Love Me Anyway

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.
-Psalm 136:1


You love me through my faults. Through my failures. And when I am never enough, You are more. I seek answers in empty corners, in vases of vanity with the bottoms cut out so the water of my shame rushes relentlessly to the floor. I attempt to fix my mistakes, carving deeper into the canyons of self-reliance but creating no lasting image. I falter in my doubts, in acknowledging that this time, this time I must have gone too far. That I am unable to be saved.

Then You reach for me with a hand of hope. An embrace that offers me warmth coursing through me and an absolution for all I have turned to ash. I am saved by grace. Your sweet, unending grace.

Do I deserve unlimited forgiveness? Absolutely not. Do I get it, over and over and over again? Amazingly, yes! To think that a perfect and holy God of creation could look at me, a meager, imperfect sinner as I stumble a hundred and two times and still love me, still pardon my inadequacies- well, it’s quite breathtaking, actually.

These lyrics from the song “You Love Me Anyway” by Sidewalk Prophets hit my heart with their portrayal of the ultimate admission to my sinful and selfish soul:

I am the thorn in Your crown
But You love me anyway
I am the sweat from Your brow
But You love me anyway
I am the nail in Your wrist
But You love me anyway
I am Judas’ kiss
But You love me anyway
See now, I am the man that called out from the crowd
For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground
Yes then, I turned away with this smile on my face
With this sin in my heart tried to bury Your grace
And then alone in the night, I still called out for You
So ashamed of my life, my life, my life…
But You love me anyway.

We are the spear in His side and the tear in His eye. But He loves us anyway. Amen for that!


Prayer:
Father, I fail you again and again, wallowing in my self-pity and set on my own desires. I hurt You, I forget You, I push You to the back of my mind. Yet there You stand, loving me and saving me from myself. Thank You. For still loving me in my foolish pride, for wanting me to love You back. It will never be repaid. Amen.