You like me the best when I’m a mess

Father, I worship You and You alone!  Jesus Christ, You are my Lord and Saviour, the One I
trust!  Holy Spirit of God, You are my everything, and without You I am empty! I love you.

The title of this message comes from a song, sung by Ashley Tisdale.  When I heard the song, I

applied it to our Christian life, our personal relationship with Jesus. 

When we refer to Mark 2:13 – 17, we see the story of Jesus eating with Levi, the tax collector
and other sinners.  When asked why, He said: “it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the
sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Furthermore we read in Luke 15:11 –
32 about the parable Jesus told about the lost son.  Although he followed his own head, went off
to a distant country and squandered his inheritance whilst not living a godly life, Jesus loved
Him in that.  When we read about the crucifixion in Luke 23: 26 – 43, we see how one of the
robbers hanging next to Christ, still full of sin asked the Lord to remember him when He went
into His Kingdom.  Right there, without passing judgement or asking any questions, Jesus said:
“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Dear reader, the above stories is just a few of many told in the Bible on how Jesus never throws
us away or puts us aside and forget about us because of our failures and sins.  In fact, it is in
those times when He gets closer to us.  You see when you are in a mess, you normally realise
that without God you will not be able to get out of that mess, and that is when we remember that
there is a God and that He could help us.  In the same breath I want to say that for some people,
their circumstances have deteriorated so much that they feel ashamed of their life and the choices
they have made.  In these instances it has become a way of living, a way of living without God. 
You would tell others that you don’t believe in this Jesus stuff, but in your heart you know that
through the wrong choices you have made, it has left you feeling so ashamed of yourself,
thinking that God could never love you or forgive you for this.  Oh, dear reader, that is where we
go so wrong in our thinking.  Jesus came to save sinners, to mend the broken hearted, to set the
captive free.  All He wants is to love you, to heal you, to clean up the mess in your life and to get
you to trust Him and live for Him, unconditionally.

Perhaps this is where you are finding yourself today?  Perhaps this is where a friend or family
member, or even your loved ones are finding themselves?  I want to encourage you to go and
read the scriptures given in this message again.  Open your heart and see His mercy, take His
grace!  Dear reader, Jesus is not waiting to attack and accuse you.  He is waiting for you to
simply turn to him and to open your heart.  You might feel so far away from Him right now, but
do know one thing.  Even in the wrong choices you’ve made and even in the wrong way you
might be living your life right now, He is all around you.  Many things might have happened,
leaving you thinking that He has forgotten about you, not answering your prayers.  Perhaps you
even told Him that you are turning your back on Him and the whole Christianity thing.  Well,
that is your choice, but let me share something with you that I heard Gary Kieswetter saying. 
When he turned his back on God, God simply said hello on the other side.  You see God is
omnipresent, meaning that where ever you go, whichever way you turn, He is there.  He is the
beginning and the end and no matter how much you think you can push Him out of your life, He
will ALWAYS remain.

If this is how you feel right now, stop punishing yourself.  God gave us the freedom of choice
because He loves us.  Use that same freedom now to turn back to Him.  If you turn around, “you
will see Him with your heart if you stop looking with your eyes.”  He is standing with an open
heart and open arms, waiting to embrace you, no questions asked.  You see no matter how much
you have messed up, He knows that in that mess, He will still love you, still wait for you and
never give up on you.

So that is really it.  He likes you the best, when you’re a mess, when you are your own worst
enemy.  He is waiting, waiting on you to make the next move.  So what will it be?

With lots of love in Jesus Name