God, do you like me?

“God, I know you love me, but do you like me?”

This question was rattling around in my head for the last two weeks. I’m reading a book about God’s love, and I have been pondering the truth that I’m saved, not because of what I’ve done, but because of the righteousness of Christ.

The illustration I came up with is that I’m a finger painting, and a crude one at that, and God loves me because I’m His, but in order to enter the art gallery, He placed His perfect, life-like oil painting over me.

And that illustration in my mind left me empty. I felt worthless. Unlikable. Crude. Unimportant. I thought, “Sure, I get to go to the art gallery, but I feel like a fraud, a counterfeit.”

In a way, that’s all true – I am covered in the righteousness of Christ, and only by his death and resurrection do I receive forgiveness and Christ’s life on my behalf.

But it leaves out the heart of God.

And for the heart of God, I like to go to the Old Testament. God as our Shepherd. God as our Father. God as our Rescuer. God as our Faithful Provider. God as our loving Creator.

And then to Jesus, who cared for people, showed compassion, served them, listened to them, loved them.

So yes, I guess I’m a fraud, but it’s also true that my finger-painting is loved by God, and He’s in the process of transforming that finger painting into a work of art – I’m fearfully and wonderfully made! It won’t be finished here on earth, but one day, I’ll truly be that masterpiece.

So yes, God loves me. And yes, He likes me, too.  And that truth helps free me from needing to be liked by others.

Have you ever felt this way?