16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
—The words of Jesus from John 31:16-17
If I say to you, “Jesus loves you,” I know that won’t surprise you at all, will it?
As long as you have attended church, many, different people have told you that “Jesus loves you.” You have heard it from your Sunday School teachers. You have heard it from your pastors. You may have even heard it from your mom and dad, or from your grandma and grandpa, or your uncle or aunt, or from some close friend. “Jesus loves you” is a wonderful, wonderful truth. And, all of you know this is so.
There are some people in your community who don’t know that Jesus loves them. As sad as it is to realize this, we can take joy from knowing that God has given us the wonderful opportunity of being the ones to tell them that Jesus loves them, too.
Sometimes, before we can tell people that Jesus loves them, we have to get their attention. We also have to be sensitive to needs they might have and try to reach out to them and meet those needs.
Have you ever considered participating in a special event at your church? I’m talking about the kind of event that invites all of the people in your neighborhood to come to your church for an occasion where you offer them some food, some entertainment, and a chance to share with them—in a very non-threatening way—that “Jesus loves them.” This kind of an event is really a way of getting their attention and trying to meet some needs they might have, so you can have the opportunity of telling them the good news of Jesus’ love.
By now I’m sure you’ve noticed the treats in the photo above. In fact, I imagine that some of you have hardly taken your eyes off that tray of treats from the moment you first landed on this blog post a few minutes ago. They really look good, don’t they? These treats have really captured your attention.
In the same way these treats have captured your attention, a special event at your church will capture the attention of the people in your neighborhood.
Underneath each of the treats in this photo, I’ve tucked a note written on a very small piece of paper. Can you tell me what you think the note says? That’s right! “Jesus loves you.”
And, you know, He really does love you.
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, God, for loving me. Thank You for getting my attention so I will know that Your Son, Jesus, loves me. Please help me to encourage my church to create an event that will allow us to invite our neighbors to come, so we can tell them that Jesus loves them, too. In His Name, we pray. Amen.
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