A question

How can a perfect God love an imperfect person?

 

Do you sometimes ask yourself that question as you ponder where you are at in the grand scheme of things?  Are you looking at yourself, your past, your failures and weaknesses, your story as you ask that question?  Truth be told, I'd be surprised to hear anyone say that they had never considered that question.  There is a very simple reason for my saying that.  We ponder that question because of guilt and shame we carry about ourselves.

 

I think at times it can be difficult for anyone who is a believer not to wonder how God could possibly love them.  Even those who we may think have "got it", or have got it all together with their Christianity, or whose lives we see as fully dedicated followers of Christ may at times wonder about that question.  The reason is simply because we are all broken to some degree or another.  Some folks are open about their brokenness, some aren't....but all of us are broken.

 

A trip through the new testament of the Bible will show that the 12 disciples, who were picked by Jesus, were all broken men, some horribly so.  A trip through the old testament will easily show God interacting with a huge assortment of very broken people.  Brokenness in mankind is pretty much a sub-plot throughout the Bible.....just as is the very strong message that comes out of those interactions.....that God loves us.  Period.  End of story.  God loves us.

 

Next time you are in the mood for massaging and micro-managing some of your guilt and shame and placing yourself in the gutter for it, ask yourself a question?

 

How can a perfect God love an imperfect person like me?

 

And then ponder the answer to that question......because that is what He does !  No ifs, no buts, no strings attached.  He knows us, and He loves us.  It's there as big as life.  The only thing that can stop you from believing that is you, and the choice you make.

 

Just to offer proof, He sent Jesus to the cross to die for our sins that we may be saved.  At that moment He dished out more grace and redemption than any of us can imagine.  But again, it is our choice to believe that or not.

 

Will your past still haunt you?  Will you feel shame and guilt at times?  Sure.....it's a certainty.  But it pales against the grace and redemption we have from the cross.  From that same perfect God who continues to love imperfect people like you and I.