I like Richard Simmons. Most everyone knows who I’m talking about—the health and fitness guru from the 80’s and 90’s with the wildly curled hair, unlimited energy and enthusiasm, penetrating eyes, and the high-pitched voice with a slight lisp and a bit of a whiny bent. With his enigmatic personality, loose tank top, and candy-striped shorts, Simmons led the way for millions of people to have fun losing weight and become physically fit. Richard’s odd and eccentric demeanor always threw me for a bit of a loop. But I once saw him on a talk show that helped me cut through the oddities and allowed me to truly see his heart. A very large woman was on the show, talking with the host about how much she hated being fat, how nobody liked her and everybody laughed at her. She refused to present herself in public, ashamed of people’s staring eyes. Her only comfort was eating more food, which she fully knew added to the viscous cycle. At that point Richard Simmons surprised the crowd, the woman, and even the host by appearing on the show and running onto the stage. With his high-energy waves and boundless enthusiasm he drew the crowd into an uproar of excitement within seconds. To the surprise and approval of the host, he then proceeded to take over the interview. Although everyone expected Simmons to give this girl a game plan on how to shed all those pounds and resultingly feel better about herself, he did something totally unexpected: He held her hand, looked her deeply into her eyes, and shared with her how beautiful she was AS IS, and that if she never lost a pound for the rest of her life, she would STILL look beautiful. Upon hearing these endearing words, this girl broke down like a baby and bawled with joy as years of hurt and low self-esteem began departing from her body. Like Simmon’s loving gesture to this woman, Life begins when we realize we are endeared as is. Joy starts when we are gripped by the fact that God loves us and we’re special to Him and there is NOTHING we can do about it. God has no plans to begin loving us only once we have shed away some of those weighty sins in our lives; He takes our hand right now, stares deeply into our spirit, and shares with us the depths of His endearment while we still struggle with all those pounds. Amazingly, it is this tender attitude, not “Thus saith the Lord,” that truly enacts change. Genuine change can only be borne out of relationship, not rules and regulations. God longs for our hearts to begin beating with His, and when that happens, our outer choices change. When we are soaked in the unconditional love of God, we naturally begin expressing loving attitudes toward others. When inhabited by His patience for us, we reverberate it onto the slow cashier and the student driver in the roundabout. When encased in His holiness, we exude the same wholeness to our spouse, kids, parents, teachers, and employers. You see, God is not nearly as concerned about your sins and shortcomings as He is about you! You are the one He joyously died for two thousand years ago and that He is standing next to today. His love for you is forever, and none of your failures can alter His decision. Today, I want to challenge you to rest in God’s love. Let it course its way through your outer walls and into your deepest being. Allow Him to gaze into your eyes, and don’t look away. Let Him gently hold your hand, and don’t recoil in fear. Let His tender acceptance permeate through you today, and know that it will always continue to do so—even if you never lose another pound! “God demonstrates His own love for us in this—while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 11:37:12 +0000
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