This morning I caught a glimpse of how much God adores you.

You may know that Kirk and I have two kitties — their names are Solomon and Diva — who bring a lot of delight and laughter into our household. They also teach me a lot about God on a regular basis. For instance, I wrote once that Diva is my teacher on contemplative prayer.

Sometimes in the morning, when I sit at my desk, Diva will follow me there and beg for attention.

I can hardly resist petting her, and sometimes she makes it impossible for me to do anything else. She’ll circle around at my feet, make little squawking noises, look up at me with her plaintive blue eyes without blinking, stand on her hind legs and paw my arm, or jump directly onto my lap without any warning.

She knows exactly what she wants, and she’s not afraid to ask for it.

Sometimes her persistence and fearlessness teach me how we’re welcome to approach God, but this morning, on the flip side, I caught a glimpse of God’s great love for us.

Like I said, I can hardly resist petting Diva — not only because she makes it nearly impossible to avoid, but also because I delight in her so much. I find her beautiful. I love stroking her soft fur. Her blue eyes always arrest me. Her vulnerability only increases her preciousness to me.

But there’s something about Diva, being a cat, that will never fully satisfy my own desire for love while loving her. She loves me, but in a trusting, dependent kind of way. She can’t reciprocate — fully — the love I feel for her, and she never will.

I think that’s part of the joy God had in creating you and me.

Just as parents pour out love for their children in abundance and selflessness over years, I can imagine there comes a point in time when their joy becomes even more full when their children start to love them from a place of maturity, as adults. The parent begins to receive love not simply for having been parents but also for who they are. What grace.

God must have felt pride and incredible affection for all he had created in the world before humans came into the mix. But once humans entered in, the potential for requited love did too. We can talk and reason and relate and grow in maturity and our capacity for love.

I think the potential for receiving that kind of reciprocal love from us really excites God.

Given the love and joy that overflow out of my heart toward Diva each day, I know that God dearly adores you. But even more than that, I know he’s eager to enjoy the mutuality of love that is uniquely possible with you as a human being.

In light of that, what kind of response can you offer God today? What does it look like for you to enjoy your uniquely human ability to talk and be in relationship with God right now?