… to what Jesus might be saying.
It matters how I see myself. It matters to me, it matters to others, it matters to God. How might I feel, how might I be different, if this is what I heard Him saying to me?
***
Has it crossed your mind that I am proud you accepted the gift of faith I offered you?
Proud that you freely chose Me, after I had chosen you, as your friend and Lord?
Proud that, with all your warts and wrinkles, you haven’t given up?
Proud that you believe in Me enough to try again and again?
Are you aware how I appreciate you for wanting Me?
I want you to know how grateful I am
when you pause to smile and comfort a child who has lost her way.
I am grateful for the hours you devote to learning more about Me;
for the word of encouragement you passed on to your burnt-out pastor;
for your visit to the shut-in; for your tears for the retarded.
What you did to them, you did to Me.
Alas, I am sad when you do not believe that I have totally forgiven you
or you feel uncomfortable approaching Me.”
Brennan Manning,
The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out
[spacing is mine]