I’m sorry if someone misrepresented Jesus to you.

God wants one thing from you: To be allowed to love you.

At 22, I’ve heard so many stories of what people think God is like, and I’m sure you have too.

But for a second, try to forget all those stories and read this one:

There is a story in the Bible about a father and a son.

The son came to his father one day and said,

“Father, I want my share of your money now.”

And though it broke his heart, the father gave the son everything. Then, the son went and spent it all.

When the money was gone… the son realized he had nothing. So he decided he would go home and ask to be his father’s servant!

The Bible says, “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. The father ran to him, filled with compassion. He threw his arms around his son and kissed him.”

“Father, I’ve sinned,” the son began, “I’m not worthy to be—”

But the father interrupted.

“Quick!” he said to the servants. “Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Kill the fattened calf—we’re having a feast! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

Jesus tells this story because it shows us what He is like.

Sometimes we think God is disappointed in us. We’ve rejected Him and we’ve made so many bad decisions. We think He’s probably waiting to tell us just how bad of people we are.

But that’s not what He’s like at all.

God is Holy. That means He is different than us in every-way. His love is different from the love we know about. His joy is different than the waves of happiness we experience.

And He is a good father. He isn’t like the dad you have (or maybe haven’t had). He is like the dad in this story.

No matter where you are, He is waiting with open arms for you to come to Him, and He doesn’t want you to try and “get it all together” before you do.

God created you for one thing: love. And there is one thing God wants from you: To be allowed to love you.

You are Gods kid. He wants to be your father. That is what God is like.

And I’m sorry if you’ve ever been told a different story than that.