One of the great promises of scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is that you belong. You are worthy.

We don’t tell ourselves that enough.

It’s something we don’t tell others enough.

It’s something we don’t proclaim in church enough.

I once had a conversation with a young adult who had grown up in our church. He had been away from church for a while. He told me he wanted to come back but he did not know if he was worthy. That conversation broke my heart. As a pastor, I had failed him. As a church, we had fallen short.

Take a moment and try this exercise: draw a circle and inside that circle are all the people you believe to be worthy of being loved by God. On the outside of that circle are all the people you believe not to be worthy of the love of God.

Our day-to-day challenge is that no matter how big you draw your circle, God’s circle is bigger. 

God’s love is always more expansive that we believe it to be.

Do you recall the moment when you realized that God truly loved you unconditionally, just as you are? I wonder how many people either can’t remember that moment or have not experienced that moment. This breaks my heart. It’s a reminder of the work that is before those seeking to follow Jesus.

I also wonder how many have been told that God does not love them unconditionally, by those claiming to be followers of Jesus? This definitely breaks my heart. This line of thought does not match the character of God. All of us can look in the mirror and see the image of God staring back at them.

You are worthy. Because we are each worthy, we have power. With that power, comes responsibility. We are responsible for loving others in a way that helps them see their own worth. Worth rooted in the endless love of God.

We are so quick to distinguish between us and them. This is yet another false division. There is no us and them. There is only we.

We are all worthy.

You are worthy.