HE LOVES ME BEST
This message was given to River Church Charlotte 2010. Jason had just started writing Prone To Love, a book focused on the always good love of our heavenly Father. This message has been the foundation of every aspect of the life and ministry of A Family Story.
#HeLovesMeBest #GodsFavorite
What would happen if we actually lived out the relationship and reality we talked, preached, and sang about? Easy. We would change the world.
The roadblock preventing us from stepping into our identities as sons and daughters of God is not lack of discipline, resources, or creative ideas. We have all of this?…so what’s missing?
To discover who you are, first, you must know who the Father is and what He’s like. Prone to Love is your invitation and manual to discovering an always-good Father and His love for you.
Jesus Loves You, But I’m His Favorite
Do you know who wrote the gospel of John? John did—I looked it up.
Do you know that three times in the gospel of John, he refers to himself in the third person? Each time this is revealed as “the one Jesus loved.” It’s almost as if John is saying “Jesus loved me best,” or, “I’m His favorite.”
If anyone knew God’s love, it would be the disciples. John, being one of the twelve, lived with Jesus for three years. They did life together; they laughed, cried, ate, walked, and prayed together.
John was there for the miracles when Jesus healed, delivered, forgave, restored, and made more food out of less. John was there when Jesus was moved with compassion and poured Himself out to the lost, weak, blind, deaf, and lame. Whatever the need, John watched Jesus meet it.
John was also around when Jesus was whipped and beaten, spit upon and cursed. He was there when Jesus was spread out, nailed to, and then hung on a cross—Love in human form giving up his life so we could know Life.
And John was there after the resurrection when Jesus displayed his nail-scarred hands and feet. He witnessed Love ascend to heaven, and experienced Love again when it descended in the form of the Holy Spirit. If anyone knew what Love looked like, it was John.
And John, the guy who knew intimately what Love looked like, and talked like, and acted like, goes on to write about himself as “the one Jesus loved.”
As far as John was concerned, he was Jesus’ favorite. Jesus loved him best.
Somehow John’s relationship with Jesus nurtured the most profound revelation a person can possess. John knew God’s love as an intimate, one-of-a-kind love.
I believe that revelation is available to you and me.
To know I am “the one he loves” is my heart’s truest desire, and I would like to suggest that it’s yours as well.
So I am learning to believe that I’m His favorite. In fact, it’s become my life’s one true ambition—that I could say regarding myself, “I am the one He loves.” And as I keep choosing to believe Him, I have come to realize that it is the most important thing I will ever choose to believe. It’s a transformative truth that reveals the nature of God and empowers my new nature in Christ – not just as one dearly loved but as one prone to love as He does.
Though I have but the smallest sliver of understanding, in my heart of hearts, where I continue to know His love in greater measure, I am betting that I just might be His favorite; that He is especially fond of me, that He loves me best, that I am “the one he loves.” I’d also wager that if you ask Him, He will tell you the same thing: He loves you best too.
He Loves Me Best / S&U Message
I spoke this week at our new home church, Crossroads.
We are loving being the family pastors here! It’s a new season for the Clark’s and as I get my legs under me I will write more. But for now, it was sure fun to start the new year delving into His always good love!
The title of my message was “He loves me best!” I hope to post it here in the coming days. For a quick synopsis, check out this film that was shot last year to help promote my book Surrendered & Untamed.
Lord bless and may this new year be full of joy!
God Has Favorites & So Do I
In the Article I posted a few days ago I wrote about how John referred to himself Three times in His Gospel, as “the one Jesus loved.”
I wrote about how John was convinced He was God’s favorite and how his revelation of God’s love is available to us.
Shortly after I discovered these three
Recently, one night at the supper table, while holding hands with my family, I told my wife she was “the one” I loved, that I loved her best, she was my favorite. Then I looked at my oldest daughter and I told her the same thing. I moved on to my son and finally my youngest daughter repeating myself as I went. You are “the one” that I love…
And you know what, it was true and everyone at the table knew it. Somehow I was able to love each of
Paul tells us in Romans 8:11 that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. It stands to reason then, that we should be able to love just like Jesus does. In fact, I think that’s why we are here. We exist to know God’s love and love in turn. Our lives are meant to be a response to the unraveling always good revelation of His one of a kind affection.
That’s what this new life we have entered into is all about. The moment we surrendered to God’s love, the moment we received our salvation, we said yes to love and yes to becoming love.
I would like to suggest that the “Christian” experience, journey, walk, or whatever you want to call it, isn’t just about going to church, it’s about becoming
Several years ago, I began dialoguing with my heavenly Father from John’s perspective. When praying I would thank Him for His love, not the wide vague concept of love but the personal intimate one of a kind love He has for me. I don’t pray this way out of some insecurity or arrogance, on the contrary. I have learned that the more aware I am of how much He loves me, the greater capacity I have to love those around me. I can say to my wife, my kids, my neighbor, the guy sitting next to me at Starbucks “you are ‘the one’ I love.”
