Mike Novotny - Are You Worthy of God's Love?
Children of God is what we are, even though we don't deserve to be them. Wow! We are here! Jesus was here, not around here. But here. Earlier this year, I got to explore Israel. I'm sitting, literally, in the place where Jesus' feet touched. I saw some amazing places. The old city of Jerusalem. In the Garden of Gethsemane. Beautiful Nazareth. At the Mount of Beatitudes. Capernaum, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And I can't wait to share these video devotions with you.
I'm standing here in front of the first century synagogue of Magdala. Right on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, the home of Mary Magdalene, a place that was recently discovered, and a place where Jesus, almost with absolute certainty, preached. And he taught the Kingdom of God. And as I've been teaching and preaching, recording these videos, it, it just hit me. Who am I to be in the exact same place preaching the exact same message as Jesus? Like, what right do I have to be anywhere close to a Jesus like that? And yet, here I am. And God gave us a beautiful day and the crowds haven't arrived yet.
It's been a surreal day to talk about the kingdom of God. And I just feel so unworthy for this. But that's the beautiful thing about Christianity, right? You and I get to have so much in common with Jesus, even though we're not worthy of it. We might realize we don't deserve it, but that's what grace is. It's undeserved love. We might think, in the quietness of the night, who am I to have any right to talk to God? But he says, "Call upon me in the day of trouble".
We can understand why Jesus would be part of our Father's family. He's holy and he's perfect. He's righteous and he's good. But who are we? And you listen to what the Bible says. 1 John, chapter 3. That's what we are. It's where I am, even though I don't deserve to be here. Children of God is what we are, even though we don't deserve to be them. And don't you love that about our Christian faith? Some days we feel like we're doing a good job. Most days we're all too aware that we fall so far short. And yet, see what we are. God lavishes his love on us.
I'm standing right where Jesus stood, talking about his love just like he did. And you and I get to stand right where Jesus stands. In the presence of God, to see the Father's face shining upon us, showing grace to us, and that just gives us peace. So, if you know you're not worthy of it, good. You got a right. Just remember that God gives unworthy people things they don't deserve. That's grace. And that's the beautiful lesson we learn here at Magdala.