Cyd Holsclaw - Does God Really Like Me?: Discovering the God Who Wants to Be with Us
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Like Me?
Who Wants to Be With Us
InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
ivpress.com
2020 by Geoffrey J. D. and Cynthia J. Holsclaw
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written
permission from InterVarsity Press.
InterVarsity Pressis the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, a
movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges, and schools
of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship
of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org.
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
While any stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information may have been
changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
Cover design and image composite: Chris Tobias
Interior design: Daniel van Loon
Image: Renata Ramsini / Arcangel Images
ISBN 978-0-8308-4822-5 (digital)
ISBN 978-0-8308-4596-5 (print)
This digital document has been produced by Nord Compo.
To Soren and Tennyson. May you always be confident of
your belonging to God and be courageous in offering
your unique blessing to the world.
I dont know what I did wrong. But he had that calmer than calm look that hid a rage inside.
I picked up the phone and saw her name. Not now. I cant handle her right now.
I scanned the room, looking for someone I knew. I just wanted to disappear. I didnt have the energy for small talk. So I got more appetizers.
How dare you! he screamed. Then he let loose about everything thats wrong with me.
If I said anything, she would just blow up again. So I let it go.
Weve all experienced situations like these. Weve felt disconnected and judged, overwhelmed by friends and underwhelmed by our relatives. We know how it feels when someone doesnt want us around. And we know how it feels when someone is sucking up all our energy. Weve been yelled at. And weve yelled back. Weve been ignored. Weve done the ignoring. Weve felt people were just putting up with us. And weve just put up with others too.
Whether we know it or not, all these experiences color our experience of God. If youve been ignored, scolded, or shamed, then youve probably wonderedconsciously or unconsciouslyif God is ignoring, scolding, or shaming you. Or, more painfully, maybe you think God is just putting up with you.
Were told that God loves us. But the real question is, Does God really like me?
Parents sometimes say that while they certainly love their children, they dont always like them. We get it. We both love our children with a fierce and uncompromising love. We would never abandon them or hurt them. But there have been times when its hard to like them.
Sometimes its because of what is going on with us, and sometimes its whats going on with them. Sometimes the best we can do is just tolerate our loved ones until it gets betterputting up with them because we have to.
And weve all been on the receiving end of this experience too. A parent or some other loved one tells us they love us when they clearly dont like us very much at that momentand maybe they would rather not be with us either. We get the real message loud and clear.
After enough of these experiences its easy to believe God feels the same way about us. God promises to love us. But we actually come to believe that God is just putting up with us, tolerating us because he has to, not because he wants to.
God has to love me, we think, but God doesnt like me.
What if God really does like you?
What if God is always glad to be with you?
What if God is filled with joy because of you?
What if God is always moving toward you and not just keeping his distance? What if God likes you so much that he truly enjoys being with you? What if God appreciates you so much that he wants to partner with you to accomplish all his purposes in the world?
You might be skeptical. Maybe you think all this sounds cheesy or naive. Maybe its even offensive or disgraceful to think the God of the universe likes you and wants to be with you. Maybe it doesnt line up with your understanding of Gods sovereignty or majesty. Maybe it makes God sound pathetic or needy or all too human.
But heres the thing: Weve become convincedthrough studying the Bible, through meeting God personally in prayer, and through living with God in community with othersthat its all true.
Were convinced that everything changes when we believe God is glad to be with us. It changes how we experience Gods presence. It changes how we live. It will change your life. When we trust that God wants to be with us, we learn to live as if we belong with God, as if were really wanted by God. When we trust that God is giving purpose to our lives, we can freely offer our lives as a blessing to others.
Here is a small taste of what it means that God longs to be with us and to work through us. Its a little appetizer before the main course in the chapters ahead. It comes from the Gospel of Matthew.
The Gospel of Matthew is bookended by two stories. The first is the angels visit to Joseph. After finding out that his bride-to-be was already pregnant, Joseph planned to break off his engagement with Mary. But an angel intervenes to reassure Joseph that Marys pregnancy is all part of Gods plan. Then, like a narrative voice-over in a movie, Matthew explains to his readers that Marys pregnancy is a fulfillment of Isaiahs prophecy that a virgin would bear a son whose name would be Immanuel. And just so we dont miss it, Matthew tells us what that name means: God is with us (Matthew 1:21-23).
This might seem like an insignificant detail at the beginning of the book. But lets go to the end of Matthews Gospel. The last chapter ends with what is often called the Great Commission. Jesus sends his followers to all nations to make disciples, baptizing and teaching them all the ways of Jesus.
But notice the last thing Jesus says to his disciples. Wherever his disciples go, whatever they might face, Jesus tells them, Remember, I am with you always (Matthew 28:20).
I am with you always!
These are the last words in Matthews Gospel. Its no coincidence that Matthew begins by describing the birth of Jesus as Immanuel, God with us, and ends with Jesus announcing, I am with you always.
Matthew is making crystal clear that the main course in the meal of salvation is God with us. And God with us is not just something that happened in the past. Its a continual and permanent promise reaching into the present moment of our lives. God promises to be with us. Always. No matter what.
In fact, were going to see that God dwelling with us is the main point of the entire biblical story. Not just from the beginning to the end of Matthews Gospel but from the beginning in Genesis to the end in Revelation. God longs to dwell with humanity. And only from this place of God
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