Worth It
"But he took her by the hand and said, 'My child, get up!' Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat."
—Luke 8:54-55
We have talked in this article about attributing worth to God in worship. We have spoken of the importance of our recognizing how much God is worth. Today I want to address the importance of recognizing how much you are worth to God.
Ask anyone who has attended Sunday School for any length of time, and they will tell you that "Jesus died on the cross for our sins." While this is ultimately correct, the grammar can be a little misleading. Jesus died on the cross so that we might have relationship with God. It is difficult to address how Jesus accomplished our salvation. The theological theories about how Jesus' death on the cross atoned for our sin fill many volumes of many books. But while it may be difficult to address how Jesus did it, it is infinitely more simple to explain why.
Like a loving parent, God wanted us to know His love. The distance that shame created between us was more than he was willing to live with. And so God came, God lived, and God died for the explicit purpose of restoring a relationship with humanity, and with you.
Shame, however, can be like sand. You find bits of it weeks after first contact. Every grain of it makes us withdraw a little from God. But it is God’s desire that we acknowledge the shame and let His love wash it away and restore again that close relationship.
Homework this week: Examine the distance between you and God. Are you as close as you feel you should be? If not, pray that God would remove the shame and restore the relationship.
—Luke 8:54-55
We have talked in this article about attributing worth to God in worship. We have spoken of the importance of our recognizing how much God is worth. Today I want to address the importance of recognizing how much you are worth to God.
Ask anyone who has attended Sunday School for any length of time, and they will tell you that "Jesus died on the cross for our sins." While this is ultimately correct, the grammar can be a little misleading. Jesus died on the cross so that we might have relationship with God. It is difficult to address how Jesus accomplished our salvation. The theological theories about how Jesus' death on the cross atoned for our sin fill many volumes of many books. But while it may be difficult to address how Jesus did it, it is infinitely more simple to explain why.
Like a loving parent, God wanted us to know His love. The distance that shame created between us was more than he was willing to live with. And so God came, God lived, and God died for the explicit purpose of restoring a relationship with humanity, and with you.
Shame, however, can be like sand. You find bits of it weeks after first contact. Every grain of it makes us withdraw a little from God. But it is God’s desire that we acknowledge the shame and let His love wash it away and restore again that close relationship.
Homework this week: Examine the distance between you and God. Are you as close as you feel you should be? If not, pray that God would remove the shame and restore the relationship.