Eugene Peterson and the Message

A few years ago, Matt and I listened to a podcast interview with Eugene Peterson, who is best known for giving us The Message translation of the Bible. We heard his story of being a pastor and why he translated the Bible into modern language for his people. We loved hearing his story and spent time learning all about the amazing man that he was. Sadly, he died in 2018, but the legacy he has left this world is undeniable. For a while, I have been wanting to get a copy of The Message Bible to be able to study as a part of my morning time. If you want an idea of what my morning time routine looks like, read My Best Tips for an Effective Morning Time.

My Christmas Present

My wish came true. Matt bought me a beautiful purple soft leather Message translation Bible for Christmas. I feel like I have been reading the Bible again for the first time. It’s been a nice change-up in my Bible reading. I have so enjoyed my mornings! I love comparing these new verses with the ones I have been familiar with for years in the King James Version.

Changing my Thinking of God’s Love

This past week, I read a verse that totally changed my thinking about God’s love. I was reading in the book of John. Chapter seventeen records Jesus’ prayer in the garden. He spends the bulk of his prayer praying for the disciples and followers he was leaving behind. The last verse in the chapter really caught my attention. Here is the verse as found in The Message, then in the King James.

I have made your very being known to them—
Who you are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that your love for me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them. John 17:26 MSG

Isn’t that an amazing verse? Pay close attention to the words I darkened. Remember the context. Jesus is talking to God his Father. Jesus says, “So that your love for me might be in them.” Here is the same verse in the KJV translation.

And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. John 17:26 KJV

Struggling with the Concept of God’s Love

A lot of us struggle with the concept of God loving us for a myriad of reasons. Maybe we didn’t grow up with a father who was good to us. That gave us a bad picture of our heavenly Father. Maybe we don’t feel worthy of God’s love. We know in our heads that God loves us, but feeling it and believing it in our hearts is a different story.

When we talk about God loving us, we struggle to comprehend and understand it. So then we don’t live our life feeling loved.

When we read in John that God loved his son, we understand that. We can comprehend that. Jesus says to God, “Let the love that you have for me be in them.” That is so much more understandable and relatable. We get that kind of love. It’s a parent’s love for their child. We accept the fact that God loves His Son so much! That same love is the love that is in our hearts as children of God.

Living Loved

That thought makes me lift my head a little higher and puts a smile on my face. It’s an amazing concept! That makes loving other people a little easier too.

When I walked into church this past Sunday, I reminded myself that God’s love for Jesus is the love that’s in my heart. That thought makes it so much easier to open my heart and love other people. When we fully begin to grasp the concept that God’s love for Jesus fills our hearts, we can live knowing we are fully and deeply loved. What does living loved look like practically?

1. Inviting someone into our home for a meal.
2. Writing a note of encouragement to someone going through a hard time.
3. Making a meal for someone who is sick or has been in the hospital.
4. Taking cookies to our neighbors.
5. Listening to someone pour out their heart to us.

When we live loved, we no longer worry about doing things because we want a pat on the back or someone to notice us. We simply do it because of the overflowing love found in our own hearts, the love that God has for His Son Jesus.