Do you know who you are?

A friend and I were talking about salvation the other day. It's so hard to wrap our minds around the possibility of being in eternal ecstacy. The alternative- eventually blinking into nothingness- is often such an easier thing to believe. But deep down inside I know that salvation exists... that Salvation is here. The Psalmist writes, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever (Psalms 23:6).” I'll let you in on a little secret... I believe him(her).

If any of us truly knew our own depth and worth... had our eyes opened to the incredible dignity and power that our God has created us with, we could never doubt that we are destined to be with God forever. But too many distractions prevent us from truly knowing ourselves. We ask "How could God love me?" without being able to answer the question "Who am I, really?"

It is amazing the depth that people will go to deny their own uniqueness and value. I once heard someone use the Bible to do this. She quoted Genesis 3:19 ("...you have come from dust and to dust you shall return") to prove that her life had no meaning. What a tragic place to stop reading the scripture!!! God doesn't make a covenant with Israel because God thinks that they are dust... God does so to save the world. God doesn't send Jesus to die for us because we are dust... God does so in order that we may live up to our full potential and spend eternity with God.

If you knew, even for a second, how incredible you are... and how incredibly much God loves you and those around you, it would be impossible to be a cynic.

I've had so many experiences in my travels as a minister that have resonated in my soul... experiences of incredible faith, healing miracles, and true worship. These experiences are not specific to places or persons, they permeate our world. Each of these experiences has shaken my soul and brought me more fully alive. Perhaps the foolishness of the Christian is that I refuse to accept when cynics tell me that these experiences are the product of psychology and fear... but I know that the world is charged with the Glory of God.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself... stop mourning your made-up worthlessness... go out there and become more fully alive.