You Are Loved (Newspaper Column)

Maybe you have seen this commercial: “We all need a hug in the morning, and one at the end of the day. And as may as possible squeezed in between to keep life’s troubles at bay...”. I have no real opinion on what brand of diapers is best for an infant (we used cloth anyway) but I strongly believe that this little jingle tells a real truth. In fact it reminded me of a song from a church songbook a couple decades ago: “four hugs a day, that’s the minimum”. We all need hugs, safe and voluntary hugs to be sure, each and every day. Because we all need to be reminded that we are loved. Studies have shown how difficult it can be for children who have not had their hug in the morning and at the end of the day, children who have not been reminded that they are loved. Hugs are one of those things that say to us “You Are Loved”.

Being reminded that we are loved is at the heart of the Gospel. I am remembering a story about famed theologian Karl Barth. Barth was one of the most prominent theological minds of the 20^th Century. He published many books. And yet, the story goes that on a visit to the United States Br. Barth was asked to explain the basics of the Gospel message. He responded with this song lyric: “Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so.” The heart of the Gospel is that God loves the world. Are you part of the world? Then you are loved!

At the beginning of our faith story, in the first chapter of Genesis, we find a hymn to creation. In that hymn there is a refrain. At the end of each day God looks at what has been created and says it is good, and by the end of day 6 God looks at all which has been created and says it is VERY good. Matthew Fox calls that the original blessing. At no point in the faith story is the original blessing cancelled, because God loves the world. God may be disappointed or angered or disheartened by the choices and actions of God’s creations, but God still loves the world.

No matter who you are, no matter what you do. You are LOVED! Even on those days when you are sure you are thoroughly unlovable, when you feel like you are lower than pond scum (other people have those days too right? it isn’t just me?) YOU ARE LOVED! If we remember nothing else from our faith story we need to remember that each and every one of us, even those people we can’t stand, even those we consider deplorable, is a beloved part of God’s creation. Nothing can change that status.

So why do people spend so much time trying to figure out what or who God hates? It seems to me to be far more important to remember that we are loved, that the jerk who cut us off in traffic is loved, that our LGBTQ neighbour is loved. Because that is why Jesus came. John 3:16 reminds us that Jesus came because God loves the world. John 3:17 reminds us that Jesus comes to redeem the world, not to condemn it. Because God loves the world God continually tries to draw us to God.

It is my belief that the main marker of the Kingdom of God is that it is a place/time when love guides all decisions. And so the fact that God loves the world is what drives the coming of God’s Kingdom. The fact that God loves each and every one of us with a love that will not let us go is why God offers us forgiveness, is why God does not give up on us, is why GOD calls us back into relationship.

Jesus gives us a clear commandment. Love each other, love our neighbour as we love ourselves. Some days that can be hard to do. But when we remember that we are loved it is easier. In John 13 when Jesus give the commandment to love it is to love one another as I have loved you. When we remember that we are loved it is easier to love others. In fact I am pretty sure it is the only way we can do so.

The Gospel is a love letter. The Good News is that God, who the first letter of John describes as being Love, loves the world and each of us in it. When life feels like it is falling apart remember at least this one thing: You Are loved, You Are Loved, YOU ARE LOVED!

Have you got your four hugs yet today?