This might surprise some people: God isn’t mad at sinners.
God isn’t mad at you; He’s mad about you. He loves you.
But I would also add that God does get angry when people who think they’re spiritual or call themselves religious stand in the way of others coming to believe in Him.
We find a story in the New Testament about a man who went to the Temple to pray.
He was a tax collector, and tax collectors weren’t loved a lot in those days.
Another man also went to pray, and he was a Pharisee.
The Pharisee said,
“I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income” (Luke 18:11–12 NLT).
In reality, I think his prayers didn’t go any higher than the ceiling, because that wasn’t a prayer to God.
That was a boast.
Meanwhile, the tax collector who knew he was a sinner simply said,
“O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner” (verse 13 NLT).
Jesus said of these two men, “I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (verse 14 NLT).
Like the tax collector, I’m just a sinner who said, “Lord, forgive me.”
And He did.
He will do that for you, no matter what sin you’ve committed.
Jesus said,
“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die” (John 11:25–26 NLT).
Jesus will give you the meaning of life on earth, and He will give you the hope of life beyond the grave.
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