Before she could squeeze my finger,

before she could light up my day with her smile,

before she could lay her head against my chest and fall asleep,

she was loved.      And, is loved.

As I hold my daughter’s newborn in my arms, make no mistake, she has totally captured by heart. Love for this little one wells up within me, not because of anything she has done but because of who she is.  She is the daughter of my daughter.

As I lovingly rock my granddaughter to sleep, I am reminded how the depths of my love fall far short of God’s extravagant love for us.

“. . . nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. . . . No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God . . . “(Rom. 8: 38-39 NLT)

His love for us is an extraordinary love; a love we did not or could not earn.  He loves me not because I teach a Bible class or am involved in prison ministry.  He doesn’t love me because I go to church or attend a prayer meeting.  Certainly these are important expressions of my faith that please the Lord.  But his love for me, His love for us, is not generated by our deeds.

No, His extravagant love for us is because of who He is and who He has chosen us to be – His sons and daughters!  He loves us because we are His children, adopted into the family of God.  An adoption made possible because His only begotten Son “bled red” for us on the Cross, an ultimate testimony of His amazing love!