Loved!

"God so loved the world..." —John 3:16

Imagine a little girl born with a cleft palate—a misshapen lip, a crooked nose, lopsided teeth, garbled speech. Teased and taunted at school, she knew that no one could ever love her. 

There was, however, a teacher in the second grade that all the children loved—a short, round, jolly lady full of good humor and affection.

The school conducted hearing tests each year in which the teachers examined every child. The child stood on one side of the room, across from the teacher who would whisper a question: “What color are your shoes?” or “Do you have a new dress?” and the child would answer. 

When it came the little girl’s turn she waited anxiously for the teacher to whisper and heard these words: “I wish you were my little girl.” 

This was a turning point in her life, she later said, for she realized that day that she could be loved by someone who mattered.

Do you know that God loves you like that? You may be flawed, misshaped, unattractive in your own eyes, but He wants you to be his child. 

There's a idea someone gave me some years ago. I think of it when I pass through our kitchen. "If God had a refrigerator, my picture would be on it."

David