For I am convinced that…(nothing) will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
I’ve been pondering what it means to be wanted by God. Particularly after an unexpected announcement that appeared in my inbox this week.
No matter the words, the gist of the message was this…
You are no longer wanted.
Okay. Really?
I sat straight, mouth agape. Then cried for twenty-four hours about it.
Because I’d forgotten what God had not. Which is…
God wants me. Always. Even when my heart is proud and divided among things of the world and I don’t want Him back.
He can’t not want me.
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
The world forgets. The world rejects. The world abandons.
It doesn’t always welcome. It shoots the wounded.
It measures worth based on my following, status, gifts and talents. If deemed unimpressive or unmarketable, I’m out, making room for someone else to catch its ever-roving eye.
It breaks relationship with one email, phone call, or text… sometimes without warning.
Like sudden death.
The world clouds my ability to see myself through the lens of Christ.
God. Wants. Me.
All of me.
I’m absolutely convinced that nothing–nothing living or dead…today or tomorrow–absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Romans 8:37-38 (The Message)
Whether dead in sin, seeking affirmation from the world, or alive in Christ, God wants me.
Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus…(and) offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life. Romans 6:11, 13b (NIV)
Share a time you felt unwanted. How does it comfort you to know God wants you, whether dead in sin or alive in Christ?
Mary
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