Love Me Less

In a movie I recently saw, the "God character" tells the main character that everything he does he does because he loves him. After a series of disasters and heartbreaks the main character looks toward heaven and says, "love me less". Have you every felt this way? Sure we have. Think about when you are a kid and you have to eat your vegetables because your parents "love you and want what is best for you". You get invited to a party as a teenager and your parents will not let you go on the grounds that they "love you and want to protect you and keep you from trouble". In those moments you probably thought to yourself "love me less" or maybe it came out like "stay out of my business", "I know what I'm doing", "I can make my own decisions", etc. The request is the same.

But do we really know what we are asking? No, that stern Fatherly hand of God that loves us enough to discipline us and break us when necessary is the same hand that leads us to still waters and green pastures. We do not always understand His love. As the years pass by I realize how many heartaches I escaped not by the skin of my teeth or my good judgment but because of the love of my parents and their willingness to be unliked for the moment. These lessons we learn in the family unit we can see played out in our walk of faith. I may not always understand what God is doing but I know in time I will look back and be so grateful that He did not love me less.