Whether you caught The Hunger Games opening weekend, or whether you have no idea who Peeta and Katniss are, I’m guessing you can relate to this girl’s bottom-line question: “I finished The Hunger Games series, and I am so envying Katniss. I mean, I know they are just fictional characters, but seriously. Peeta loves her so much and so unconditionally. This guy is so perfect. I know I have God and all, but is there gonna be a guy that really loves me that much?”
Will I ever be loved like that? Even if I’ve never asked that question out loud, it’s been the silent question behind the tears filling my eyes after dropping yet another novel into the library dropbox or watching the credits roll by after yet another chick flick. Could that ever happen to me?
But as the books and movies have been released and the tears have fallen and the years have passed, I’ve come to believe that even if Peeta actually existed in real life, and even if I were his “Katniss,” the woman he lived and breathed for, it wouldn’t be enough. Not for long.
That’s because the hole in my heart—and the hole in your heart—isn’t Peeta-shaped. Or Gale-shaped (Katniss’ other love interest). You weren’t made to be adored but to adore. You weren’t made to be worshiped but to worship. You were made for more.
You were made for God.
A God so big the waters of the earth fit into the palm of His hand. A God of nearly 500 billion galaxies. A God who has no weaknesses, who never trips or falls or needs you to rescue Him (like Peeta). A God who not only talks about dying for you (like Peeta), but a God who actually sacrificed His life for you.
Why?
So you—a poor nobody from the dark, outer district—could enter into the closest relationship you have ever known with the kindest, most powerful King who has always been. So there could be no distance or discord or disconnectedness between you and Him.
How do I know? Because God thought up marriage—the most committed love relationship we can experience as humans—to give us just a taste, a tiny taste, of the oneness we can and will know with Him, through faith in Jesus Christ:
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her . . . In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church. . . . This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it [marriage] refers to Christ and the church (Eph. 5:25–32).
You are loved. So much more and so much better than Peeta loves Katniss. You are loved by this God who makes Peeta look, well, puny.
Dream bigger, sweet girl. You were made for so much more.
I’ve adapted this post from its original: “Will I Ever Be Loved Like Peeta Loves Katniss?“
Paula (Hendricks) Marsteller is a compassionate, bold Christian communicator offering you gospel hope, thought-provoking questions, and practical help along the way.
