Rachel’s question was direct and simple.
“Do I matter?”
As soon as I saw that question I was engaged. I wondered how many people I see daily would ask the same question. “Do I Matter? Do you see me? Are you listening? Can you see my pain?”
I watched with interest as our online volunteer interacted with this young lady.
Research has shown Millennials have a 12-second attention span, so our coaches are trained not to type in paragraphs, but in short, leading sentences that create a flow.
Judy (our online volunteer) started in. “Of course you matter! You matter to me; I am sure there are people in your life that you matter to. But, most importantly you matter to God. Let me tell you what He says about you.”
She then went on to share bursts of scripture reinforcing God’s view of Rachel.
“You were created in His image.”
“You were fearfully and wonderfully made.”
“You are the crown of His Creation.”
“You are what is most precious to Him.”
“He delights over you with singing.”
“But it is even more intense that that. God thinks you matter so much that He made a way so that He can spend eternity with you… has anyone ever shared with you how you can spend eternity in Heaven with the God who created you, loves you, and can’t imagine eternity without you?”
Rachel, responded, “I used to attend church, but I don’t think anyone ever told me what it takes to get to Heaven.”
At the invitation Judy shared the Gospel message, reinforcing that God created her for a relationship, that He loves her, but that sin has separated her from Him. She explained that sin comes with a price and she is unable to pay that price, but God did, by sending Jesus.
As the redemption plan was laid out, Rachel embraced it, invited Him to forgive her sin, and she surrendered her life to Jesus. It was a beautiful exchange that I enjoyed reading, but what really got me was the way that Judy ended the conversation.
“Rachel, you came online and asked, ‘Do I matter?’ Well, now that you know what God sees when He looks at you, let me ask you. ‘Do you matter?’
She came online with a question mark but ended with all caps and three exclamation points. She responded to the question with, “I DO MATTER!!!”
Rachel is just one of the people who comes to the chatline at www.JesusCares.com looking for hope and purpose. They want to know that they are seen and heard and that they do matter … they think that the approval of parents, peers or partners is what they need, but what they really need to know is that God sees them and loves them.
As you think about those in your circle (kids, grandkids, friends, co-workers) who are in the process of coming to Christ, don’t forget to affirm them personally, but to also move them toward God’s love.
The love of those we care about is important, but the love of our Heavenly Father is transformational. It changes question marks into exclamations and gives us a foundation to build on.
Sean Dunn is founder and president of Groundwire, a global ministry with the mission to lead every youth and young adult into a personal relationship with Jesus by leveraging current media channels to connect with them wherever they are. More than 116,000 made commitments to Christ through the organization’s efforts in 2020. For more information, visit www.groundwire.net