Week Twenty-Six: Loving/Being Loved. June 25 – Knowing You Are Loved
The most courageous thing we will ever do is bear the unbearable truth that we are loved without condition. James Finley
Gregg’s Reflection
For years, my picture of God was a stern judge, waiting to punish me for my failings. It was revolutionary to find a God who is compassionate and loving. We can only love to the extent that we are loved. See what that looks like.
There have been seasons in my life when I’ve wondered if God could possibly love me—not the polished, public version of me, but the me who struggles, doubts, and sometimes falls short of my own standards. It’s in those moments that grace breaks through, often in quiet ways: a word of kindness from a friend, an unexpected provision, or simply the sense of God’s presence in silence.
Knowing you are loved is not the result of finally becoming “good enough.” It’s realizing that God’s love comes first—before we ever do anything to earn it. This love is constant, steady, and unshaken by our failures. When I rest in that truth, I find the freedom to stop striving for approval and start living from a place of gratitude.
To know we are loved is to have a home we can always return to, no matter how far we’ve wandered. And from that home, we find the courage to love others with the same unearned generosity we have received. This image depicts the flow of love.
Scripture
I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Jeremiah 31:3v
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” — 1 John 3:1
Ancient Quotes
The love of God is not learned without trials.
Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God, Ch. 23
God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.
Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book X
Modern Quotes
The most courageous thing we will ever do is bear the unbearable truth that we are loved without condition.
James Finley, Merton’s Palace of Nowhere, p. 138
The love of God is not something to be acquired; it is already within us, a reality waiting to be realized.
Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart, p. 68
If you have never let God love you, you will not know how to love humanly in the deepest way.
Richard Rohr, Naked Now, p. 140
Journaling Prompts
- When have you most clearly experienced God’s unconditional love?
- What beliefs or fears sometimes make it hard for you to accept that you are loved?
- How might knowing you are loved change the way you approach your relationships?
👉 Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 26 Reflection: Loving/Being Loved