I have recently been reminded of something that I had forgotten when my life got busy. Because of the chaos of being a full-time college student, working, and volunteering regularly, my mind has become a whirlwind of tasks, emotions, and knowledge. I am sure that a lot of you can relate to this. When this happens, it is so easy to take your eyes off of the one things that truly matters.

God has made a massive impact on my life. He has moved in powerful ways that I could never deny, even if I tried. The thing is, even though I know that God has moved in my life, it is easy to lose sight of it. I get so caught up in thinking that I have to be perfect for Him; not only morally, but scholastically and in the workplace. My subconscious pushes me to believe that I have to be perfect in my relationships. That if I do not make enough time to study His word, He won't want to waste his time with me.

This mindset is not biblical. We do not have to be perfect in order for God to love us. That's a little bit mind-blowing, isn't it? That the God, who created the entire universe, and who is sovereign and holy, would actually love me, as an individual? It's believable to say that God loves us as people, that He loves us as His children. However, when you realize that He loves you as yourself, your whole self, it is almost incomprehensible. But it's true.

In Luke 14:34 Jesus says to Jerusalem, "...How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing." In this verse, I believe Jesus is referring to all of us. At one point or another in our lives, we were not willing to let Jesus hold us, metaphorically speaking. What this means for me is that there have been times in my life when I have not trusted Him. I have not wanted His guidance. I have not been willing to have a personal relationship with Him. But, as seen in this verse, that is exactly what He wants from us. He wants us to let Him hold us. He is not saying that He wishes we were perfect. He is saying that He wishes we would let Him love us.

In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells the story of the Lost Son, or the Prodigal Son. For those of us who are not familiar with that story, it is very briefly about a father and a son. This son decides that he wants his inheritance before it is time and demands that his father gives him the money. His father allows him to do what he wishes, and soon the son is all alone, out of money, and starving. He wasted it on things that didn't pay off in the end. Luke 15:17-20 says, "But, when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worth to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." And he arose and came to his father..." I am going to stop right here and put it in perspective. In a real life situation, this would be like us running around, doing things we know God does not want us to do, and getting hurt. Hitting rock bottom. We feel filthy and unworthy to be called a child of God. We barely even want to speak to Him again, out of shame or pride. Or if we do, it is not with a relationship in mind. We give up and become slaves to our own mess.

The problem is, God does not agree with us. He wants us to come back to Him. Verse 20 goes on to say, "...But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." Can you imagine it? This is how God feels about us. He is just waiting for us to come back to Him, to call His name, and He is ready to actually run to us. We must remember that God has a pure, passionate, and true love for us. It is not like what we have experienced on earth. He will not let you down or leave you. He will never reject you. He wants to pull you close and kiss you on the forehead and tell you that He loves you. We just have to let Him.

This song is such a beautiful picture of how Jesus Christ feels about us and his love.

"...I know you, I know your eyes so well
And I know you're not sure of yourself
But something made you restless years ago
'Til you forgot that I'm part of your soul
But I'll let you go, if that's what you want
But I hope you know my love won't stop
You say it's not true and you call me a fool
But call out my name, I'll run to you
I've always believed in you
You used to believe in me too
Remember the day that you turned away
It killed me to lose you..."
-Lacey Sturm, "Run to You"