“I’m especially fond of you.” That’s a quote from the 2007 novel “The Shack” by William P. Young. The main character is Mackenzie Phillips and four years prior to the setting of the book, one of his children is abducted and killed while on a family camping trip. It turned him bitter at life and on the edge of suicide. The storyline has “Mack” returning to “The Shack” where he was told the murder occurred. In the midst of his grief, he has an encounter with God. God, in the novel, addressed this grieving father and says, “I’m especially fond of you.” At the end of the book, you realize that God’s attitude toward everyone is the same.
It’s a good read, but here’s the point of this blog. The Scripture is clear. God is overwhelming and enthusiastically in love with you…especially YOU! Some of you need to hear this truth desperately right now. You feel unloved, unappreciated, and marginalized. Well, get a load of this: And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:18-19