I just want someone to love me
Unfortunately there are many selfish and bad people in the world. There are people in this world who steal and take from others. When I look at Somalia I see how my country has been ruined by selfishness and violence. God is not happy with how people are behaving in Somalia.
Many people look for love and help in the wrong places. One woman in the Bible was looking for love by committing adultery with a man. This woman was having sex outside of her marriage and she got caught. The law in the Old Testament said that if a woman was caught in adultery she had to be stoned to death. But this is not the message that Jesus taught.
Jesus taught a new message: a message of forgiveness. Here is a small part of that story about the woman who was caught in adultery:
“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”
When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
“No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” – John 8:1-11
“Culimmadii iyo Farrisiintii waxay u keeneen naag sino lagu qabtay. Markaasay dhexda joojiyeen, oo waxay isagii ku yidhaahdeen, Macallimow, naagtan waxaa lagu qabtay sino. Hadda Muuse wuxuu sharciga nagu amray in la dhagxiyo tan oo kale, adiguse maxaad ka leedahay iyada? Laakiin goortay sii wadeen inay weyddiiyaan, wuu istaagay, oo wuxuu ku yidhi, Kii idinka mid ah oo aan dembi lahayn, isagu horta dhagax ha ku tuuro. Iyagu markay waxaas maqleen, ayay iska daba baxeen midba mid, waayeelladii ka bilaabato ilaa kii u dambeeyey. Ciisena keligiis ayuu hadhay iyo naagtii dhexda joogtay. Ciise ayaa istaagay oo ku yidhi iyadii, Naag yahay, xaggee bay joogaan? Ninna miyaanu ku xukumin? Waxay ku tidhi, Ninna, Sayidow. Ciisena wuxuu ku yidhi, Anna ku xukumi maayo. Soco, oo hadda ka dib ha dembaabin.” – Yooxanaa 8:1-11
The woman caught in adultery was looking for love in all the wrong places. She thought she could find love by committing adultery. But she only found judgment and death. The religious teachers thought they could find love by stoning the woman to death. But they found out that their own hearts were filled with violence and hate.
It was only in Jesus that the woman caught in adultery found love. The woman found love and forgiveness: she was healed and forgiven by the Lord Jesus Christ.
There was another woman in the Bible who was also looking for love: she was looking for love in healing. She was a very sick woman. She had a very bad illness for a long, long time and this was not allowing her to get married. She tried for many years to get healing from doctors, but they only took her money and her condition got worse and worse.
One day she heard that Jesus was going to be walking close to where she lived. So she went out to meet Him. She thought to herself that if she could only touch His clothes she would be healed.
Let us read a little bit about story of the woman who was healed by Jesus:
“A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.
“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.”
But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” – Luke 8:43-48
“Naag laba iyo toban sannadood dhiigbixid qabtay, oo wixii ay ku noolaan lahayd oo dhan dhakhtarro ku bixisay, oo ku bogsan kari weyday, midna xaggiisa, ayaa dhabarkiisa timid oo taabatay maradiisa darafteeda. Kolkiiba bixiddii dhiiggeeda ayaa joogsatay. Markaasaa Ciise yidhi, Yuu yahay kan i taabtay? Markay wada dafireen, Butros iyo kuwa la jiray waxay ku yidhaahdeen, Macallimow, dadkii badnaa ayaa ku jiidhaya oo ku cidhiidhinaya. Laakiin Ciise wuxuu yidhi, Qof baa i taabtay, waayo, waxaan gartay in xoog iga baxay. Naagtii goortay aragtay inaanay qarsoonaan karin ayay timid iyadoo gariiraysa, oo hortiisay isku ridday, oo u caddaysay dadkii oo dhan hortooda waxay u taabatay iyo siday markiiba u bogsatay. Kolkaasuu wuxuu iyada ku yidhi, Gabadhoy, rumaysadkaaga ayaa ku bogsiiyey ee nabad ku tag. – Luukos 8:43-48
This woman was looking for love and healing in her doctors; but they didn’t know how to heal her and only took her money.
We all want to be loved and forgiven. People who believe in God want to be loved and forgiven. People who believe in God want to forgive others and love others.
The Bible says:
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” – Romans 3:23
“Maxaa yeelay, dhammaan way wada dembaabeen oo gaadhi waayeen ammaanta Ilaah;” – Rooma 3:23
Who are we to judge and condemn people. Our job is not to judge and condemn people but to love them and forgive them of their sins.
Sometimes this can be very hard for us. Sometimes we have been hurt very badly by others and we have been injured. Many Christians have been tortured and persecuted in prisons and have been able to forgive their torturers.
There once was a lady in Communist Russia who was put into prison for her faith – her name was Liuba. She was put in a prison cell with hardly any food, not allowed to sleep very much, and was punched and kicked by the guards. But even with all this torture Liuba did not tell the guards where the other Christians were hiding.
One night the guard came to beat her again. But this time Liuba looked up at the man with a smile on her face. She felt sorry for the man who was beating her. She spoke kind words to him and told him that he could have a better life if he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The guard put down his whip and could not torture Liuba anymore.
Words of forgiveness and love are God’s ways of talking to people. We all have burdens to bear and difficult things that are happening in our lives. We all have people that we need to forgive. So let us join our hearts in prayer and forgive those who have done evil towards us.
Let us pray.
“Lord Jesus Christ you showed us the example of how we should treat those who sin against us. You were nailed to a cross and you cried out “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” You forgave those who sinned against you. You forgave those who insulted you, punched you, kicked you and injured you in many different ways. You died for those who killed you. You allowed them to kill you so that you could save them from their sins. Help us O God to forgive those who have sinned against us. Help us to pray for those who have harmed us. Help us to follow in your footsteps Lord Jesus Christ and show the love of the Father to those around us. Amen.