Someone to Care

If I had two wishes one would be that I would have the ability to change people's hearts - soften the stubborn, to make the wicked love righteousness, to make the sinner love God - or rather, to be able to be used of God to bring about that change. My second wish would be that I would be able to help people experience God's love for them.

I have experienced God's love in extraordinary ways. Because of those sacred moments, I know in my heart of hearts that it is the love of God that the world needs above all else. Once someone gets a taste of God's glorious love, they will never be the same. There is nothing like it in the world or out of it. It is a love like no other: it surpasses the tenderest love of a mother for her child, and it far exceeds the exquisite bond lovers share. The love of God is enough to melt the hardest heart and put spine into the greatest weakling. It gives worth to those who feel worthless and hope to those who have forgotten what hope is. God's love brings comfort when all other comforters have failed. God's love is the answer when there is no answer to be found. Or as someone once said:

"Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry,

Nor could the scroll contain the whole

Though stretched from sky to sky."

(Significantly, the above verse was found etched into the wall of an insane asylum cell - obviously somebody was an inmate wrongfully.)

Yet, even the sublimest poetry falls far short of expressing the riches of God's love. As the pithy, little saying goes, "It is better felt than 'tellt.'" The past week has been a special week for me - I have sensed God's tender love and care for me in a vivid and profound way. And though I revel in the wonder of it, I know that everyone can experience what I've experienced, and, in hopes that it will help or encourage someone, I would like to share the thoughts of my heart.

There is an old gospel song that says,

"Someone to care, Someone to share,

All your troubles like no other can do;

He'll come down from the skies,

And brush the tears from your eyes -

Your His child, and He cares for you."

Have you ever been lonely in a crowd? Have you ever wished someone would just take the time of day to be a friend without prompting? Have you ever wondered if anyone cares, or are you alone in a universe that could care less? Well, I'm glad to tell you, that there is Someone who cares.

He not only cares, but He understands better than anyone ever could. The little things that others might think you are silly to care about are not beyond or beneath His notice. He is the keeper of both the stars and sparrows. When no one else understands, He does. He not only understands, but He weeps when you weep. What hurts you hurts Him a hundred times more. He shares your sorrow and He bares your sorrow, but He doesn't stop there - He'll carry not only your burden, but you, too. Oh, yes, there's Someone Who cares, and there's Someone Who shares all your troubles like no other can do.

And He does come down from the skies to brush the tears from your eyes. Oh, not in the physical sense, of course, but the presence of God does come to us in our time of sorrow in a very real way, and there are no words for the glory and the mystery of it. Like a father picks up his child who has scraped up a knee, and gentle wipes away the tears and whispers, "Don't cry, Daddy loves you," just so it is with God. And there's nothing pansy, sappy, or silly about it. Rather, it's what the heart of every person, regardless of age, craves. It's a love that is as cozy as a quilt on a winter's day, and bracing as a blast of wind across the ocean.

Above all, you are His child and He cares for you. Do you know what delight and love a good parent has in their child? Do you know that gush of love you feel sometimes clear out of the blue when you just happen to glance at your child? They may be raggamuffins, but you love them, oh, bless you, how you love them just because they are your child. They are more precious to you than the stars of Heaven. That's the love God carrys for you in His heart -He loves you "just because." You matter to Heaven. He'd forfeit the stars and the planets just for you. He'd divest Himself of His splendour and walk through the worst hell had to offer - you're His child, and He cares for you.

God grant that you may know how truly God cares for you.

The love of God be with you,

Pastor Chelle