God Loves You

Chuckle: Adult-living class completed a questionnaire. One question: "How far apart would you like to have your children?" One student filled in, "About 300 miles." --Phyllis Schaefer

Ponder this: "Isn't it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to your church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?"

HOW MUCH DOES GOD LOVE YOU?

"Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39 NIV).

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. Of the 200 in the room, he asked. "Who would like to have this $20 bill?"                                              

Hands started going up all around. He said, "I am going to give this $20 bill to one of you, but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" As before, the hands were up.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have just learned a valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It is still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God's eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him.

When God created us, He built into our nature the need to be loved and to love in return. The Bible tells us God's love for you and me is never ending. He is constantly reaching out to us with expressions of His love, patience, mercy, and grace. And, even though you may think otherwise, there's nothing you can do that will make God stop loving you -- and nothing you can do to make Him love you more. If, on occasion, you feel unloved because you perceive something in your life makes you unworthy of love, please remember how precious you are in God's eyes. After all, He loved you so much that He was willing to sacrifice His one and only Son to demonstrate that love to you.

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him" (I John 4:9 NIV). "But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8 ).

Hold on to these comforting words even in the darkest times of your life. They will help you to realize how loved, important, and valuable you are to our Lord. It doesn't matter how crumpled and dirty you may feel because of sin in your life. God still loves you and He yearns for you to come to Him in humility and repentance. He will forgive you, lift you out of sorrow and shame, and give you a new joy, all because He loves you unconditionally.

Love, Jerry & Dotse