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“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”
-- John 3:16
I will always remember the times when someone has approached me with the words, “Pastor, I don’t think anyone likes me.” Those words always cut to my heart. They have a way of piercing me with an accusing dagger because almost immediately I wonder, “Do they feel that way about me?” If only they knew just how much I actually do care about them!
Isn’t it true that sometimes, we may even have regrettably thought those very same words in our own lives? One crisis follows another. Each one strikes at the heart and core of our lives. Suddenly, life paints a rather gloomy picture and we feel ourselves sliding away into obscurity. The role of importance that lifted us up with self-worth has evaporated. We begin to wonder to ourselves—does anyone care, does anyone really care? What makes those thoughts and feelings so troubling is when we see how they even strangle our relationship with our loved ones – and even our Lord.
Throughout the pages of Scripture, we see instance after instance of similarities. For example, we can turn to the great prophet Elijah who bemoaned his puzzling state of affairs. With bold resolution, he stood before the priests of Baal and before the people of Israel. He showed them who the true God was. Shortly after this confrontation on Mount Carmel, Elijah sat in confusion underneath the shade of a broom tree and prayed that God would take his life. Where was everyone? Where was his God? His life now came with a bounty. Elijah had had enough with life. Apparently, he felt he had no friends—not even his Lord.
Our Lord’s response to Elijah proved to be rather sobering. God had not left him. In fact, he was right there with Elijah, just not where Elijah would have preferred to find him. Nevertheless, he was there!
2009 promises to be a challenging year. Satan will be coming at us with full force trying desperately to divide us from one another—and more importantly, from our Lord. Like Elijah, we, too, may feel abandoned, unloved and all but forgotten. However, that is when we need to turn to John 3:16 and to the manger in Bethlehem. God loved the world. God loved us. He loved us so much so that he sent his one and only Son to redeem us.
Remember the words of the angels to the shepherds: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” The angels were simply assuring the shepherds and us that our Lord does love us with an undying compassion. His love reaches out to us as shown through the Babe of Bethlehem. How clearly our Lord was shouting to us through the angels, “I like you.”
May our Savior’s love bring us that peace, that confidence, that hope, that joy that our sinful flesh tries to hide from us as we journey through another year. May we in times of doubt or fear or uncertainty turn to the God who loves us so much that he would say, “I really like you” by sending his Son, our Lord and Savior, the Christ-Child, Jesus Christ.
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