Profound Love

"Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made; Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade: To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole Though stretched from sky to sky."

In the “old red hymnal” cited at the bottom of the page under the shaped music notes it is mentioned that these words were found written on the wall of an asylum after the patient who had scribbled them down had passed away. It is odd that the story of this stanza is written in the hymnal. No other stirring story is found at the bottom of any other song in the book, at least not that I’ve seen. This exemplifies these words’ importance to me.

To think, this poor soul who was believed to be demented had such a profound moment of clarity and used that moment to pen those words. I have to wonder if this patient penned it, knowing there would be a moment of darkness, to look back on and bring them back to the reality that God loves them and will see them through every moment.

From the time I was much younger I could picture these words in my mind. Growing up in a Christian home and in church every time the doors were open I heard over and over how “Jesus loves you”. And although that is entirely true, when you hear it that often you don’t always realize the magnitude of what it means.

It isn’t meant to be a free pass of “well Jesus loves me no matter what” and although that’s true, to be loved by God should move us to want to love others the way He loves us. Throughout time, we have been called to love others. There has been an ebb and flow of God’s people pleasing him, and disappointing Him even back to the Children of Israel. But His Love has remained unchanged. And so should ours.

His love for you would drain the oceans. His love for you can be written a million different ways in a thousand different books and we still could not fully fathom it. Don’t you think if He can love you like that, you can love every creature he created, which, *spoiler alert* He created them all, more than you have in the past?

Hey, and don’t you think since He created you, He has a plan and a purpose for your life? There’s a reason you’re still here. And He loves you. If you are standing on a ledge, in a moment of darkness, questioning why you’re still here. Let the love of God bring you clarity. Trust in Him knowing He works all things together for the good of those who love him back