“Like” me!!

I have a confession to make.  I like being liked.  I like when others like the things that I like.  I like the “like” button on Facebook and use it often.  I like things so often I make a Valley girl, like totally embarrassed.

I find myself uploading a photo on Facebook and waiting for someone (anyone!) to “like” it.   I’ll enter some semi-creative status update and hope that someone comments on it, somehow making my post more relevant.  Or I’ll write a post to my blog and see how many “hits” I receive throughout the day.  (This morning I had 30 visits to my blog before I even woke up!) I like to see what countries are reading my blog.  (Someone from Singapore read it today).   I am embarrassed to admit how delighted I am when someone “likes” a comment of mine on a friend’s page.   In some messed up insecure way, my online self-worth is directly related to the number of times you select the “thumbs up” button or comment on my cyber presence.  It should not surprise you that one of my favorite sights is below.   It is the calculator of how many times someone liked me since the last time I signed online to check, eight minutes ago.

I fully realize that being “liked” online is performance driven.  The more I say, the more I am liked.  The more stuff I write, the more pictures I post – the more opportunities I give others to “like” me, thus increasing my cyber net worth.

What is happening to me???  What have I become?  I feel like I am back in grade school, receiving a gold star on my drawing.  Or flashing back to 7th grade gym glass after being picked by the team captain in a game of kickball.   I LIKE the feeling of being LIKED.

But did you know that God likes you?  I mean, He really likes you. When God thinks of you, He smiles.   If you were to draw God a picture, He would put it on His fridge.   If God had a wallet, your picture would be in it.   If God had a lap, He’d want you to sit in it and tell Him about your day.  He loves hearing your voice, particularly when you are using it to talk with Him.  And I think it makes Him smile big when He hears you laughing.   He doesn’t love you more when you say your prayers.  He doesn’t like you less when you lose your temper.

Honestly, I don’t often think of God in this way.  I sometimes picture Him as an angry God who is out to get me for the bad thing I did today.  He is the sniper God looking to “take me out” after each sin.   Or maybe He is more like the absentee God who really doesn’t care what I’m doing or who I am with down here.   I figure He really likes me when I’m good and He hates me even more when I’m bad.

But then I remember… my kids.

When I look at my children, I smile.  I really like them.  When my kids draw me a picture, I put it on my fridge.  Their pictures are in my wallet and on my phone for daily viewing.  When they are near, I love to get them close and hear about their day.   I love hearing them talk – particularly to me.  It makes me smile big when I hear them laughing.  I don’t like them more when they get along with each other.  I don’t love them less when they do bad things.  I love them simply because they are mine.

I am their loving Daddy.  They are my beautiful children.  I stare at them when they are sleeping.   I think about them during the day.  I give them whatever I have.  I serve them constantly.  I provide for them in every way I know how.  I would protect them from the fiercest attack.  I would help them at any hour.   I do my very best to teach them everything I know.  And there is no corner of the earth that they could go where I would not follow.  There is no crime they could commit that I would not forgive.  And if I needed to, I would die for them without hesitation. That is what I think about my kids.

THAT is how God thinks of us.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39

******* SHAMELESS PLUG *******

“Like” me on Facebook: “Rod Arters, Writer”     ALSO…

If you haven’t heard of Curt Cloninger, you need to check him out.  Curt is a gifted actor who does an amazing presentation called “God views”, a humorous look at 5 different ways we view God.  Here is Curt playing God as “Party Host on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV7c70l54i4

For more about his ministry, visit him at: www.curtcloninger.com or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/curt.cloninger