A huge message in 4 simple words

After leading a very, very broken and sinful life for several decades, something happened to me that blew me away.  I was at my chiropractor's for a treatment one evening and with absolutely no knowledge of his personal life I asked him if he went to church.  This, out of the mouth of one who had darkened any church's door only to go to funerals or weddings.  He said "yes we do, and we will be going tomorrow evening to the church right up the street for a midweek service".  Then the complete shocker came out of my mouth...."can I go with you".  Tom mentioned that the midweek services consisted of a lot of praise and worship, and that the messages were hard hitting....that he just wanted to let me know.  Tom knew very little about my life, and my guess was that he simply wanted to warn me that I would be going to a heavy-duty service.

I went with Tom that very next evening, a Wednesday evening.  At the service I felt very out of place, as if I didn't belong there (I was absolutely certain that my long and industrious life of sin made me stick out like a sore thumb).  Then, during the message, a huge and life altering comment was made...one which I was sure was spoken directly to my by the pastor giving the message.  And as if to cement that thought, he repeated it passionately several times during his message.  It was four simple words:  "You matter to God".  I was reduced to body shaking and uncontrollable sobs.  Never in my life had any four words cut to the core of me like those four words.

Since those words were spoken to me that night almost 28 years ago, I have found myself leaning on those words (or sometimes they have leaned on me!!) many times.  I have stumbled and fallen many times over in that period.  And just about that time when I felt I was down for the count the words have never failed to surface in my mind and heart to remind me that I matter to God....no matter what.

If you are like me this buisness of doing daily life is not always pretty, is not always how we like it, is not always nice, is not easy and often leaves us with questions.  As men, husbands, and fathers we sometimes feel insignificant and lacking.  Sometimes we begin to doubt where we stand.

There is one thing you will never have to doubt.  Never, ever.  Allow your heart to absorb and embrace one thing if nothing else.....YOU MATTER TO GOD. and you always will, no matter what you do or where you are at in your life.