A person can’t give away what they don’t possess. That’s why it is so important that we begin to see ourselves as God does, thereby possessing love and giving it away in greater measure.
I encourage you today to ask your heavenly Father to love you best, to reveal to you that you are “the one” that He loves and then begin to love those around you
Sinbad, Seacrest, & Paper Cuts
He Loves You, Wholly & Absolutely
I was already tired and we were only 7 hours into a 33-hour trip.
My dad and I were on our way to China to look into business opportunities. We left Charlotte NC in the afternoon. Why start a 33-hour trip in the afternoon? I don’t know, and neither did the lady at the front counter of our airline. When I asked her, she said rather exasperatedly, “I don’t know, that’s just how they do it.”
We were standing at LAX and though I was tired, I was excited as well. You see, last time I went through LAX, I got to meet Sinbad. Well, I didn’t actually meet him but I saw him which is almost the same thing. He was in line to check his luggage. He really is a funny guy, although he didn’t do anything particularly funny while I was watching him in the line. But I can imagine it would be hard to be funny all the time. Plus it was pretty early and that only compounds the issue.
It gets better because after I saw Sinbad, I saw the little guy who hosts American Idol. How cool is that?
I actually did meet him, we sat in first class together.
I know what you are thinking, I’m that rich snob who sits in first class and looks down his nose at all the second-class people. The poor wretches.
Well, maybe I like boarding the plane first. Maybe I enjoy sitting Indian style in my wide comfortable leather seat while the second-class rabble is trotted through the first class section. Maybe I enjoy making eye contact and smiling in that benevolent way that says, “Yeah I’m rich. And that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m better than you.”
Maybe I like having a curtain separate me from the cacophony of noises and smells wafting off the masses in second class. Maybe I enjoy a nice chardonnay while speaking in high English with the cream of
Or maybe I just got bumped and you should stop judging me.
Thank you, Jesus, for first class. On that glorious day, I was cultured and civilized and just a better person. For one day I drank in the sites and smells of
Ryan Seacrest, that’s his name.
I sat in first class and Ryan and I discussed the last show of the season and the new “American Idol.” He was very polite, a nice fella. And I think I held my own, that is to say, I don’t think he knew I didn’t belong there.
But I’ve digressed, back to my China trip.
I was excited about this trip because of the possibility of seeing someone famous, but also because I was traveling to new places and there are few things more exhilarating to me.
The airport was crowded. We were standing in line with about two hundred people in front of us, plus the thousands of others that filled through our little universe known as Terminal Two. Surrounded by a sea of people, I had begun to have one of those feelings that I think everyone experiences from time to time when in a large crowd. I felt small, just a spec in the universe, just a tiny mote of dust. With thousands of people moving through this section of the airport every five minutes and the knowledge that we were about to go to a country with a
I wonder if Sinbad ever feels insignificant.
We had about an hour wait to get through customs and check our bags for the international flight. While I was standing in line and feeling small, I noticed the girl in front of me. She was standing with her back to me and her arms crossed. I could just see the tips of the fingers on her left hand. I noticed that her index finger had a small cut. It was a little inflamed, but it was nothing serious, just a small paper cut. Suddenly I felt the presence of God as if He were standing right next to me. Then He said to me, “I was there when that happened, I felt that.”
“God,” I said in my heart. “I can’t possibly understand what You are saying to me, my mind can’t begin to grasp it. I am just a speck in the universe, a blink of the eye in light of eternity.” Then I looked around and asked Him, “How many paper cuts are in this place? How many people are here with bigger problems than paper cuts?” Then God said to me, “Son, it’s not about your understanding, I want you to believe the absoluteness of my love.” At that moment, I could barely compose myself, I was moved to tears, my heart awed by the revelation of His goodness, His whole absolute love for me.
Do you know who wrote the Gospel of John? It’s not a trick question. John wrote it.
Do you know that three times in John’s gospel, he refers to himself in the third person? Each time, he refers to himself, as “the one Jesus loved.” The “ONE” Jesus loved. It astounds me that John refers to himself in this way because he was basically saying is “Jesus loves me best.”
Somehow John’s relationship with Jesus nurtured the most profound revelation that a man or woman can ever possess.
To know Jesus in such a way that I can say of myself “I am the one Jesus loves” is my truest heart’s desire. I think this revelation is the foundational truth that every human being was created to possess. And it is available to those who believe!
So there I was in Terminal Two at LAX, standing in a line with hundreds of people, thousands more passing through the place over the course of minutes. I’m on my way to a country that is elbow to elbow and God says, “I was there when that paper cut happened and I felt it and it is noteworthy.”
Here’s the thing, our heavenly Father loves us so much that He knows and cares even about the paper cut!
A mind really can’t grasp this. In fact, this could actually offend a mind. But I encourage you; do not allow His amazing love to be a stumbling block. I invite you to believe His love is wholly absolutely good.
He cares even about the paper cut and all He has for you is good. You are His favorite. He loves you best.