John 3:16-18
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
There are people in this world who are hard to love…but no one is unloveable. If you don’t remember anything else I ever say, please remember this. I get it…some people are rude and insensitive…some children never seem to behave themselves...and some folks simply smell bad. Others do horrible, unspeakable things…treat each other with disrespect…and present conduct so terrible that nobody wants to be around them. Some people act as if they don’t care…about anything or anyone (except maybe themselves.) And God sent Jesus for all of them.
I frame these thoughts in the context of three locations…school, the workplace, and church. If you are a teacher or someone who works with children, remember that your most important job every single day is to make each child feel worthwhile and special. Building up their self-worth is far more critical than building their knowledge base. School should be their safe haven…the place where they are accepted and acknowledged…the place where they feel that they belong.
If you are a student, you should be surrounded by people who encourage you and build your heart and character every day…and you should do all that YOU can to encourage your fellow students in the same manner.
In the workplace, you should recognize that every customer and employee has worth…that every one of the people you encounter each day brings a unique set of abilities, problems and concerns with him/her…and your most important role is to show kindness, respect, and tolerance.
Church should be the one place above all others where people feel loved and acknowledged. Many who come through the doors are seeking respite and refuge…love and acceptance...someone who will offer them encouragement and hope. Instead, I’m afraid that many find people arrogance, social cliques, criticism and judgment, and a strong dose of condemnation that makes them feel inferior. There doesn’t seem to be much room in some of our churches for the broken - and brokenhearted.
The thing is…God sent Jesus for ALL of us…not just the nice ones – or the pretty ones. He didn’t say, “I am only sending my Son to save those who are clean and behave themselves every single minute…the ones whose home life is perfect, and those who have no money problems or struggles with addiction. I’m not sending Him for those who are emotionally a little off balance…are anything other than 100% heterosexual…and have less than creamy white skin and a fat bank account.
God did not put a single limitation or qualification on who could have salvation because of Jesus Christ. So why do we? God gave us the most perfect gift possible…a gift that not a single one of us can ever earn or deserve. He loved every single one of us enough to do this. So what makes us think we can love others any less?
Most of us learned early in life to be gracious recipients of gifts…even the ones that we didn’t ask for – or really don’t like. But there is nothing unlikeable about God’s gift of salvation. In fact, the mere idea that someone would reject this gift is probably absurd to most of us – although there will be those who do so. I trust that you are not among them. And in accepting God’s gift of Jesus, we must also accept the command to love others as we love Him – and ourselves…and to treat them as we would wish to be treated. As you go to school, work, church – or just out in the world each day – think about Jesus and what He did for you. Ask yourself if how you are treating others and responding to them lines up with this perfect Gift.
Make every minute of your day a time to show God your gratitude for Jesus. Do this with your words and actions – and by treating others as the precious recipients of this great Gift, as well. Because of God’s great love for us…no one is unloveable. Are you demonstrating this in your daily living? Isn’t it time you were?
©2016 Debbie Robus
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
There are people in this world who are hard to love…but no one is unloveable. If you don’t remember anything else I ever say, please remember this. I get it…some people are rude and insensitive…some children never seem to behave themselves...and some folks simply smell bad. Others do horrible, unspeakable things…treat each other with disrespect…and present conduct so terrible that nobody wants to be around them. Some people act as if they don’t care…about anything or anyone (except maybe themselves.) And God sent Jesus for all of them.
I frame these thoughts in the context of three locations…school, the workplace, and church. If you are a teacher or someone who works with children, remember that your most important job every single day is to make each child feel worthwhile and special. Building up their self-worth is far more critical than building their knowledge base. School should be their safe haven…the place where they are accepted and acknowledged…the place where they feel that they belong.
If you are a student, you should be surrounded by people who encourage you and build your heart and character every day…and you should do all that YOU can to encourage your fellow students in the same manner.
In the workplace, you should recognize that every customer and employee has worth…that every one of the people you encounter each day brings a unique set of abilities, problems and concerns with him/her…and your most important role is to show kindness, respect, and tolerance.
Church should be the one place above all others where people feel loved and acknowledged. Many who come through the doors are seeking respite and refuge…love and acceptance...someone who will offer them encouragement and hope. Instead, I’m afraid that many find people arrogance, social cliques, criticism and judgment, and a strong dose of condemnation that makes them feel inferior. There doesn’t seem to be much room in some of our churches for the broken - and brokenhearted.
The thing is…God sent Jesus for ALL of us…not just the nice ones – or the pretty ones. He didn’t say, “I am only sending my Son to save those who are clean and behave themselves every single minute…the ones whose home life is perfect, and those who have no money problems or struggles with addiction. I’m not sending Him for those who are emotionally a little off balance…are anything other than 100% heterosexual…and have less than creamy white skin and a fat bank account.
God did not put a single limitation or qualification on who could have salvation because of Jesus Christ. So why do we? God gave us the most perfect gift possible…a gift that not a single one of us can ever earn or deserve. He loved every single one of us enough to do this. So what makes us think we can love others any less?
Most of us learned early in life to be gracious recipients of gifts…even the ones that we didn’t ask for – or really don’t like. But there is nothing unlikeable about God’s gift of salvation. In fact, the mere idea that someone would reject this gift is probably absurd to most of us – although there will be those who do so. I trust that you are not among them. And in accepting God’s gift of Jesus, we must also accept the command to love others as we love Him – and ourselves…and to treat them as we would wish to be treated. As you go to school, work, church – or just out in the world each day – think about Jesus and what He did for you. Ask yourself if how you are treating others and responding to them lines up with this perfect Gift.
Make every minute of your day a time to show God your gratitude for Jesus. Do this with your words and actions – and by treating others as the precious recipients of this great Gift, as well. Because of God’s great love for us…no one is unloveable. Are you demonstrating this in your daily living? Isn’t it time you were?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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