I was a young youth pastor at a United Methodist Church in New Jersey with what I believed was the best job in the whole world! I was fresh out of college and given the task of discipling students. Who could ask for more!?
One Friday evening we took our students to a concert being held locally featuring Chris Tomlin and a presentation by Louie Giglio. As we thoroughly enjoyed the music and time of worship, we all sat down to listen to Louie Giglio speak. Louie shared a now well-known presentation called Indescribable. Louie is an excellent communicator and used images and facts about our solar system to reveal the magnitude of our God. I was enraptured by his presentation. Louie then made the logical turn to share how this enormous and powerful God who spoke the cosmos into being came in human flesh to sacrifice himself for the part of His creation he loves the most. Mankind. Me!
At some point in the presentation, I knew that it was no longer Louie Giglio speaking but God Himself. In fact, I knew He was speaking right into my heart. As the presentation was coming to an end, I remember praying a prayer over and over again. I prayed, “God, make this real to me!” I kept repeating those words. I wanted to really know God and His love for me. And then it happened. It is hard to explain, but suddenly I felt His love like never before wash over me. I broke down in tears, simply overwhelmed by His love and more in love with Him than ever before. God’s outpouring that day will be a memory I never forget and has spurred me on to do whatever I can to share that love with whomever I can. My prayer is that God will make His love real to every person I meet.