Jesus Loves Me! ELW 595
Devotion
1Jesus loves me! this I know,
for the Bible tells me so;
little ones to him belong,
they are weak, but he is strong.
Refrain
Yes, Jesus loves me,
yes, Jesus loves me,
yes, Jesus loves me,
the Bible tells me so.
2Jesus loves me! he who died
heaven's gates to open wide;
he will wash away my sin,
let his little child come in. Refrain
3Jesus loves me! he will stay
close beside me all the way;
when at last I come to die,
he will take me home on high. Refrain
When I was growing up, I sang this song over and over in Sunday school—and yet, I still have a hard time believing that I am loved. Perhaps the hardest thing to remember in this life is how loved we are. Not because we earn it, not because we are so amazing—even though we are. We are lovable because we are children of God. We are lovable when we are achieving our goals, and we are loveable when we are falling apart.
Jesus loves us—he's opened heaven's gates wide. Because God loves us, Jesus has washed our sin away. We don't have to worry about being good enough because Jesus has done that work for us.
You are loveable. Jesus loves you. Really think about these words—and the next time you sing them with the young (or any age!), let yourself feel the weight of these words. Yes, Jesus loves you!
Prayer
Jesus, you love us. You gave your life so we could be free from the sin that would keep us from knowing you more deeply. Help us to trust that we are loved, truly and deeply, no matter what. Amen.