CHAPLAIN'S CORNER: Fulfilling a need to be loved

By Chaplain (Capt.) Roland O. Geyrozaga II, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade (Benning)September 28, 2018

Chaplain (Capt.) Roland O. Geyrozaga II, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade
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Stained glass
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – FORT BENNING, Ga. (Sept. 29, 2018) -- In this U.S. Army file photo is a stained glass window in the Sand Hill Chapel. In this week's Chaplain's Corner, Chaplain (Capt.) Roland O. Geyrozaga II, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brig... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BENNING, Ga. (Sept. 28, 2018) -- In this week's Chaplain's Corner, Chaplain (Capt.) Roland O. Geyrozaga II, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade, talks about the need to be loved.

Everyone wants to be loved. We live in a world where the longing to be loved is a universal desire. This desire to be loved is a constant over all countries, cultures and creeds. This desire doesn't change regardless of a person's economic status, age, gender or occupation. There are books, fiction and non-fiction, written around the theme of longing to be loved. Movies are made and songs are sung about people's yearning for love. We even see this longing on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Think about it: some people post things and come back to their posts to see how many Facebook "likes" or Instagram "hearts" their post gets and become disappointed when they see the post didn't get the "likes" or "hearts" they thought they were going to receive.

The longing to be loved is a universal desire. Yet, it is not a universal experience. We meet people every day who do not experience the love they so desperately long for. Perhaps we have had times in our lives where we have not experienced the love we desire. Maybe you're feeling that way today.

The Bible contains many reminders for us when we're ever feeling unloved or when we're not experiencing the love we so desperately desire. One of those texts is found in the book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 31:3-4 says, "The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. I will build you up again … you will take up your timbres and go out to dance with the joyful.'"

God's message to His people during Jeremiah's time is the same message that He has for every single one of us today. It is a message of a love for you that is far deeper and more complex than what we may understand about that word "love." Many of us have but a faint and dim concept of how deep the love of God is for us. We use that word "love" so flippantly. We say things like, "I love pizza" or "I love video games." Our everyday usage of that word is many times shallow and points to an imperfect or worldly love. Jeremiah's message is that God's love is supreme, divine and matchless.

You see, God's love is everlasting and therefore unmatchable. He has loved you from the very beginning of time. Before even a single atom was spoken into existence, before you were knit in your mother's womb, and before you even realized it, He has loved you. Christian musician and speaker Graham Cooke succinctly put it, "The greatest Person in the universe sees you in the best possible way." Cooke is saying that God's perception of you is of divine and perfect love. It is a perception that you will not find anywhere else.

This text in Jeremiah points to a love that draws us near to God and a love that builds us up when we're broken down. If you are ever feeling unloved or broken, know that God loves you and wants you to draw near to Him so that you would experience fulfillment, wholeness, acceptance and strength. Naturally, out of that experience, joy will follow. So rejoice in the knowledge that you are supremely loved by the God of the universe.

Related Links:

Benning News on the Army News Service

U.S. Army Garrison Fort Benning Religious Support Office