I once heard a story about a well-known and beloved pastor in downtown New York City who’d regularly go visit the sick people in his neighborhood, those who were no longer able to leave their home because of their weakened condition.
One day he went to go see a young lady he’d recently heard about who was very, very ill. This young lady had apparently lived an extremely rough life. She’d made a lot of bad decisions, many of which had led to the serious health problems she had developed at such an early age. Although he wasn’t a doctor, it quickly became obvious to the pastor that this young lady’s remaining days on this Earth were numbered.
After trying to make small talk for quite a while, the pastor decided it was time for him to share the gospel with her. He told her how much God loved her, how much He loves us all. He explained that by believing and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can be forgiven of all our sins. And, that because we are forgiven, we get to live forever with Him in a perfect place called Heaven when we die.
After the pastor finished, the woman began to cry. Though her many tears, she told him that there was no way this “gospel” he was talking about could apply to her, that she had done too many terrible things in her life, that there was no way possible God could still love her, and that He’d ever forgive her.
The pastor then just so happened to glance over at her nightstand and noticed a nicely framed picture of a beautiful young woman. Pointing towards the picture, he asked the woman, “Who’s that?”
She smiled and proudly exclaimed, “Oh, that’s my incredible daughter, Julie.”.
The pastor asked, “So tell me, Do you love Julie? Is there anything she could do that’d make you love her any less? And is there anything she could do that you couldn’t forgive?”
“Of course not,” she loudly, and almost angrily, replied. “There’s nothing on Earth that would ever make me stop loving her.”
The pastor looked at the young lady in her dying bed and said, “Please know and understand that, in much the same way, God has a picture of you - His wonderful daughter - sitting on His nightstand!”
