Feb 23 till now

I have been reading Galatians to sort of prepare me for the men's bible study that we have on Sunday. It doesn't matter that I won't be there this week (due to a trip down to see my parents), but I want to take the time to soak in this book as Jeff leads us through it. So, I have devoted myself to really looking at Galatians and spending a few weeks in it. I am sure at some point I will question my need to keep reading the book, but for now, its pretty fresh and exciting.

I say all that to just give you an idea of what is happening in my personal study time. And also because something here made me reflect on everything that I have been thinking and talking about with others. This week has been about God's love and how it is just amazing. How He loves us more than we can know. So, when I was reading Paul's words in verses 15 and 16, it just hit me about how God is constantly reminding us that we were important to Him before we even realized how important He was to us.

I am sure that I am not the only one who does this, but it seems that whenever something is sticking in your mind, that God will keep bringing it up. I am thankful for that. Both because we are always quick to dismiss something that could be considered a coincidence. But, God's love isn't something that just happens, it something that He earnestly and willfully does. So, I think that He enjoys reminding us how much we mean to Him.

One of the things that Chan challenges the small group to do on the DVD is to make it a point to remind each other of God's love for us throughout the week. I had a couple examples today that I thought were good, but I went with this from Psalms 56:8-

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”

The image of God caring so much about you that He would collect your tears and not just because He cares when you hurt, but also that He would keep track of where each one is from so that He can comfort you in those areas of need. This is the God who created galaxies, constellations, stars, worlds, but He isn't too busy to care for a child of His who hurts. Just think of that. Do you ever think that you are too small for him to care about? Well, you aren't. You are exactly what He cares about. We can get so numb to the idea of God's love, that we forget how truly remarkable it is. And I guess that, more than anything, is what I am getting this week, just another chance to marvel at the deep desire that God has for me and for each of us individually.