Periods of intense doubt have plagued me. Rebellion has been my ally and wickedness my friend. A rock-bottom self-esteem once clipped my wings and held me hostage. Financial drought has provoked my selfishness, and material wealth has ignited unbridled haughtiness. The powers of this world as delivered through media and entertainment have robbed me of emotion, reality, and time. Bitterness, envy, and my drive to compete have caused me to squander friendships and miss valuable relational opportunities. Confusion has boggled my thoughts and cluttered my mind. Apathy has shackled my feet, preventing me from walking forward, from learning, and from accomplishing. The pangs of perverse temptations have lain heavy on my chest, and the guilt of heeding those temptations has seeped deep into my heart. I have felt lonely. I have been afraid. I have been lost. I have hurt. I have failed, and I have gone astray.

Tell me I don’t need Jesus.

I need a Jesus whose love surpasses those grievous sins that taint my life. I need a Jesus whose grace will extend to the most heinous parts of my heart. I need a Jesus who cares—and not in a so-God-loved-the-world-way, but in an extravagantly intimate, frighteningly personal, and relentlessly tender way.