Jump Start # 3291

Psalms 139:1 “O Lord, You have searched me and known me.”

In this Psalm, David describes for us the characteristics of God. The Lord is all-knowing. He is everywhere. He is all powerful. And, He is personally aware of us. Notice the expressions:

• You have known me (1)
• You know when I sit down and when I rise up (2)
• You are intimately acquainted with all my ways (3)
• Before there is a word on my tongue, You know it (4)
• There is not a place that one can go to that God is not there (7-12)
• You have made me (13-19)

From this, there are four powerful conclusions:

First, every life is sacred. Every life is stamped with the fingerprint of God upon it. The great Albert Schweitzer once wrote, “If we lose reverence for any part of life, we will lose it for all of life.” David was one of God’s greatest. But we should not believe that God thinks any less of you. The life of our Lord demonstrated that God is mindful of everyone. The outcasts, those who had made bad choices, those who thought that they were just fine, those included and those excluded, Jesus came for all. You are a soul that was created by your Heavenly Father. He loves you and He has never taken His eyes off of you.

Second every individual is unique. We all have different talents, different insights, different looks. Some are quiet. Some are loud. Some light up a room. Some are hardly noticed. Some do great things in the public. Others do great things behind the scenes. Some work best with their heads. Others work best with their hands. In the parable of the talents, the master entrusted various amounts of money or talents based upon their ability. We do not have the same abilities. Put a slab of marble into the hands of an interior designer and out comes a counter top. Put marble in the hands of an architect, and it becomes a cornerstone for a building. Put that marble into the hands of tile smith and he’ll produce a floor. Marble in the hands of a historian becomes a monument. Marble in the hands of Michelangelo becomes a work of art that is priceless. Each life is special and each life is unique. We bring a variety of ideas, experiences and passions to the world we call life.

Third, each person has potential. One is not set in circumstances that he cannot rise above. It may take a lot of work. It may require doing what no one else does, but one can own his own business. One can teach. One can lead others. A common shepherd boy became the great king of Israel, David. Work hard. Don’t give up easily. Be dedicated. Learn from others. The skies are the limit as to what one can do with their mind, heart and hands.

Fourth. Every soul is worth saving. God so loved the world, that includes you and me. That includes those that I have a hard time loving. That includes the troublemakers, the terrorist, the criminal, the prejudiced, those filled with hatred and those that love sin. Every soul is worth saving. When the one sheep wondered away from the 99, the shepherd went after it. When the one coin was lost, the house was swept, looking for it. No one is too far gone for God. There is no one that God turns His back on.

As we evangelize, teach and invite, we must open our eyes and offer the chance to every person. We must not “prequalify” people like what happens when one is looking for a house. There is no need to waste the agents time looking at a ten million dollar home, when you don’t have enough money to rent an apartment. You will be qualified ahead of time, or prequalified. This eliminates wild goose chases. But in the Gospel, we must not do that. We must not look for the man with a steady job, married just one time, great kids and think, “He’d be a great member.” The addict. The woman living with her boyfriend. The guy who filed bankruptcy. The teen. The senior citizen. Anyone and everyone, that’s the goal. Those with good lives and those with messy lives. Those with a decent past and those whose past would scare many people.

The Gospel is for all and every soul is worth saving. Don’t ignore some because they are different than you. Don’t assume that this person wouldn’t fit in. There’s room in the kingdom, we sing.

God’s incredible relationship with us, with you. It’s simply amazing. He knows you. He understand you. He sees you. And, still, He loves you.

Roger