I Made You to Save You: I Love You I Gave You

God never says to us, "I want you to become something else' without also saying: "I love YOU as you are."

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." Romans 5:6-11

It's Morning, Jesus
Underneath the warm gaze of your eyes creation awakens
Out of your favor every cold seed in the ground of winter
begins to quiver under the warmth of spring
and readies itself to burst forth in the heat of summer.

I quiver, too, with the inner vibrations of your love in me.
Every seed you've planted awaits it's time.

Though he was born in the midst of thistles and thorns
You loved him.
Though his father and mother planted a seed in the ghetto
You saw through the crime, waited for the time
You loved him.

Though she was planted in a dessert
And curses, like cactuses, were the first flowers of speech
drilled into her ears
You still saw the seed, knew the need
And you loved her.
.
Though they grew twisted and gnarled
In an anguish of survival
Twisting like a vine through a drain of sewage...
You saw the first shoot; knew the future fruit:
You loved them.

Though she strutted and swayed in a swagger of pride
And he carried a knife and boasted of a gun
You knew the walk out had just begun.
You love them.

And while they acted out
And so evinced the awful nature of sin
And while it seemed that everything in their brain
Was dark and evil and forgotten and lost

You acted out upon the cross
A drama higher than theirs
You were twisted and torn and thorned
And so evinced the immense nature of love

Love among thorns
You loved them.

And so it was, that upon the field of wheat and tares
You dared to shine love's favor
You did not react to the moment
You pointed to the judgement

You gave the wheat time
You chose a love sublime
You sent us not into the field
To root up with our own sense of righteousness
All that offended our sensibilities
All that rudely shouted sin
All that strutted and swaggered
All that carried a dagger or a gun
All that carried hammer and nails
Your love did not fail.

And from that dying place
You still showed favor with your face
Upon the seed, the seedling, the twisting vines
you even received the slaps of the cactuses on your face
In that dessert place.
Forgivng them, gracing them, loving them
You also loved me
You also loved him and her.

We belong to God, and everyone who knows God will listen to us. But the people who don't know God won't listen to us. That is how we can tell the Spirit that speaks the truth from the one that tells lies. My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows that we have been given new life. We are now God's children, and we know him. God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him. God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other.
1 John 4:6-11