Growing Through Challenge

            HOW CAN YOU KNOW THAT GOD LOVES YOU?

As with any investigative report, one has to look for "clues" to discover the truth of any given issue. Here are a few thoughts to consider... clues that may suggest to your own heart some answers to that important question.

You can probably only gain that confidence that The God of All The Universe loves you if you trust that Jesus Christ was who He said He was. Examples of such statements were: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6), and "He who has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14.9)

If Jesus was the clearest picture of what your Creator is really like, you need to do two things to find out how God feels about you...
     First, really look at the life He lived here on earth as He went about doing good, sharing encouragement, concern, and healing "as he passed by".
     Second, really listen to His words with an open heart to the things He was trying to say.

Consider... How does God feel about sinners? Perhaps you might ask yourself... "Do I see myself as a sinner? That is, do I say and do things that do not symbolize truth, beauty, and goodness, things that often make me feel separate from God?" Jesus held out great hope for those who were sincere about their sinfulness!

And what is sincerity? Being exactly whom you appear to be, saying exactly what you mean with no pretense.

Jesus gave us a great example in a story about two men praying. (Luke 18:9-14) A rich Pharisee stood on the street corner praying out loud about how great he was and how much he gave to the poor, while a tax collector, despised by everyone, stood in the shadows from a distance and would not even look up to heaven as he smote his chest and prayed, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Jesus said this tax collector went home justified before God, making the profound statement, "Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted." You can read all of the four Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and find, amazingly, that Jesus had harsh words for only one group of people... the insincere religious... the ones who thought they were the only ones who were right and looked down their long self-righteous noses at common sinners like you and me.

On this same note, are we willing to admit that we are sinners? Some of us are perhaps haunted by many memories of how we have messed up so often, perhaps so badly that we wonder... "How could God could ever love me? Hate me, condemn me, despise me... I could understand that... but love me?" I have great news for you... there is hope!

Again, let's look for some "clues" not just from his words, but from the life of Jesus Christ. In His life we see how he acted toward people like you and me... compassionate, caring, loving, easy to be approached.

What kind of people did he like to be around? The common people. What kind of people did he choose to call as His special messengers? Everyday people like you and me, rugged, common laborers, people full of fears and problems. Tax collectors, prostitutes, thieves, adulterers... these were the people to whom He extended the spirit of love, forgiveness, healing... the very people who later became the most adamant heralds of the Gospel of Jesus!

Viewing his life, isn't it a little easier to believe His amazing words which breathed life and healing to so many people? Jesus chose two forms in which to communicate his message to the people...

DECLARATIONS such as "He who has seen me, has seen the Father".

PARABLES like the story of the prodigal son who wasted away his life... yet returned home to find his father eagerly and longingly waiting to completely forgive!

In summary, through the incredible life of Jesus Christ, we find examples and clues of just how much our Creator loves us. If you still have doubts whether God loves you or not, just get alone by yourself in a quiet and peaceful place... and if you are truly ready to humble yourself before God, and sincerely want Jesus Christ to be your Way to the Father, and help you to change for the good... ask Jesus to come into your life... and show you just how much God loves you. If you are sincere, you will not be disappointed.

                           STILL FEEL UNWORTHY?

Let me close with a few words from Leslie Leyland Fields..."Let the stable still astonish!"   Yes, let the stable still astonish: Straw, dirt floor, dull eyes, dusty flanks of donkeys, oxen; crumbling, crooked walls; no bed to carry that pain. And then, the Child, rag-wrapped, laid to cry in a trough. Who would have chosen this? "Yes, let the God of all the heavens and earth be born here... in this place?"

Who... but the same God who stands in the darker, fouler rooms of our hearts and says... "Yes, let the God of heaven and earth be born here... in this place."