love for you, from the father

"But then the glory that had reduced you to plain mortality, by whose bright contrast you were revealed as dust-that same celestial intrusion spoke in a language you could understand.

Zechariah, it said. It uttered your name! Your person, your identity, your very self were given presence and form in the voice of the glory of God.

And Glory said, Zechariah, don't be afraid.

Then what? Glory surrounded you with comfort. Then how did you feel?

Isn't it a wonder, father Zechariah, that the mere presence of the divine destroys our sinful selves and all we thought defined us, but that the Word of the divine consoles us, relieves us, forgives us, and raises us up again?"

Preparing for Jesus, by Walter Wangerin Jr.

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"I love  you with an everlasting Love, which flows out from the depths of eternity.  Before you were born, I knew you. Ponder the awesome mystery of a Love that encompasses you from before birth to beyond the grave."

Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young