My daughter Maria gave me a funny Christmas present this year. Do you know what these are? Do you know who the Incredible Hulk is? He is a comic book character who, when he gets real mad, turns into sort of mean, green, enormous monster smashing everything everywhere. But he’s not real. I know he’s not real because his pants never rip when he gains weight and gets big. And goodness knows that isn’t real!But what if these were my real hands? What if my hands really were this big? And green? Would God still love me if I had funny huge hands? What if I were a mean guy who smashed things up when he gets angry? Would God still love me then? Or does God only love nice people and important pastors? Does God love your nice moms and dads? Does God love kings and presidents and powerful people? Does God only love famous people? Or does God love little people too? Does God care about your story/life? Or does God only care what preachers have to say?
Did you know the Bible says God loved us while were still sinners? What does that mean? It means God loves us even before we did one thing to deserve His love! It means He loves us even when we have our ripped shirt, tight pants and angry Hulk hands on! It means that even though God certainly doesn’t like the bad things we do at all, He still loves us and longs to be with us. It means God cares about your story. It means your story is just as important to God as any preacher’s story. Isn’t that something?
I have pictures of my daughters in my wallet. Do you know why? Is it because I need to remind myself what they look like? No, it is because I love what they look like! It is because I love them. It is because I’m proud of them and I like to tell people about them. Their story matters to me. God is the same what about us. I have a pastor friend who always says, “Doesn’t it blow your mind knowing that Almighty God carries your picture in His wallet?”
God loves you, just as you are. God wants to be close to you. God wants to be the first and most important thing in your life. God wants to shout your little story to the world! Isn’t that something?
