PASTOR’S CORNER, Jeremy Harris, First Southern Baptist Church, Liberal
I’m sure all of us at some point in our lives have met someone who was downright unlikeable. Have you ever considered that you might be someone else’s “unlikeable?” When it comes right down to it, we all do somethings that are less than likeable. We’ve all chosen to be rude, or self serving, or to lie, or to cheat. We yelled when we should have stayed calm. We fought when we should have forgiven. Would you like some good news? God knows all about your shortcomings and He loves you still!
Romans 5:8 tells us this ”But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God knows the ways in which you sin and fall short of His glory. He knows you are a work in progress. He knows these things, yet He loves us still. God does not wait until you get yourself cleaned up before He loves you. He loves you even though you are unlikeable sometimes. He loves you even though you have rebelled against Him time and time again. God sent His son Jesus to provide a way for you to be compatible with God once again.
God is completely righteous. We are not. Jesus came to pay for our sins even though we continue to sin. God loves us and Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross offers each of us a way to have our sins forgiven so that we can be part of God’s family. Even as followers of Jesus, sometimes we need a reminder that God loves us even when we are unlikeable. Our sins are forgiven and His embrace is simply waiting for us to turn to Him.
