The Difference Between Like and Love (and how sometimes like is just as important)...

Lately I can't escape a voice that keeps saying to me something along the following lines:

"Stop trying to make God love you. God already loves you and you don't have to earn it. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof of this truth. Why can't you just accept the love of God that is freely offered and stop trying to win something that has already been won for you on the Cross?"

When I hear these words - or something like them - something happens and it simultaneously intrigues and frustrates me. Why? Because I allow their weight to hit in me in the head, but, for some reason, it's not really hitting me in the heart. Not yet, not totally. And that's where the frustration and the feelings of alone-ness starts to appear. And then at that point, I don't feel loved. I don't even feel liked.

My questions is: do you struggle with the same thing as I do?

As in, you hear somebody or something sharing this revolutionary and life-changing truth, yet, you walk away feeling like even though you know it to be true, you don't feel it to be true.

Why is it that we are feeling this way? I'm positive I'm not the only one here...

Or maybe you're not at the know stage yet... If that's the case, I'm truly sorry. Please keep reading.

As I sit here thinking about this problem, I start thinking about the idea of "love" in general and how it compares to "like."

And then, it hits me: before we believe that we are loved by God, truly loved by God, we must start to believe that God likes us.

Take a second and let that set in.

...

God likes you.

God likes you.

God likes you.


God likes you.


He doesn't just love you.


He likes you.


...

Think about that for a second. God does not only love you with a love we can't comprehend. God also likes you with an affection and interest that is astoundingly meticulous and friendly.

And then I start to laugh because I realize that God likes it when I sing lousy poetry to the tune of three chord songs.

God sees and likes it when I'm chewing gum on public transit and it falls out of my mouth and I throw it back in before nobody can see what just happened...

God knows the number of hairs that are on our head...

This sort of "like" and how it feeds into pure love proves that God wants to spend time with us, wants to hear what we have to say, thinks that we are worth being around.

Wow.

Before we feel loved by God, maybe we need to start feeling liked by God.