I Love You Like Jesus Does . . .

Feelin' The Love at the UT-Chattanooga Homecoming



I used to think the best compliment I ever heard was in the movie “As Good As It Gets, when Jack Nicholson tells Helen Hunt, “You make me want to be a better man.”  A close second is a headstone which reads, “Here lies John Doe.  Although he is dead, it can be truthfully said, ‘His sins were scarlet and his books were read.’”  However, not long ago I heard an even better one. To share this new one, I must “come out of the closet” to reveal that after 33 years of living in Memphis, I have become a country music fan!  I am not sure; maybe it’s Memphis’ proximity to Nashville, or just great lyrics like “My eyes are the only things I don’t want to take off of you,” or the fact that no matter where you are you can always seem to tune in a country music station on the radio.  I bet you can tune one in on the far side of the moon.

Well now that it’s out, I can come clean and say that the best compliment I have ever heard comes from Eric Church in his song entitled, “Like Jesus Does.  Church (no pun intended) sings in the chorus:

All the crazy in my dreams,
And both my broken wings,
Every single piece of who I am,
Yeah, she knows the man I ain't,
She forgives me when I can't,
And the devil, man, no, he don't have a prayer,
'Cause she loves me like Jesus does.

When I first I heard those words, “she loves me like Jesus does,” I immediately thought, “Wow, that is not only the best way to feel, but it is the best thing to think and/or feel about someone else.”  I thought about these words and this sentiment in church on Easter Sunday.  I know I have crazy dreams, I can feel my broken wings, I have done things I cannot forgive myself for, and I could always be a better man; but fortunately I have someone (in fact a whole family) in my life that make this earth like heaven by loving me like he does.  If  I truly believe that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is the epitome of love, then I have no choice, but to be that someone for others – I must love all of the other crazy dreamers with broken wings, unrealized potential and unforgiven sins – just like Jesus does.
Gotta go, time to tune in to a new station.