Love like that

Imagine holding your newborn child on one of those nights when it was still a novel adventure to be caring for a baby in the middle of the night. Remember standing in the nursery, rocking your child back and forth while she slept, and singing some wordless tune to her, loving the sight of her peaceful face and the touch of her soft hair. Remember that love.

Imagine holding your toddler while you read a book together with him sitting on your lap as you said, “Hop on Pop.” Remember the gentle touch of his heal as he kicked his leg back and forth to the rhythm of the words. Think of his joy in the pictures as he pointed out the silly Dr. Seuss characters, interrupting your sing-song voice as you recited the poetry. Remember that love.

Imagine dancing with your wife for the first time in a few years. Remember the sway of your bodies as you listened to the music and moved to the beat, slowly translating the tune into motion. Remember the feel of the silk of her dress between your hand and her back as you thought of the first time you danced together. Think of the love the two of you have shared through life, through the routine of day to day living, as you hum the melody of the music into her hair. Remember that love.

Remember love like that. Realize that the love of God is much like that, except that it is exponentially more. I read this week sometime in an email that romantic love can be compared to the love of God – loving someone in spite of their faults, without seeing their faults, or perhaps because of them. God’s love is like that.

One night, in the middle of the night, I was lying awake, wondering what heaven would be like. I’ve never told this to anyone, because it sound pretentious and maybe silly, but that night, in the middle of the darkness, I think God granted me a tiny taste of heaven. I felt a love so strong that it had to be from God. Grace is like that. God’s love is like that.

I think that the only way that we can describe God’s love with any accuracy is to say that it is beyond our imagination.

You You’re singing over me
You’re singing over me tonight
With every star that’s in this midnight sky
You, You’re singing over me
You’re singing over me tonight
And my heart is overcome with Your song
with Your song (Building 429)

Image: The sky this evening was yellow right after a big storm front rolled through.