I love you specifically

Aren’t two sparrows sold for a small coin? But not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father knowing about it already. Even the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31)

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the latest iteration of the wizard’s adventures, has made the rounds in our household this summer and I was finally the last one to complete it. It’s written as a play, not a novel, so it reads a little differently, but it still has familiar (and engaging) twists and turns. My highlight of the book came near the very end. Harry is talking to his wife Ginny about their son Albus and Harry tells her, “I’d do anything for (Albus).” She responds, “Harry, you’d do anything for anybody. You were pretty happy to sacrifice yourself for the world. He needs to feel specific love. It’ll make him stronger, and you stronger, too.”

“I do love him specifically,” says Harry.

That line has been emblazoned in my mind ever since because it cuts through some generalities we may have about love, both the love that we have for each other and the love that God has for us. We hear over and over that God loves us, but I think that sometimes loses its impact. God doesn’t just have a vague love for the world and those who live in it. God has a specific love for each person. For you. For me.

My son and I put together a gas grill Sunday (the above picture is the completed project) and in the midst of the process, I was thinking that this is a great father-son thing to do together. As I was hunched over the instruction manual trying to figure out what piece went where, my son started humming, “Be Our Guest” from the musical, “Beauty and the Beast.” My son has caught the acting bug and, while at first I thought it was a song that came out of nowhere, I realized that it’s exactly the kind of song that he would hum. It’s a specific thing about him, a specific thing that I love.

Jesus tells us that the hairs on our heads are counted by God. All of the quirks and foibles that you may be embarrassed by, these are the things that God knows and, more powerfully, the things that God loves. God loves you specifically. Let that sink in this week and rejoice in this good news.