10-18-2015

 Good Morning All!!

         Luke 15:20; “And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

     “I hate them, I hate them all, none of them are any good; I look horrible!”  That was the rather vocal response to my question.  I had asked how the school pictures had turned out.  The young lady’s response was rather pointed and rather clear; she was not impressed with how she looked.  Now when I saw them, I thought they were really quite good.  She is an attractive high school gal but she has the same self-image as a lot of young ladies have so she saw every micro blemish or imagined imperfection.  I didn’t judge her too harshly; I like to tell people that I have a face made for radio.

    Most of us groan a little when we look in the mirror.  A pimple or a blackhead here, a scar there, a hair growing out of a mole over there, bags under the eyes, a crooked nose, eye brows that go wherever they feel like; no wonder my face is for radio.  Deep down, many of us wonder why people even look at us, we always feel ugly.  In the last survey over 15 million people around the world had elective plastic surgery, over 8 million in the United States.  We feel disconnected from others.   We feel ugly, unloved and not wanted.

    This disconnection is part of sin.  Deep down, we recognize that we are imperfect.  This is compounded when the world reminds us of our imperfections.  The world always shows us what the “perfect” person looks like except in the magazines they are “touched up” a little to make them look that way.   When we look at our life, we see all the blemishes in how we treat others; treat ourselves, even how we treat our relationship to our God.  We soon feel dirty, ugly and unloved.

    So isn’t it totally amazing that God is like the father in our verse, he sees us from way off, runs to us embraces us and kisses us.  He shows his total love for us.  He doesn’t make us clean up first.  He doesn’t tell us to put on our makeup, or shave, or wash behind our ears or wash our hands.  He simply embraces us as we are.  His love is not dependent upon how we look or act.  God’s love is poured out upon us no matter what we look like.  No matter what you think you see in the mirror, God sees a child that he loves with all of his heart.  God sees a child that he would do anything for to keep them in the family. 

    God’s love brings us to his loving arms and embraces us.  There is no blemish so great; there is no sin so horrible, that God would turn his back on us.  His love is beyond our understanding.  God’s love for us never dies.  God’s love for us presents us as the perfect child.  His love changes us to be the holy, immortal, perfect child.  God’s mercy sustains and lifts us up on high.

Father of all love, you call us and claim us by name.  You clean us and bear us up with your incredible mercy.  Protect us from all that the world and the devil throw at us.  Help us to follow you and to share your same love and acceptance to those around us.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret