call me hephzibah [009]

god, you love us.  you love us so much.  you would go any length to bring us near to you.  that is an amazing truth--that, despite all the ways we fall short, you love us.  and nothing else should matter, but your love and the power that truth holds.

you are our great father, and you have offered us the most boundless love throughout all our days.  you loved us on the day we were born.  you loved us on the day we took our first steps.  you loved us on the day we spoke our first word.  you loved us on the day we told our brother we hated him.  you loved us on the day we acted out of jealousy.  you loved us on the day we won the race.  you loved us on the day we graduated.  you loved us on the day we took what was not ours.   you loved us on the day we were afraid.  you loved us on the day we doubted.  you loved us on the day we got the promotion.  you loved us on the day we lied.  you loved us on the day we hurt her.  you loved us on the day we hurt ourselves.  you loved us on the day we felt near to heaven.  you loved us on the day we gave birth.  you loved us on the day we confessed our love for you.  you loved us on the day we gave up.  you have loved us on all of our days.  you have loved us from the very beginning, with the same incomprehensible love you offer us now.  nothing we have done or will do can possibly change that, and so the scale is broken.

we find ourselves enveloped in the mess of this world.  we listen to the voice that prompts us to climb, that tells us our worth is tied to our finances, our grades, the number of children we have, the places we travel, the size of our waist, and the size of our house.  this voice--it tells us to keep climbing, to keep seeking, to chase after things that have no worth in your kingdom.


but these things, lord.  these things we consider means of measure offer nothing and hold nothing.  your love is beckoning to us, and we want to listen.  father, we pray that [      ] would speak words of truth and life into this place, and that we would leave here a shaken and changed people who seek to do your will and live in light of your love.  order our lives according to your will, and form us into people who love as you love.  amen.