My friend Rich Dixon is helping me out here, with posts that come just at the right time and just with the right challenge for me.

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You and I are loved.

It’s been a tough few months. Pandemic. Racial tension. Financial uncertainty. We’re immersed in an above-normal sense that things just aren’t going well and that the future is more uncertain than ever. No matter what our personal circumstances might be, it’s difficult to escape this general sense of cultural angst.

In the midst of this heightened tension, I thought it might be good to remind us that we’re loved.

God loves you and me — fully, completely, and unconditionally – and there’s nothing we can do about it.

We can’t mess up enough to make God stop loving us. Our careers might fall apart. We may bungle important relationships and hurt those who care for us. Perhaps we conceal a horrible past or private thoughts that would cause others to turn away. Every single thing in our lives may seem like failure.

We might not even know He loves us, or we might forget. We can be so lost and lonely that we’re absolutely certain He doesn’t love us. We might not even believe He’s there.

Doesn’t matter.

Doesn’t matter, because God is love. It’s not something He does, it’s who He is.

And being loved is who we are. It’s our identity because God, who is love, created us in His image.

Why am I telling you this? Because honestly, I don’t feel loved most of the time. I struggle with depression, and my brain often tells me I’m unlovable. Even though I know better, I can let myself wallow in that kind of pain and sadness.

So I’m telling you because sometimes I need to be reminded that my feelings are liars. I need to be reminded that God loves me, no matter what.

And I thought maybe you needed to be reminded, too.

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From Jon: Please join Nancy and me and Rich and Becky and other readers of this blog in supporting the Hope and Freedom Challenge. More accurately, support some children who are finally getting the care and respect kids need. Because they are loved, too.