He Wants Me — Ami Loper
I want to be loved and appreciated. No surprise there! We all want that, right? But sometimes we begin to wonder if those near us really love us for what we do more than who we are. We can even begin to wonder if God loves us with ulterior motives. How can we know? #GodLovesYou #ChristianBlog
There’s something nice about being needed, about feeling appreciated for our contribution, about feeling irreplaceable.
And yet, in the best of human relationships, there can be muddy waters oozing around our conflicting need to be needed and our need to simply be … wanted.
In our marriage we may wonder, “When you say you love me, do you actually mean you need what I offer?”
As a parent we may wonder, “If I wasn’t here, would you simply miss what I do for you?”
At work or in our church we may wonder, “Do you want me around simply because I am ‘me’ or because you need my contribution?”
These questions betray an underlying fear of not being truly wanted for who we are. We may want to be needed, but above all, we want to be wanted.
There is a new song out by the Christian band, Tenth Avenue North. The lyrics in the bridge of the song are particularly touching:
Oh, You want me
Somehow You want me
The King of Heaven wants me
So this world has lost its grip on me
To know you are wanted – and even more spectacular: you are wanted by the King of Heaven, Lord over all, the One who has everything – what amazing value it speaks into our human existence!
And yet, there is, in the chorus of this song the recurring line, “God, You don’t need me, but somehow You want me.” As beautiful as the song is, it may rub you the wrong way to hear that God does not need you. Perhaps your heart starts firing off questions from a place of pain such as: “Why was I created if I’m not needed? I thought, as a child of God, He needed me to win souls and spread the Gospel! Why were we commissioned if we were not needed?”
Something bristles within us when we aren’t needed. Our own hearts have gotten confused between what we do and who we are.
Nevertheless, it would be theologically wrong to say that God could be deficient or lacking in any way. God is not truly God if He needs anything to complete Him. He is everything and has everything. He has no needs.
But that truth doesn’t mean that God is without feelings for us, dispassionate and apathetic toward our very existence. Quite the contrary! Our God longs for our hearts, longs for communion with us, longs for nearness to us. It is a beautiful thing that He chooses us, wants us to partner with Him in the advancement of the Kingdom, desires to spend time with us – and all of this without needing anything from us. He wants us – with a pure heart, not wishing we met any need of His, not because of what we do for Him. He just wants us.
“What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Psalm 8:4
For more on how God values your unique voice, red my blog, “Singing My Part” by clicking HERE!
