Jesus Likes You

            I help with the youth group at my church, and I love hanging out with the teenagers there!  I also love helping out because I continue to grow in my relationship with Christ through the lessons directed at those younger than me.  This past Wednesday night, this message greeted us from the board: “Jesus loves and likes you.”  The youth minister explained that we often take for granted Jesus’ deep love for us and we often completely forget that Jesus likes us!  As soon as I saw the message on the board, it was like I took a deep breath and leaned into truth.  I am a very analytical person, and I am by far my own toughest critic.  There are many days where I really dislike myself whether it’s my personality, my appearance, my abilities, my faults, or something else.  I spend a lot of time wanting to be someone different or have different qualities.  There are also times where I wonder if anybody else likes me.  It was so nice to be reminded that, not only does Jesus love me with a love I can’t understand, he likes me.  In fact, he created me, so those things that I don’t like about myself, he planned them and formed them and developed them before I could even think or analyze!  He doesn’t like the sin in my life or my sinful actions, but he does like me.  And that is a beautiful thought to save away for the days when I don’t like myself.