THE NARTHEX GAME

Reading: I John 4: 7-21

 

Years ago, I made up a game that I played at church quite often.  The rules were very simple: I stand in the Narthex [Lobby] either before or after the church service, preferably in a corner, then wait and see if someone would greet me or come up and talk to me.  The object of this game was to see if I was noticed by anyone, if anyone cared enough to engage me in conversation.  The ultimate question for me at the end of the game was “Does anyone love me?” It was a game I could not win, because I never really got an answer. Even if someone did talk to me, it didn’t actually prove anything.

 

So, why did I play this no-win game? While I grew up in the church and knew quite a bit about God, I had never understood that His love was for me. Yes, He loves the world in general, but me specifically – not a chance…I was quite unlovable. So I was trying to gain love/acceptance from others to fill the deficit I felt.

 

And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (I Jn 4:16). 

Over some time, I began to see, as I studied God’s word, that His love is for me. Coming to the place of knowing and believing that He loves me unconditionally has made all the difference in my life as a Christian. As I live in His love, it fills me up in the center of my being, and I pray that it radiates from me to others.

 

            We love because He first loved us (I Jn 4: 19).

And the Narthex Game? Oh I still play it…but with completely new rules: I stand in the Narthex, looking around for someone who is alone or someone I don’t know. I walk over to them, introduce myself and engage them in conversation. I am hoping God’s love for me is shining through to them, that they may experience a deeper love from Him as we connect.

 

So, friends, have you come to know the love God has for you? Do you believe it? Do you radiate it?

I pray that it is so, and if you don’t yet know it, may you grow into it day-by-day.