It makes Allah love me...

I suppose we all know what it feels like to long to be loved. We all want to be cherished, to be protected, to be enjoyed. There's a wistful ache some of us know too well, the ache of a soul that cries out to be completed by love.

I read a news article today that quoted an Egyptian elementary teacher named Rokaya Mohamed, who refuses to remove her face veil because it "makes Allah and his Prophet love me."

Her spirit made my heart cry - this is a woman who has made a very hard choice, to wear constricting and ridiculed clothing because she covets the love of Allah more than she covets the approval of mankind. But even in her sincerity, even in her self-discipline and her moral rigidity, she has missed by so much the truth God so wants for her to know; the truth that God loves us with unspeakable passion no matter what we do. Even while we live in complete rebellion, spitting in His face, he loves us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Oh, how sad a thing this is. Her heart will never be satiated, for Allah's "love" can never satisfy, can never fill the void in her heart. She will keep feeling that desire for love, no matter what she dresses like or how she behaves. I pray that you, dear reader, will know Christ's love in a way that conquers all your wistful pangs and longing glances.