“It is our misconceptions about God that lead to misconceptions about ourselves. We often act like orphans instead of the adopted children God has chosen. He’s more proud of you than you can imagine. And you have no idea how many times you’ve put a smile on His face. The heavenly Father loves catching His children doing things right.”- Mark Batterson
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ . . . ‘I (Jesus) tell you that . . . there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”- Luke 15:1-2, 7 (NIV)
Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 9 of A Trip around the Sun as he asserts that there’s no difference between us and multibillionaires. Because, no matter how little we have, how we spend our money still reveals what we value. For in our capitalistic economy, the price someone’s willing to pay for an item determines its worth. Thus, our wallets show what we value.
Above all, the Pharisees failed to truly hear Jesus’ message. They never figured out why Jesus chose to hang out with a bunch of worthless sinners. Or why He invested in a bunch of religious misfits to whom holiness represented a foreign concept. Because Jesus saw these people as:
- invaluable and irreplaceable, not irredeemable.
- offspring, not outcasts.
- lost, not losers.
In conclusion, Mark exhorts:
“You are the apple of His eye. There is no price that He is not willing to pay to have a relationship with you. He refuses to be out-loved and outdone by anyone. With His death on the cross, Jesus established a price point that was so high no one could outbid Him. The cross says you are worth dying for. The resurrection gives you something worth living for.”
Today’s question: What types of our misconceptions about God lead to misconceptions about ourselves? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Another’s trash = God’s treasure”