February Perspective | Yes, Jesus Loves Me!

I still love to sing the familiar childhood song, Yes, Jesus Loves Me! God calls me His child and I am forever loved by Him. It makes me think of my youngest daughter Jessica. I would often hear her singing this throughout the house when she was young.  She was Daddy’s little girl but also had an awareness that she was a loved child of her Heavenly Father. As God’s children, we are just that. Children.

We will never have all the answers on this side of heaven. But we have a God who reveals Himself and His glory in and through our lives as we experience His love and mercy to us. The Bible tells us that: “In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us” (Ephesians 1:7). He chooses to have a relationship with us. He wants us to enjoy our child/father relationship with Him and be able to say, “Yes, Jesus Loves Me!”

I Love my Daddy

I helped Jessica make a birthday book for Joe when she was five years old. She described many of the ways she enjoyed being with him.  She pasted pictures we found of her and Joe in her handmade book. The captions read:

• I love to cuddle with my Daddy.
• I love to lay by my Daddy.
• I love to be on my Daddy’s shoulders.
• I like to be strong like my Daddy!
• I love to golf with my Daddy!
• I love it when Daddy pulls me on a sled!
• I love my Daddy and He loves me! 

Jess had a strong relationship with her Daddy. Being with him brought her peace, joy, and security just as Jesus’ presence in my life does if I spend time with Him.

My Daddy Loves Me

Spurred on by something that had happened at school in third grade, Jessica asked me if God still loved us even when we didn’t love Him back. I answered by reminding her about how she would often greet Joe with a hug when he came home from work. She loved hearing about what he did during the day and, in return, would tell him about her day and what she had learned.

Jess loved sitting on his lap. As she jabbered on and on, Joe listened with an attentive ear. Her Daddy loved her. Jess also loved her Daddy. Often, she would sit in silence next to him or on his lap and simply enjoy being with him. She knew that he loved being with her too. Daddy’s presence brought her peace and security.

I then contrasted how, at times, she might ignore him, acting as if he wasn’t there. But obviously, he was. I assured her that He would still love her and that she would still be his little girl. Nothing could EVER change His love for her. She would always belong to him. The only difference was that she wouldn’t know much about him. She would also be unaware of how much he loved her.

Our Heavenly Father

How can it be any different with our Heavenly Father and us? We gain a sense of peace and confidence when we know how loved we are by God. Without this assurance, we can easily become imprisoned by insecurities and self-absorption. This so often leads to seeking acceptance and approval in unhealthy ways.

Jessica was assured of how loved she was not only by her earthly Daddy but could also say, “Jesus Loves Me, this I know”.  Knowing this truth enabled her to reach out to others with confidence.

When a small child falls down or feels sad, a simple look of reassurance from Daddy is all they need to know that everything is okay. A gentle smile or an affirming word can bring peace. That’s what God does through His Word and presence. We can trust God when we know how much He loves us.

Pure Trust

Joe often uses the example of when the kids were little. He would set them on a countertop or another platform and, like many fathers do, hold out his hands and encourage them to leap into his arms. “Jump!”  Without hesitation, they would cast themselves into the air knowing he would catch them. This is a picture of pure trust. A trust that comes from knowing how loved we are.

Our Heavenly Father asks us, His children, to trust Him with our lives as well. Pure trust. A belief, security, and sense of peace and confidence that He is in control and holds our future in His hands. “Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so”. 

As much as I have wanted my sorrow to end, I recognize that my peace and confidence depend not on getting over my pain and out of my valley. Nor does it require a change in my feelings or circumstances. I will never stop missing my girls, but I know my hope and peace are found in knowing that my Heavenly Father loves me. This love conquers my fears and insecurities. This love is greater than anything. It brings life not only to myself but also to others.

Jesus Loves Me

Our healing begins with a trust that casts ourselves upon the ONE who loves us beyond comprehension. We may not understand everything God allows in our lives, but we can certainly trust His unchanging, never-ending, ever-present love. Just as Jessica grew in this trust, so do we, little by little, as we cast ourselves upon His love. 

He desires that we all proclaim with confidence, Yes, Jesus Loves Me! We can know that we forever belong to Him. Eternally His. Eternally loved.

Yes, Jesus loves me—the Bible tells me so! 

“How Great the Love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called the children of God” (1 John 3:1).