My cellphone vibrates on the seat next to me. A text
message. It reads:
I
just wanted to make you aware that I really appreciate you!! Te amo muito,
beijinhos :-)
I smile at the sweetness of the message from Eurides
(my brother´s new bride of a little over 3 months). I open my car door and
realize that I almost feel like crying, happy tears. It´s so warming to know
that you are loved. I spend the day wishing that everyone in the world could
receive a text message like that one.
It meant more to me than to most, evidently. I´m a word
person. I like words. I cherish sincere things that people have taken the time
to articulate.
Interestingly, though, I´ve begun to appreciate a new
kind of expression—the absence of words, or, to put it simply, silence. One day
as I lay on my back in the grass, I envisioned the cross. The cross with a
heaving man nailed to its frame. The whole saga, His entire earthly sojourn,
was in reality an endless line of desperate “I love you(s)” springing forth
from a heart in love. And the cross was the epitome. The cross was the loudest
“I LOVE YOU” ever not spoken.
He didn´t utter those three words from that cross. He
didn´t have to. Each trickle of blood was an expression of love. Each bruise was
His passionate desire for you. Each painful breath was a piece of joy that He
dreamt of giving to His beloved. His outstretched arms were His longing to hold
you. His distraught eyes quietly begged the question “Is there anything else I
can do to show you that I love you more than life?”
Christ´s “I LOVE YOU” from the cross was breath-taking
not because it was spoken or written, but because it knew no bounds…it was
lived, it was shown, it was embodied, and it was willing to die.
His love was beyond words—a Word made flesh. A passion
deeper than anything I´ve ever read or heard—a timeless emotion. I don´t mind wordless
moments on my knees anymore. I´m beginning to learn the beauty of immersing
oneself in God´s silences. God communicates volumes in the absence of speech. His
silences brim over with unspeakable love.
The lyrics keep coming to mind, “It´s amazing the way
you speak right to my heart. Without saying a word you can light up the dark.”
The wordless “I love you” that reaches to me across centuries speaks loudly to
my heart. I almost feel like crying. My Savior rushes to my side and His face lights
up the dark inside of me. It is so warming to know that you are loved. I spend
the day wishing that everyone in the world would receive the message radiating
from His cross.
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