Love Brings Freedom

I bless the holy name of God with all my heart. Yes, I will bless the Lord and not forget the glorious things he does for me.

He forgives all my sins. He heals me. He ransoms me from hell. He surrounds me with lovingkindness and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things! My youth is renewed like the eagle's! Psalm 103:1-5 (TLB)

Michael Albanese, from New York, is a singer and songwriter and has written and performed many songs over the years. He wrote his most recent song for his wife, and it opens with the lyric, "When you told me that you loved me, you set my heart free." Michael has always said that he was not fully himself until he met the woman who was to become his wife. Loving her set him free from the longing and loneliness he had felt for years.

Now he realizes that this is also true about his relationship with God. Michael tends to be keenly aware of his failures and feeling that he is somehow not worthy of love. But God's love is unconditional and complete. God knows all his failures, and God loves him truly and completely in spite of himself. This knowledge has set Michael free to love and to be loved in Christ. He is no longer focused on his failures but on the redeeming power of God's love for us all. His love for his wife has helped him understand God's love for us. And love has given him the freedom to live fully in the grace of God. God's desire for us is to live abundantly joyful lives.

Prayer: Holy and loving God, free us to live as your beloved children, eager to do your will, in Jesus' name. Amen.