Dark but Lovely

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God is making me realize that He sees my sin as completely separate from me. We are so broken in sin and our hearts are under so much dross, but He looks on our depravity and empathizes with us. Like children who cry over spilt milk, we come to Him grieving over our own sinfulness, because it separates us from Him. But then the Father speaks tenderly to us, "It's okay son/daughter, I forgive you, I'll always forgive you..just come and rest in my love." Like the hemorrhaging woman who reached out to Jesus, touched His cloak, but became fearful and trembled because she thought she did wrong (Mark 5:33), we tremble in our sin and believe it is too great for God's forgiveness. Yet faith was what brought the woman to Jesus' side, and her faith is what made Jesus speak sweet mercy to her, something she did not expect. We don't have to stay away from God in our shame, rather, He wants us to have faith to know that He looks on us always with such great mercy, tenderness and empathy. In our reach toward God, He goes leaps and bounds to meet our outreached hand. We are mankind struck with the disease of sinfulness, but our Creator God looks on us with a heart bursting with love toward us, and desire to tell us we're still beautiful. We're so dark, but all the more lovely to the Lord who embraces us. This is the intimacy of our relationship with Him, that we would know and be astounded by His amazing grace 24/7.

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