Macaroni and cheese

My dad hates mac and cheese.
Well, he just thinks he does. See, he's never really tried it because he says the idea of macaroni and cheese together just doesn't appeal to him. Of course at this point, you're wondering what kind of home he had, that his mother never made him mac 'n' cheese... well she is Cuban. She never knew what mac and cheese was till a few years ago, when I introduced it to her.

Anyway, where was I? oh yes, mac'n'cheese. So my dad doesn't like it, and ever since i can remember, I've always teased him about it.

But i do remember one instance when i was about 5 that his dislike for mac and cheese, and me knowing about it, actually came to a pretty cool idea.

So like i said before, i was about 5 years old, and my guess would be that this was probably sometime after i had asked Jesus into my heart. I don't know how we got on this discussion, but I guess we were talking about how much God loves us in spit of the fact that we are so sinful, and my dad said this:

"its like this, if you were covered in macaroni and cheese, i would still want to give you a hug, because i love you so much. I would rather hug you if you weren't covered in macaroni and cheese, but because I love you so much, I would hug you if were. well its kinda like that with God."

Only now, (almost 10 years later) am i beginning to fully grasp the truth of that.

See, the macaroni and cheese is like sin. We are covered in it. And God, being perfect, cannot be in the presence of sin. But he loves us so much that he couldn't bear the thought of not being with us, so what did he do? He made a way to wash the sin off. That way was the cross, and the blood of his son, Jesus. So now all we have to do is ask for forgiveness, and we're forgiven.We can freely enter into the presence of the Lord any time we want. See, before, all these sacrifices had to be made, and only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and then only once a year. But the moment Jesus died, and he said "It is finished" the curtain to the old of Holies was torn in two from top to bottom. No more separation; It wasn't necessary. No more sacrifices; Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. We can come to God and just talk anytime we want, about anything!! And isn't that amazing? Isn't that humbling? Isn't that uplifting? The the creator of the universe, the maker of the stars, the designer of the human body, who makes each fingerprint unique, Would car about US? He made each person special, with likes dislikes, interests, hopes, fears, dreams, and aspirations. He cares about us and desires an intimate relationship with us... individually.
Jesus didn't just die for the whole world.
He died for you individually.
He doesn't just want a relationship with the whole world.
He wants a relationship with you individually.
He doesn't just have the whole world in His hands.
He has your world in his hands.
He cares about you.

So next time you have a plate of mac'n' cheese, don't just thank God for you food. Thank him for his individual Love.