"Jeanie, why do you keep talking
about that Jesus guy all the time? It's bugging the &%$@# out of
me."
Yeah, it did me too.
Just hearing his name annoyed me. I'd
mentally scream, "Stop it already! Shut the (bleep) up!"
It never failed. Whether it was moving
to a new neighborhood or starting a new job, somebody would be there
talking about Jesus.
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| block photos courtesy of Stuart Miles @ freedigitalphotos.net |
Grrr! Stupid Christians. Stop it
already. Shut up!
And they'd stop talking about Jesus.
They kept showing me love,
and extending friendship. No strings attached. Just love.
I'd point out all the good deeds
I was doing to tip the heavenly scales in my favor. "I'm a good
person. I do more good things than bad."
They'd open a bible and show me what
God said about it. Verses like
We are all infected and impure with
sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy
rags. Is 64:6
I didn't like God's answers. They
didn't line up with my thinking, so I refused to listen.
But his people kept showing me love
anyway. They'd bring me cookies and invite me to picnics.
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| courtesy of AKARAKINGDOMS @ freeigitalphotos.net |
A church picnic? No way. I expected an
ambush by those Jesus people. I pictured them springing out of the
woods, armed with bibles. I steered clear.
It bugged me to watch those Christians.
They were more than happy. They were joyful. And they didn't pretend
to be perfect. Their methods of working through their problems sat at
the opposite spectrum from mine. They were always forgiving people
instead of taking my advice, which ranged from intricate schemes of
revenge to old-fashioned butt-kicking.
But they just kept loving me. And all
their love finally got through.
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| Courtesy of graur razvan ionut @ freedigitalphotos.net |
Plus, I figured God couldn't made a
bigger mess of my life than I already had.
So I prayed,
"Jesus, I'm sorry for the all the
wrong things I've done, the messes I've made. Please forgive me. I
want to be yours."
And at that moment, I became His.
God welcomed me into his amazing love.
It was a supercharged version of the love his people had been showing
me all along.
I received a new life. A fresh start.
Has it been easy?
Not always.
Has it been easier than when I lived
without God?
Totally. Absolutely. Infinitely.
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| photo courtesy of Naypong @ freedigitalphotos.net |
Even when I slip up, God gathers me up,
brushes me off, loves on me, and sets me on my feet. His crazy
amazing love never changes.
If you've taken the time to read this
far, I suspect you're ready for some of that love yourself. Here's how.
Jesus is the gateway to his father,
God.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
To start a relationship with him, speak
this life-changing prayer:
Lord, I'm sorry for doing things my
way instead of yours. Please forgive me,
and be my savior.
If you prayed that with a sincere
heart, you've just become his child. Buckle in for an explosion of
crazy amazing love.
And if you prayed it, please
let me know. I'll celebrate with you.
It's a life-altering decision. To get a
clearer understanding, check out this link to the PeaceWithGodwebsite and take 3 minutes to watch this awesome
video.
Shut the (bleep) up about Jesus? No way. There are too many folks who need to know about His love for them.
Well said.
ReplyDeleteEven for the Christians, it's a good reminder that all our talk doesn't mean much if we're not living it out.