7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: 

 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ro 1:7). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Abba,

Loved by God.

What a profound phrase!!

Loved by God.

We ache for love. 

We dream of it.

We strategize for it.

We go to great lengths for it.

We will blind ourselves to stark truths in the hopes of achieving it.

We will sacrifice enormous amounts if we think there is a possibility of achieving it.

We fantasize about our happily ever after.

We will turn the world upside down in pursuit of loving and being loved.

And yet, the greatest love of all is open, unfurled, and brilliantly waving to us upon the winds of grace, from an almighty God in heaven above!!!

Abba, to be loved by you….do we really even understand the full depth and intensity of this truth?

I don’t think we do.

I wonder if it is even possible for us to grasp the depths of this love.

Truth is, your love for us is different than your love for the world. 

If passages like John 3:16 are true, and you love the entire world, why it is necessary to state here to the Roman church that they are loved of God?

Because this love is different. 

It is a covenantal, betrothed love.

Not all loves are equal.

I love my wife differently than I love my sister.

I love my wife and children differently than I love my friends. 

I love my friends differently than I love acquaintances. 

I love acquaintances differently than I love strangers. 

I love people differently than I love my passions for pizza,  science fiction, and technology.

Not all loves are equal.

You DO love the world.  You gave the ultimate sacrifice for it.

But you love YOUR OWN in a very different way; a deeper, more intimate, covenantal way; a way that you do not love the world.

Literally this passage says, “Beloved of God.” 

Cherished

Adored

Treasured

Prized

VALUED.

How, Abba?  How can we have value to you?  How can we possess such worth and esteem in your eyes?

The answer is simple, I suppose.

A mystery, for sure.

Gloriously beautiful!

A deep wonder!

The answer….

Simple, mysterious, glorious, wonderful….

Because you CHOSE to value us.  You CHOSE to treasure us.  You CHOSE to call us “beloved of God.”

How are we ever discontented in this life when this is a reality for us?

How are we ever pining for more when the greatest love of all is ours?

Oh, Abba, that we would fully realize and know the depth of this great love and find in you the deep satisfaction of one WELL loved!