Gaining the Heart of GodSample

Day Five: A Known Heart

Because of God’s grace, we don’t have to live a life of reaping what we sow. Remember the lost son in Jesus’ parable? In the beginning of the story, we see him stumbling down the last hill on his way home. Before he’s even reached the farm gate, he sees a figure on the road running towards him. It’s his father, weeping, laughing and waving his arms in the air. The father embraces and kisses the son while the son says, “I don’t deserve this.”

The father shouts that his son, who was dead, is alive again. He was lost, but now he’s found! This is not a God of sowing and reaping. This is a God of laughable abundance! Remember this: God’s love is so abundant that it cannot be comprehended; it can only be received.

Jesus didn’t just love people, he loved persons. At first glance, these feel like the same thing, but they aren’t. God’s love is so cosmically large that it includes the whole world, yet Jesus expresses that love in such a personal and individual way towards certain people in just the way that they need to receive it. Jesus spent time healing and having meals with individuals. He had time for each person. 

Jesus told the same story in different ways so that he could connect personally, not just teach in some generic way. He expresses the same love, but in ways that particular persons can grasp it. Jesus didn’t just love everyone, he loved every certain someone. We see this so often when a story is followed by his personal touch. 

Those outcasts of Jewish society, the tax collectors, and the sinners who were gathered around Jesus when he said that one sinner repenting gives more joy in heaven than dozens of people who don’t feel the need to. They felt the personal touch of his love individually. At the center of the story he told to them was the love of a shepherd for just one lost sheep.

God’s love is so endlessly abundant that he can even express it in the particular ways that you can receive. If you hear this and understand, head knowledge about Jesus will suddenly move to the very center of your life and become the heart knowledge that grows you up from the inside out. He is speaking to you. He loves you.

Reflection: How does it change the way you listen to the stories Jesus tells when you realize he’s telling them specifically to touch you?

Prayer: "Lord, I get lost in my thoughts and can hide in a crowd. Would you speak to me with your words in a way I can know it’s you. Holy Spirit, come. Amen."