Something I'm very open about, but people may not know about me, is I have ADHD. I've dealt with ADHD my entire life. ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and I have combined type. I was one of the lucky ones who did not grow out of it. Many people may be surprised that I'm so open to reveal this because mental health is still somewhat taboo in the church, however, it doesn't need to be. It's a reality the Church needs to acknowledge and embrace with grace.
A friend of mine recently asked me to describe what ADHD is like. Like a lot of people he pictured a 7 year old in the second grade who was unable to sit still in a desk for 6 hours a day and is disruptive to his class. That's not what ADHD is at all. That kid needs some P.E. and an opportunity to go outside and run around. He probably needs some discipline too! Many times we diagnose a kid with high energy with ADHD because we expect them to act like adults and they're not.
So, I came up with this analogy:
It's like walking into Best Buy and going up to their wall of TVs. Every TV is on the same picture because they want you to compare the picture quality. Imagine walking up to the TV wall and there are 100 televisions. Now let's change 30 random televisions to 30 different channels. 70 of the TV's will be on the same picture and 30 of the televisions will be on 30 different channels. 31 channels in all. Now your job is to watch them all at the same time. I know this isn't a super scientific description and an expert in the field may disagree with it but that's the best I got
So, like a lot of things it got me thinking about God. A lot of people think God doesn't notice them. They think God has too many other people to concern Himself with or they or their problems are too insignificant for God to pay attention to. But that's not who God is! God sees every person in the world with perfect clarity at every moment and intimately knows every detail of their being.
Romans 5:8-11 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
"God shows His love" is in present tense while "we were still sinners" is in past tense. I love this! God is eternal, He is not constrained by time and space. This is a big concept to wrap our minds around but stay with me here. Since God is not subject to time and space and is eternal it means He cannot run out of time or must choose to spend His time on more important matters. He is eternal which leads us to the conclusion He has an eternity to spend being concerned for you! He has an eternity to spend being concerned for me! He has an eternity to spend being concerned for your neighbor, your best friend, your worst enemy, your second grade teacher, etc.!
While Jesus was on the cross and having the burden of sin placed upon Him He was thinking of you. He ultimately died for the glory of God of course but in that moment our eternal God was hanging on the cross. As He hung I believe He was thinking of you, me, and everyone else stretching back from the beginning of creation until the end when He comes to fully redeem creation. He was paying for the sin of every person. Our eternal God showed His eternal grace for all mankind. As follower of Christ we were personally eternally reconciled in that moment no matter how insignificant we feel.
Spend this week reflecting on that fact. You are not insignificant to God. God is personally and intimately concerned for you with love unfailing. He extends unfailing grace and mercy. Make sure to tell someone about it this week to! Let them know how much God specifically is concerned for them and how much He loves them.
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