God Cares about You Individually
You are valuable to God. Yes, you…messy, imperfect, and often failing you. Disorganized, overwhelmed, and feeling worthless you! You are greatly valued by God. You may miss Bible time and forget to pray. He still is glad He died for you. You may run away from the faith that once sustained you. Jesus continues to treasure you.
You may feel worthless. God is not limited by your emotions.
Jesus greatly values you.
This is not because of what you do. It is not based on your accomplishments in the future. God can do anything you do better than you. It is all due to God. He is perfect love. He chooses to make you His beloved child because of His goodness, not ours.
It is also not because of a lack in God. He does not need you. He is flawless and content without you. God has been around for eternity.
Heaven is still heaven without man in it. Heaven is defined as the place where God lives.
Yet, God greatly values you as an individual anyway.
He loves you, dear reader, better than anyone in this world can…better than your Mom, Dad, brother, sister, husband or wife. This is the nature of God’s love for you.
Do you understand this truth? Do you grasp what this means?
God is Love
God made heaven and earth. He holds the entirety of creation together. He is all-powerful, eternal, all-knowing. These sound wonderful in the abstract until you realize He knows your every thought and action and can do something about them. He values you despite this. He knows your weakness. He knows every hair on your head and loves each of them. John marvels about this love God bestows upon you.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
You don’t deserve it. You are not needed. You do everything necessary to disqualify yourself from it. 21 Wonderful Bible Verses on God’s Love – A Warm Hug from God
God cherishes you like His perfect child anyway.
God expresses this repeatedly in the Scriptures. Jesus describes the Prodigal Son treating his father terribly. The son disrespects the father. He sinfully wastes his inheritance. The father is still eagerly waiting for the son to return. Dad holds a party when the son comes to his senses. He greatly rejoices over the son despite his actions.
The father is a picture of God in the story. You and I are the son.
(For more on the Prodigal Son read Coveting Turns Abundance into Bitterness)
Jesus speaks of the shepherd who has 100 sheep. 1 of these sheep goes astray. This is solely the fault of the sheep. It has somehow separated itself from the flock. Jesus says He will always leave the 99 who stay with the flock and go after the 1 lost sheep. This is not because the 1 sheep deserves rescue. It is solely because the Shepherd values that single wayward sheep.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. You are the sheep.
A Sad Man Without a Plan
The Rich Young Ruler is one of the best examples of God’s feelings for people.
The Ruler is a man who is close to heaven yet so far away. He has everything the world has to offer as the Bible says he is rich and is prominent in the community. He is even religious and moral as the Ruler likely refers to the head of the local synagogue. The man has a huge problem despite these blessings. He is lost. He may have riches but he does not have eternal life.
This is what causes the man to run and kneel at Jesus’ feet. He understands he does not know how to avoid God’s judgment. He also knows Jesus has the answer. This is God’s mercy and grace on display. The man may look good but he is a sinner drawn to the Savior. The man asks “How do I get eternal life?” to perfect One to answer – Jesus.
He is so close!
Yet, the Ruler also makes a terrible mistake. He does not come to God with humility. His question is actually terribly self-focused, “What must I do to earn heaven.” He has a case of the “I, me, my’s”. He physically kneels at the feet of God but his priority is himself. Jesus responds and tells him to keep the Commandments, an impossible task for any human other than Jesus.
The Ruler claims to have done so since youth. He is the prototypical “good person” seeking to get into heaven on his own merit. One good enough to get eternal life on his own has no need for a Savior. The Rich Young Ruler treats Jesus not only as just another teacher but as unnecessary. Jesus is not the one who will show us the way to eternal life. He is the Way and we must go through Him to get there. The Ruler misses this entirely. He treats Jesus like an oracle, a 
philosopher, or a self-help book.
Jesus’ response is wonderful. The Gospel of Mark says Jesus looks at the man and loves him.
Jesus has been insulted, subtly demeaned and made extraneous by His creation.
Yet, Jesus still loves the man. Jesus knows the man will reject Him in a few moments. Jesus loves the Ruler anyway.
The Rich Young Ruler looks good on the outside. He does everything wrong in reality. He is the perfect example of mankind as a whole. Jesus values him despite this and gives him the most valuable information of all time. He tells him the way to attain eternal life. “Sell all and come and follow me”, Jesus says simply.
The man values his riches above all. They are what defines him. Jesus does not care about them at all. The man’s treasures are destroying him. They are the anchor pulling him under the sea.
Jesus values the man still…despite all his issues. Jesus still invites the man into eternal riches despite the man’s rebellion and idolatry. “Come and follow me into real riches”, Jesus beckons out of love.
Behold what manner of love Jesus bestows upon him. Jesus values the Ruler not because the Ruler is good but because Jesus is great.
What about you?
Do you understand it is not about your riches, obedience, job, or greatness? Jesus does not love you because you are worthy. He loves and values you because of His nature. He is the perfect Savior. He is love. God is Love He is the great Shepherd who lovingly cares for His sheep no matter the circumstances. He will always leave the 99 to go after the 1 sheep because that is who He is – not because the sheep deserve it. 21 Wonderful Bible Verses on God’s Love – A Warm Hug from God
You are greatly valued by God because of how great God is. This may be a blow to your pride. It may hurt a bit to hear. Yet, this truth makes a much greater foundation for your relationship with God than the shifting sands of our own goodness.
God loves you, dear reader, embrace this truth today. Your salvation is a gift from God. It is free for you but there was a huge cost involved. You have been bought with a price.
Jesus gave His blood to save you. This is how much He values you.
