“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19 NIV)
How sad it is to realize that many people never come to Christ because they do not understand that God's love is individualized. They never come to that sweet, liberating understanding that God calls them to faith as individuals – that He wants them just as they are.
Let me give the good news. God's family is big enough for you. God's love is wide enough, and complete enough for you, even if you don't look a bit like your preconceived notion of what a real Christian ought to look like. You can come as you are as an individual, and God will accept you as an individual and work with you as an individual. You may trust Him and live your life according to how the Holy Spirit leads you, and God will guide your way. God loves us as individuals; it was He who created our uniqueness. Each of us has a unique place and a unique purpose in His family and in His church.
-- Stephen Arterburn and Jack Felton in “More Jesus, Less Religion”
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