Maybe There’s a Loving God

John 10:11. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

This is for you who are wondering about whether you should follow Jesus. Notice I did not say join a church or adopt the Christian religion. This is about you and Jesus. We all need to understand who Jesus is (the four gospels lay this out) and then decide. Don’t make a decision based on religion or religious people, because anything man-made is imperfect. Jesus, however, is perfect. He led a sinless life, loved people deeply, cared for the poor and dispossessed, and ultimately gave his life for us.

Following Jesus is not conditioned on our good behavior. I believe that we all know deep inside that there is some pretty ugly stuff about us. It’s certainly true for me. If God is holy (we talked about this a couple of weeks ago), meaning he is perfect and awesome and hates sin, then how can he love us with all of our junk? It may be hard to comprehend, but he is both a loving and a holy God. And another thing I believe is that we long to be loved, to be understood, to be accepted, to be valued by someone. Jesus is that person – even to the point of laying down his life for us. You can believe that.

I came across a song called “Maybe There’s a Loving God” by Sara Groves that really touched me. Perhaps you can see yourself in these lyrics. http://www.rhapsody.com/saragroves

For God so loved the world (you and me) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.