MAKING IT PERSONAL

Matthew 10:31 “So don’t be afraid, you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.”

One of the more troubling aspects of the modern age is the creeping de-personalization of our lives. More and more, as we go through the day, whenever we’re dealing with a branch of government, or a corporation, or an educational institution, or some part of the medical establishment, we feel like a number instead of a person. A statistic instead of a human being. Let me give you some examples:

When you fill your tank up with gas, you no longer have to walk into the gas station and pay an attendant. Instead, you just swipe your credit card and pay at the pump. Convenient, yes. But also impersonal. In fact, these days you can buy virtually anything by mail or over the internet, so you don’t have to interact with people at all. Now, you do still have to go to the grocery store to buy food. But even there, you no longer have to interact with a clerk when you check out. Instead, there are lanes where you can check yourself out; scan the bar codes yourself and bag the groceries yourself.

How about movies? In the old days, you had to go to a theater to watch a movie, and you experienced it with a room full of other people. Then, the VCR came along, so you could watch at home; but you still had to go to the video store. But now, you can order movies on demand through satellite, digital cable, or the internet. You can also rent DVD’s through the mail. No human contact is required. Automation and technology have given us the kind of affluence that previous generations could only imagine. But it comes at the cost of personal interaction.

However, we can still attest to this fact: that no matter how severely technology may assault our humanity and our individuality, we still live in a universe which is governed by a loving, personal God; a God who knows and cares for each one of us by name. In fact, the more impersonal our world becomes, the more it needs to hear the message of the Christian faith; the message of a personal God who loves each one of us as individuals.

None of us is ever out of God’s sight. Nothing ever happens to us of which God is unaware. In fact, not only does he know what is happening to us, and what is going to happen to us, as well; but the truly amazing thing is that he cares what happens to us. The incredible, astounding fact is that we matter to God, more than we can possibly imagine. He is intensely interested in who we are and in what we’re going through, even down to the seemingly mundane details of our lives. And what should our response be to this fact? "Don’t be afraid," Jesus says. Don’t worry. Don’t be anxious. Because God is watching over you, at all times and in every situation. You can never do anything to remove yourself from God’s care; nor can anyone or anything else ever separate you from God’s care.

The fact that God knows and loves us by name, personally and intimately should motivate us to seek after Him, so that we might know and love Him in the same way. Just as we shouldn’t be satisfied with a superficial relationship to one another, we shouldn’t be satisfied to have a superficial relationship with our God. Christ, through his death, has removed every barrier, has removed every obstacle, and has made it possible for us to truly know God. Not only that, but he invites us to do so, and desires that we do so. So let’s make it personal.