Jesus Loves Me

Wow! What a lesson we shared with Bill and Anabel Gillham this morning in Sunday School. First, Anabel explained that God's Word is like a love letter written to the one He loves. I have never thought about the Bible as a love letter but I will from now on. Isn't it great to know that God cares for His children so much that He has given us "love letters" to help us know how to deal with the challenges of life. Of course, to benefit from that knowledge, we must be engaged in reading and studying the Word of God. Here is the BIG question: How often do you read and study the Bible? You can grade your own papger on this one. You know if your answer is adequate or not. If it is not, I encourage you to re-prioritize your schedule and be sure there is time for reading and studying the Word of God on a regular basis. It may mean that you have to get up thirty minutes earlier or it may mean that you have to do without the Starbucks on one day each week. Whatever it means to you, I believe that the investment will pay big dividends in your spiritual growth. Give it a try!

Next, Anabel showed a great illustration of the scriptural concept in John 14:20: "When I come back to life again, you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." She used envelopes to show how Jesus is in God, and how she and you and I are in Jesus, and how Jesus is in us. The critical teaching point of the illustration was the fact that Anabel had to let go of the envelopes for them to all be safely tucked inside the biggest envelope labeled "God." The key point is that we all have to let go and let God. We have to depend on God and not ourselves in order to experience the security of being in God and having Jesus in us.

Perhaps, the most powerful illustration of the lesson today was Anabel's story of her son Mason. Mason was a profoundly retarded little boy who was born into the Gillham household. As Anabel was preparing to take him back to the place where he was institutionalized, she finally came to that point where she admitted that she could not do it on her own. She had a need to communicate her love to her little boy and yet, he could not respond. She said that she stood before that little boy with grubby hands and a shirt with food all over it and saliva drooling out of his mouth and told him how much she loved him. Yet, he could not respond. It was at that point that he recognized the Lord telling her that He loved her the same way that she loved Mason. He loved her because she was His--nothing else was necessary. God loves us because we are His. We don't have to do anything....we can't do anything to earn His love. We are loved because we belong to Him. God loves you and me unconditionally. We are loved. "Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. We are weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so."

We had a visitor this morning: Kim Reynolds. Kim is married to a United States Marine and she has two children: Emalee who is six years old, and Danielle who is three years old. Please pray for Kim and her family this week.

It is a privilege and an honor to serve as your Sunday School Teacher. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can pray with you or help you in any way.

HAVE a GREAT WEEK!