Jesus,
How do I love you? Let me count the ways.
I love you because of the incredible compassion you showed for the hurting.
I love you because of the way you spoke out against those who were so sure and self-righteous.
I love you because you chose to hang out with the outcast.
I love you because you celebrated both the prodigal and the elder sons.
I love you because you gathered the children to you.
I love you because you inverted the values of the world, launching a kingdom where giving is better than taking, where humility is better than arrogance, where last is better than first, where losing life is better than gaining it.
I love you because you are more interested in the content of hearts than obedience to the rules.
I love you because you chose to be completely vulnerable.
I love you because you showed that forgiveness is the way of love, even if it means a cross.
More than anything, I love you because you loved me all the way to the cross, and I know that you love me still.
I ask that by the power of your Holy Spirit, I might follow you a little more closely every day and take hold of the life that truly is life (1 Tim 6:19), the life you lived…for me. Amen.