. . . I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued My faithfulness to you. Jeremiah 31:3b

Too often many of us feel we're not loved.

This, of course, is entirely untrue. Even if nobody else loves us, God still does.

That truth was brought home to me by a lady with whom I visited recently. Her ancestry was from India where her mother still resides. That mother had undergone some fairly serious persecution from her neighbors when she converted to Christianity but, fortunately, it was not violent.

It's more that people shunned her. Little children called her names when she walked to the market. One of them yelled out, "You're the ugliest old woman I ever saw."

The woman's reply is remarkable. She turned and said, "Isn't it wonderful how God can love an ugly old woman like me?"

What a fantastic response!

Of course, I have no idea of what the lady looked like. Even so, I must believe she was incredibly beautiful. Indeed, I'm sure if the lady wasn't beautiful on the outside, then she, most definitely, was beautiful on the inside. She would have been beautiful because this lady reflects a caring, redeeming, and beautiful God.

We all need to remember that when we're feeling plain and ugly. Those moments do come for all of us, don't they?

You may remember those moments when the dark side of us takes over and we're spiteful and angry. Those are the moments when we're hateful and cruel.

Amazingly, in spite of our ugliness, God still loves us and calls us back to repentance and the forgiveness which Jesus has won for us and offers so freely to each of us.

All of this leads us to conclude this: "Isn't it wonderful how God can love ugly old men, ugly old women, like us."


From a devotion originally written for "By the Way"



THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I am grateful You can still love me when my sins have made me seemingly unlovable. I rejoice that Jesus continued to care even when humanity was railroading Him to His cross. Now may I, loved by You, share that love with those around me who need to know that God so loved the world that He sent His Son to save it. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Judges 11-12    Luke 14:25-35

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