One night this past month in Nepal, we were driving home from a day of riding elephants. I was sitting by the window staring into the dark and I was overcome with a sense of thankfulness and love for the community I have in WC Students. I cannot express how absolutely blessed I feel for the support and love from this wonderful and unique community. This blog is for you.
Recently we were asked to think of a 5 star moment, a moment where we had experienced God, where we felt His presence.
He showed me your faces.
How I am so proud of the people you are and the ones you are growing into. How I am constantly blown away by how smart, talented, giving and loving you are. How I have seen the way you run after Jesus, dogging his heels in pursuit of a deeper relationship with Him. When I think about the past three years with you I am overcome with love. The type of love that when considered closely borders on painful. I have experienced God in the relationships and community I have with you as well as the love I feel for you.
Then the Lord spoke to me.
He said “Maggie this is how I feel about you only so much more. I am so proud of the person you are becoming. My heart swells when I see how you are growing and changing to be more like me. The love I feel for you is painful.
As painful as being nailed to a cross.
As painful as taking your sin as my own.
And I would do it all again because of how I feel for you.
I love you guys so much but it is not a fraction of how much God loves you. His love isn’t based on how athletic you are, how smart, how high your hands are raised in worship. You are His golden sons, His precious baby girls. He sees you with shining eyes and a proud and full smile. I am finally starting to grasp that we can’t earn his love, that how we act or how we dress or what music we listen to doesn’t change what He thinks about us.
So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
Romans 8:38-39 (MSG)
WC Students you are always on my mind. Every day I pray that you are learning and growing and fully embracing this wonderful life He has given us. As I continue on this journey He has put me on know that I am loving you from afar and can’t wait to see who you have become when I get back.
