St Barnabas Lenton Abbey

GOD TALK

We asked people in the St. Barnabas’ congregation ‘How do you know God loves you?’ and this is what they said:

"When I look at the wonderful things of nature, I feel God loves me."

"When I think of all the good things God has given me, then I feel God loves me. Of course then I have to ask myself, ‘Does that mean he doesn’t love someone who doesn’t have what I have?’ but I don’t think that is the case. I think God wants us to take responsibility for the world he has given us. There is enough to go round but we have arranged things in such a way that some people have far more than they need and some people have far less. We should spread it around more so everyone has enough."

"When I have felt his healing touch and peace in my life, then I feel he loves me. There have been times when I have felt very negative and from somewhere beyond a word has cut across my dark feelings and it felt as though it carried such a lot of meaning for me. Once I just didn’t know if I could believe in God or trust him and the words came to me ‘I am with you’, but the meaning was ‘I have been, I am and I always will be.’ Another time I felt like the world’s worst parent and the word that came to me was ‘respect’, as though God was saying ‘Don’t worry, you are doing OK, it isn’t easy.’ Both times, it was a real surprise to me, it lifted the weight off me and I felt so peaceful."

“I feel that God has guided me in life, for example, I feel that God led me to St Barnabas’. We used to go to a big church where we were just part of the crowd and after a while we felt that God wanted us to go somewhere where he could use us to make a difference. From the moment we arrived at St Barnabas’ God has used what we can offer so it feels the right place for us to be.”

“I feel that God loves me because he wants me to be a part of his family, the church. Sometimes that is not easy – every family has difficulties because we are all human, but more often it is encouraging and fun and challenging and a good place to be. Also I think God can teach me a lot through the relationships I form.”

“The fact that God wants me to grow as a person tells me that he loves me. You should see all the help and advice the Bible gives on this subject, showing you how to grow in character and build relationships. And then, of course, there is the example of Jesus who lived a holy life in very difficult circumstances.”

“I feel loved when I pick up the Bible and read it. I know some of it is hard to understand, after all it was written a long time go and in different cultures from ours, but there is a real message of love there – as people learned more about God they also found out more about how much he loved them – how much he loves us. It is good to feel loved, to feel that you matter.”

"The Bible tells us that God gives every one of us gifts or abilities so that we can use them for the common good and in my experience that is true. At St Barnabas’ everyone contributes to the whole. Some people are inclined to think that their gift / ability is less important but it isn’t, the church needs everyone to make it work well. That makes me feel loved."

"I feel loved as I have come to realise that God will deal with me as an individual. I don’t have to be some kind of Christian clone who believes what they are told to believe. I am encouraged to ask questions – though sometimes I have to accept the answers are not forthcoming – and I can be honest about my doubts, fears and anxieties. After all, the Bible is full of people who are asking just those questions and experiencing the same feelings."

“I feel that my life is different since I became a Christian; it is hard to describe but it is a though there is another dimension to be aware of, like watching colour TV rather than black and white – or perhaps HD rather than normal TV. It feels good to be part of something bigger than me, it allows me to be more than just a biological biped driven by chemical changes – it allows me to be a child of God, which is someone cherished and special. I cannot prove God to anyone but I chose to believe and trust him because it works for me – it helps me live a bigger life.”

“I feel loved when I experience multiple strange co-incidences that work to meet my needs or those of someone I love. Sometimes it happens when I pray and sometimes it happens seemingly out of the blue but I believe it is God at work in life.”

“I feel loved when my prayers are answered. I don’t always get what I ask for but my experience is that prayer does make a difference in a way I cannot explain so I will keep on asking God for things.”

“I feel loved when I am reading the Bible or listening to a speaker and suddenly something just seems like an answer to a problem I have been puzzling over, it feels like God communicating with me. It’s really encouraging.”