Just Above The Nail Scar

      To every soul who has struggled to believe God loves them.  To those who fear his love is mediocre. To each heart who feels unworthy of any love he gives--mediocre or grandiose. To the heart too scared to believe how important they are, too scarred to understand how he sees their potential in spite of their mess. To each of you who think his love will give out halfway through the pursuit of your tempestuous heart. Please know this...

     When you were just a seed in your mother's womb, God loved you.  As he pumped your heart's first beat, he smiled.  As he counted out fingers and toes, put that dimple in your cheek, and painted your eyes, he made big plans for all that you and he could accomplish together.  And although he looked down through time and knew you wouldn't always choose him, he loved you still.

     As the blessed event of your birth took place, God's heart swelled with love and pride in the person you had potential to become.  His hope and faith in your ability to overcome your circumstances, inadequacies, and inabilities never faltered.  No matter how many times you failed or dropped the ball, his love remained steady and strong.

     Then, one day, your world crashed down around you.  Peer pressure was too strong.  The pull of the crowd too overwhelming.  You walked away from the path he had chosen for you.  In no time you found yourself a prisoner in a lifestyle you hated.  You felt alone.  You knew he'd left.

     In your desolation, you turned to your vices.  The drinking only helped for a few hours.  The drugs helped only for the height of the high.  The cutting helped only until the pain wore off. The parties, the sex, the wildness distracted you only temporarily.  The weight of your sin weighed heavily on your shoulders.  In desperation, you thought to gain freedom by ending your life.  All was lost.  You knew you were hopeless, helpless, useless.

     You were wrong. If you could see him, through your bleary eyed high, he'd still be right beside you. His love burns with an intensity that never dies.  It chases you down the dark canyons of your life, patiently waits in the shadows of every bad decision, hoping against hope you'll let Jesus love you instead of trying everything else.

     See, regardless what you've heard, Calvary was not the culmination of God's love.  As his love flowed down at Calvary, it burned a path to each of our souls.  It chases us through time.  Follows us to the dark alleys of our lives.  Searches out our hiding places.  Touches our shoulder in the moment of indecision.  His love is steady, certain, consistent.  His love didn't end at Calvary, it blossomed there. In love, his blood wrote your name on the palm of God.

     What does that mean?  What does it mean to have your name tattooed on God's hand? It means that you are eternally loved.  You can't get high enough, drunk enough, promiscuous enough, broken enough to be unloved by God.  It means that he will hunt you down to love you.  It means you are never forgotten, never abandoned, never alone.  You are too important for that.  It means this--when you are busy chasing your next high, dealing your next deal, fingering your next blade, if you take time to glance behind you, you'll see Jesus, his hand outstretched.  And if, in spite of your intense pain, your grubby hands reach out, clasp his hand, and look closely, your bleary, burning, tear filled eyes will see your name inked into his palm.

     How do I know?  Can I prove it?  Sure can. The Bible says so in Isaiah 49:14-16. The people of Israel, not unlike us, had given up on themselves, thought they had been forgotten by God, that he'd forsaken them. They likely deserved both.  So do we. But, thankfully, God doesn't always give us what we deserve. In verse 15 he says that although your mother, that one so close to you, may forget you, God will not. He'll never forget you. (v.15)  He can't, because your name is engraved in his palm. (v.16)

     Your name is indelibly inked on the palm of the only one who can make peace out of the chaos of your life.  The only one who cares enough to still be around when everyone else has gone.  The answer to your prayers, the fulfillment of your dreams, the hope you thought elusive, can all be found in the one whose palm bears your name...engraved just above the nail scar.

     THAT'S how much he loves you.