Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life."
Isaiah 43:4
This is how I know God loves us:
Color.
I was struck by this once in Peru about five years ago...and it changed the way I viewed a lot of things. God could have created this world in one color. Everything could be just blah. It could all be beige. Or olive green. Olive green was always the least used color in my Crayola box. I always hated olive green.
He could have.
But He didn’t.
Instead He gave us color. Stunning, breathtaking, awe-inspiring color. As I write this, i am sitting outside, looking over the Caribbean Ocean. It is a blue words couldn’t even begin to describe and the sun reflects off it’s surface in a million sparkles. The sky is currently several ridiculous shades of blue and white. Off to my left is the southern end of the island painted in limitless shades of green from the jungly mountaintops to the grassy rolling hills. Just beyond the end of this island is the mass of rock that is Nevis, the next island. Usually, it’s hidden under cloud cover and you can’t see much from here...but today is clear. The part of Nevis visible from here is a large mountain covered in a beautiful deep emerald green...much prettier than olive green.
Yesterday we spent hours out on the boat, out in a cove. I think I love that cove because of the range of creation you can see there. Sit on the boat and look out toward the horizon and see forever blue ocean. There aren’t many waves here...it’s smooth as far as you can see. Turn around and look toward land and see, down where the water meets the land, huge rocks and a high, rocky cliff. Even the rocks here are pretty...so many variations of grays and whites and silvers...and the shapes on the cliff. They look like God, Himself, stretched out His hand and carved them with His own finger. Look up higher on the cliff, though, and the vegetation begins and you find a whole new world of greens.
But, then, my favorite part...put on your mask and snorkle and look down. If you just kind of float on the top and breath...don’t splash too much...it’s like they forget you’re there and they all come out. The fish. They are unbelievable. Too many colors and variations on colors to even begin to describe.
This underwater world isn’t a world we were meant to live in...and yet He put those colors there for us to find. Just to say, ‘Hey, I put this here just for you to enjoy. Look at these and know how much I love you.’
Everything could be tan and khaki and blah...but it isn’t. Color is a gift from God above to remind us how very much He loves us. He doesn’t need these things to be so many incredible colors. They aren’t necessary for Him to accomplish His tasks. They are there because He loves us, because we are precious in His sight.
I think the people in our lives are colors, too.
The people who bring joy and laughter to our lives...they are our pinks and reds and bright blues. They are the Caribbean Oceans in our daily lives.
And your earth tones: solid, deep oranges and greens...like the top of Nevis right now. They are the relationships of stability and longevity. The ones who never move, who are always right where you need them to be.
Life without the silvers and grays of the cliff would be so difficult. They are the relationships that bring highlights to the dark, sorrowful moments of our lives.
Yellows, like the sun that beats on me right now, the treasured ones who bring a reminder that tomorrow is a new day. That the sun will rise and you can begin again.
A few relationships have been such key factors in the way God has chosen to reveal Himself and His love for me. Without even thinking, I can list people who are each of these colors to me...without them, my life would be painted in plain tans and khakis.
I am so thankful for the Lord’s love and the so very many ways He reveals that to us!
