Somebody Loves You

There’s a wonderful children’s book that’s named Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch! It tells the story of a man who wakes up every morning, buys a newspaper but never says hello to the man working at the newsstand. He walks past children playing hopscotch right outside his door without even a smile. He works silently at his job- at a shoelace factory. He has the same lunch every day- a cheese and mustard sandwich with a prune for dessert- and neither speaks to nor sits with anyone. He goes home alone. He eats dinner alone. And goes to bed…alone. Every day.

One day, however, Mr. Hatch gets a package from the mailman. It is a Valentine's box of candy with a card that says simply, "Somebody loves you."

It changes his life significantly.

He joyfully plays hop-scotch with the children outside his door. Instead of just buying the paper, he speaks to the man at the newsstand. He bakes brownies for the neighbors; he is a changed man! He enjoys and serves others because someone loves him.

But all of his joy and all of his love for others comes to a crashing halt when the mailman shows up once again, but this time it is to ask for the package. It had been delivered to the wrong address! Mr. Hatch is devastated and returns to his normal routine, not showing much love to those around him. In his mind, nobody loves him.

If we open our hearts to the power of this simple children’s story, we realize that knowing- really knowing- that we’re deeply, fully loved by another changes our lives. Being loved enables us to sacrificially love others in joyful and tangible ways.

Yet, Mr. Hatch had his package taken away…

The neighborhood knew that something had happened to Mr. Hatch. They saw that his recent joy and enthusiasm was gone and that he was back to his old ways so they decided to throw Mr. Hatch a big party with a large sign that said, “Everybody loves you , Mr. Hatch!” The story concludes: "Mr. Hatch dabbed at a tear with his handkerchief. 'I do believe' – he sniffed – "somebody loves me after all.' And then he smiled. And then he laughed. And then he hurried down to be with his friends."

I truly believe that one of the reasons we find it near impossible to love others is precisely because we have forgotten the love of God for us. With this gift of the gospel of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, however, the mailman will never show up claiming to have had the wrong address. The gift will never be taken away because we’ve failed to earn it. It is ours forever. It is the gift of eternal love and eternal life. And it isn’t a generic message that says, “Somebody loves you.” It is the specific and incredible message that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love you more than you’ll ever be able to fully comprehend.