Do you ever feel like an outsider?

Do you feel like you can’t be yourself without people judging you, looking down on you? Have you ever wondered whether anyone understands what you’re going through? Whether there is anyone who cares enough to really get to know you? Do you worry that if people actually did get to know you they wouldn’t like you, that you’d just end up rejected and lonely?

Perhaps you know what it’s like to be mocked, shunned, excluded, or just plain ignored. Being a teenager is never easy. It seems like no matter how hard you try to fit in, there is always someone willing to put you down. The message you get from both parents and peers is that if you want to be loved you have to change. Why can’t people ever just accept you the way you are?

A lot of people act as though they’ll only accept us if we’re better, or smarter, or more popular or whatever. We feel like we have to earn the right to be loved; but then it seems like no matter how hard we try, we’re never quite good enough for some people. Do you ever just wish you could find someone . . .

. . . who will love you unconditionally?

. . . who won’t condemn you for your mistakes and failures?

. . . whom you can trust with all your hopes and fears, your tears and your triumphs?

There is one person who will accept you just the way you are.

God loves you for who you are and for who he created you to be. It doesn’t matter what you look like; it doesn’t matter what you’ve done; it doesn’t matter if you feel like no one could ever love you. God still loves you no matter what. You are God’s beloved creation! He knows everything about you—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and he still loves you! That’s why Romans 8:38-39 says: “I am convinced that neither death nor life . . . nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Nothing can stop God’s love! We don’t have to do anything to earn it; it’s unconditional, and nothing we can do can separate us from it. Of course we’re still going to make mistakes and do things that disappoint God. But even when we do, God is already at work to find us, to forgive us, and to welcome us into his family with open arms. All it takes is for us to admit that we’ve failed and come running into God’s open arms of forgiveness and love.

We all sometimes feel like no one cares, like no one could possibly love us, like we don’t fit in anywhere. But just remember that God does care, that God will forgive all your failings and accept you just the way you are; and if you will receive that forgiveness, you can be confident that you will always have a place in his family.

If you would like to start a relationship with God and know for sure that you are part of his family, talk to him right now from your heart. You might say something like this:

God, I confess that I’ve made mistakes. I know that I’ve disappointed you. Thank you for loving me anyway, and for proving your love by sending Jesus to die for me. Thank you for accepting me just the way I am, in spite of my sin. I want to turn from those things and live for you from this moment on. Please be a part of my life and help me to follow you. Amen.