Why God's Love is Bigger than Our Mistakes

What We Can Learn from 5 Big Screw-Ups of the Bible

By Kelli Mahoney, About.com Guide

Have you ever made a mistake? Most Christian teens have a list of things they have done in their lives that they would just love to go back and change. Some of those things may seem unforgivable, and some Christian teens believe that God can never love them because of those actions. However, God's love is bigger and better than we can imagine. We are all imperfect. We are all sinners. We all do the wrong thing from time to time. However, God loves us anyhow. Don't believe it? Take a closer look at these five screw-ups in the Bible and how God showed his love for them despite their imperfections: Screw-Up #1: Jacob Despite the fact that Jacob basically came out of the womb wheeling and dealing, God chose him as part of the lineage of Jesus. In his youth he caused so much trouble at home his family had to send him off to live with his grandparents to keep the peace. God eventually sent an angel to get through to Jacob. He worked and worked with Jacob until he became an amazing man of faith. Remember, God never gives up. Further Reading: Genesis 25:19-34, Genesis 27:1-36, Genesis 32 Screw Up #2: David Most Christian teens know the stories of how great David was. He defeated Goliath. He was a superb King and a great military leader. He was chosen by God to replace Saul, who was not such a great king. Yet even David fell prey to his own imperfections. David, who gave us so many words of wisdom, gave into lust and had an affair with a women, then lied and had her husband killed. He faced the consequences of those actions, because God is a father and gives consequences for sin. However, God did not love David any less for his sin. Further Reading: 2 Samuel 11-12 Screw-Up #3: Peter We all know Peter was one of the Apostles, and we also know the story of his greatest screw-up. He was told by Jesus that he would deny him three times, and Peter truly believed that he would never deny that he was a follower of Christ. Yet, when it came down to it, Peter chickened out and did exactly what Jesus said he would. Did Jesus tell Peter that fact to make him feel bad? No. He told Peter to let him know that he loved him no matter what. God's love and forgiveness are so much greater than we can imagine. Further reading: Mark 14:72 Screw-Up #4: Eve Eve was the first person to ever sin. She was tempted by Satan, and she fell into it. Most Christian teens are tempted, and there are few that (at some point) don't give into sin. Again, God provided some serious consequences by making her and Adam leave the garden, but He never told them that He stopped loving them. In fact, it was God's love and forgiveness that allowed them to live and give birth to a planet full of people. It is God's strength that can help us all overcome temptation

Further Reading: Genesis 3:21-24 Screw-Up #5: Thomas Thomas doubted. That was his big mistake, and how we got the saying, "He's such a doubting Thomas." Still, Jesus did not come back and tell Thomas off for not believing. Instead he offered Thomas His hands as proof that it was really Him and that He had risen again. There are times when most Christian teens have doubts. However, like Thomas, Christian teens need to bring those doubts to God in order to get true answers. Further Reading: John 20:26-28