That may not seem like a revelation to you, but over and over again I am struck by it...the fact that God likes me (even when I'm not that likeable). Yes it is amazing how He loves us, far beyond what I can fathom, but He HAS to love...by His very nature God IS love. (Well He doesn't HAVE to...He is God and He can do whatever He wants...but God is love). Never-the-less, the thought that He LIKES me really makes me feel cherished...especially when I think of how undeserving I am...I think about all the things that I don't do as well as I should and all the things that I fail at...the mistakes I've made, the sins I've committed...and His grace washes over me, His love amazes me...and the fact that He likes me makes me smile:)
Brennan Manning says it this way...
Being Cherished
Several years ago, Edward Farrell, a priest from Detroit, went on a two-week summer vacation to Ireland to visit relatives. His one living uncle was about to celebrate his eightieth birthday. On the great day, Ed and his uncle got up early. It was before dawn. They took a walk along the shores of Lake Killarney and stopped to watch the sunrise. The stood side by side for a full twenty minutes and then resumed walking. Ed glanced at his uncle and saw that his face had broken into a broad smile. Ed said, "Uncle Seamus, you look very happy." "I am." Ed asked, "How come?" And his uncle replied, "The Father of Jesus is very fond of me."
If the question were put to you, "Do you honestly believe that God LIKES you?" -- not loves you because theologically He must -- how would you answer? God loves by necessity of His nature; without the eternal, interior generation of love, He would cease to be God. But if you could answer, "The Father is very fond of me" there would come a relaxedness, a sernity, a compassionate attitude toward yourself that is a reflection of God's own tenderness. In Isaiah 49:15, God says: "Does a woman forget her baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the son of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you."
"No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5
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