Do you ever feel like God is mad at you?

I do.

Every day I mess up. Sometimes I do things I shouldn’t. Other times lethargy or selfishness keep me from doing things I know I should do. Sins of commission and omission, the result of which are guilt, shame, and a vague sense that God must not like me much today.

Growing up, my parents took pains to impress upon us girls good theology around salvation and sin and eternal security. Meaning, they didn’t want us to fall into the trap of thinking that we could escape hell because of anything we did. And they didn’t want us to feel fearful every time we sinned.

Sin offends God. True.

When I sin, I offend God. Also true.

There is a theme that runs through scripture: blood sacrifice for human sin.

Enter Jesus. Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. A perfect, once-for-all-time sacrifice. When we believe in Jesus, we tether ourselves to His name, which forever makes us acceptable in the sight of a perfect God.

Have you messed up recently? Feeling guilty? Unworthy?

Listen to this song. I heard it for the first time this week and it made me smile, because in a catchy, lively way, it reminded me of this truth that my parents, so many years ago, taught me and my sisters: His smile stays fixed on you, because it’s Jesus that he sees you through.