ways and He keeps on loving us. There is a song that says “He knew me, yet He loved me.” God’s love supply is never empty. His thoughts of us outnumber the sand on the shore. We never leave His mind, escape His sight, or flee His thoughts. He sees the worst of us and loves us still. Our sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise Him. He sees them now. Every day and deed of our life has passed before His eyes and been calculated in His decision. He knows us better than we know ourselves and He has reached a verdict: He loves us still. No discovery will disillusion Him; no rebellion will dissuade Him. He loves us with an everlasting love.

      God’s love is infinite. It will never run dry. We are much more valuable than the birds in the sky and the lilies of the field. Yet God feeds the birds and makes the lilies grow. Because we are much more valuable than they are, God will take care of us too. He loves us. In fact, God even has the very hairs on our head numbered. He knows us. He knows our thoughts. He knows our actions. He is the one that looks at us and sees what we were meant to be. He is familiar with all our ways. We cannot flee from His presence. God is always with us. He loves us. He created us from the beginning. He knit us together in our mother’s womb. Our frame was not hidden from Him. God recorded all the days of our lives before one of them ever began. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. He loves us with an everlasting love. Saint Augustine once said “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”

      In the eyes of the Lord, we have value simply because we are who we are, who God made us to be. We do not have to look nice or perform well. Our value is inborn. Think about that for just a minute. We are valuable just because we exist. Not because of what we do or what we have done, but simply because we are here. In Matthew 7:11 Jesus says “if we humans who are sinful have such a love, how much more does God, the sinless and selfless Father, love me?” Surely there has to be an end to this love. You would think so, wouldn’t you? But David the adulterer never found it. Paul the murderer never found it. Peter the liar never found it. When it came to life, they all hit bottom. But when it came to God’s love, they never did. When it comes to God’s love, we will never find the limit. Don’t confuse God’s love with the love of people. The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God’s love. He loves us right where we are. Just the way we are. We have never lived a loveless day. Not one.

      Max Lucado once said “If God had a refrigerator; your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He will listen. He can live anywhere in the universe and He chose your heart. Let’s face it. He is crazy about you.”

"The Lord is merciful and gracious; He is slow to get angry and full of unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He has not punished us for all our sins, nor does he deal with us as we deserve. For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him is as great as the height of the Heavens above the Earth. He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us as the East is from the West. The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him. For He understands how weak we are; He knows we are only dust. Our days on Earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone – as though we had never been here. But the Lord remains forever with those who fear Him." Psalm 103:8-17