He answered, “This much!”
Then He stretched out His arms and
died for me!
One day, I woke early in the morning
to watch the sunrise. Ah! The beauty of God’s creation is beyond description.
As I watched, I praised God for His beautiful work. As I sat there, I felt the
Lord’s presence with me. He asked me, “Do you love me?” I answered, “Of course,
God! You are my Lord and Savior!”
Then He asked, “If you were
physically handicapped, would you still love me?”
I was perplexed. I looked down upon
my arms, legs, and the rest of my body and wondered how many things I wouldn’t
be able to do and thought about the things that I take for granted. I answered,
“It would be tough Lord, but I would still love You.”
Then the Lord said, “If you were
blind, would you till love creation?”
How could I love something without
being able to see it? Then I thought of all the blind people in the world and
how many of them still loved God and His creation. So I answered, “It’s hard to
think of it, but I would still love you!”
The Lord then asked me, “If you were
deaf, would you still listed to my word?”
How could I listen to anything being
deaf? Then I understood. Listening to God’s Word is not merely using our ears,
but out hearts. I answered, “It would be tough, but I would listen to Your
word.”
The Lord then asked, “If you were
mute, would you till praise My name?”
How could I praise without a voice?
Then it occurred to me, God
wants us to sing from our hearts and
souls. It never matters what we
sound like. And praising God is not
always with a song, but when we
are prosecuted, we give God praise
with out words of thanks. So I
answered, “Thought I could not
physically sing, I would still praise
Your Name.”
And the Lord asked, “Do you really
love Me?”
With courage and a strong
conviction, I answered boldly, “Yes Lord!
I love you because You are the
one and true God!”
I thought I had answered well, but
God asked, “Then why do you sin?”
I answered, “Because I am only
human. I am not perfect.”
“Then why in times of peace do you
stray the furthest? Why only in times
of trouble do you pray the earnest?”
I had no answers…only tears.
The Lord continued. “Why only sing
and fellowships and retreats?
Why seek Me only in times of
worship? Why ask things so selfishly?
Why ask things so unfaithfully?” The
tears continued to roll down my
cheeks. “Why are you ashamed of Me?
Why are you not spreading the good news? Why in times of persecution, you cry
to other when I offer My shoulder to cry on? Why make excused when I give you
opportunities to serve in My Name?”
“You are blessed with life. I made
you not to throw this gift away. I have blessed you with talents to serve Me,
but you continue to turn away. I have revealed My Word to you, but you do not
gain in knowledge. I have spoken to you but your ears were closed. I have shown
My blessings to you, but your eyes were turned away. I have sent you servants,
but you sat idly by as they were pushed away. I have heard your prayers and I
have answered them all. Do you truly love me?
I could not answer. How could I? I
was embarrassed beyond belief. I had no excuse. What could I say to this? When
my heart had cried out and the tears had flowed, I said, “Please forgive me
Lord. I am unworthy to be Your child.”
The Lord answered, “Thant is My
Grace, My child.”
I asked, “Then why do you continued
to forgive me? Why do You love me so?”
The Lord answered, “Because you are
My creation. You are my child. I will never abandon you. When you cry, I will
have compassion and cry with you. When you should with joy, I will laugh with
you. When you are down, I will encourage you. When you fall, I will raise you up.
When you are tired, I will carry. I will be with you until the end of days, and
I will love you forever.”
Never had I cried so hard before.
How could I have been so cold? How could I have hurt God as I had done? I asked
God, “How much do you love me?”
The Lord stretched out His arms, and
I say His nail-pierced hands. I bowed down at the feet of Christ, my Savior.
And for the first time, I truly prayed.
~Author Unknown~
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