I
don’t know about you but it has taken me awhile to fully understand how much
God loves me. Come on, the God of the universe loving ME. How is that even
possible?
He
had to know all about my mistakes and sins. There were way too many dirty
little secrets to make me lovable.
Maybe
if I could just try a little harder to look perfect and hide my failures I
could feel worthy of His love. Stuff all the yucky stuff down a little deeper
and put on my good Christian girl badge.
Our
society places a lot of value on how well we perform so it is far too easy to
translate it to our relationship with God.
We
can never perform well enough to earn salvation though. EVER!
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (ESV)
Can
we just try and park not only our brains on this truth but let our hearts just
simmer there as well. He didn’t wait for us to be perfect before He loved us.
He loved us before we ever accepted Him.
I
don’t know about you but sometimes I find it difficult to even love those who
have fully accepted and loved me. But, God IS love.
I’ll
admit my past sins as well as a feeling of abandonment from God had kept me
from wanting to look to God for love and acceptance.
So
many of our frail human relationships are based on performing and earning love.
It becomes a habit that keeps us striving to attain something we know we’re
missing.
The
only striving we should be concerned about is seeking God's face!
You will seek me and
find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)
I honestly thought doing all
the “right” things negated the fact that I didn’t really have a relationship
with God. I mean, isn’t He the big judge in the sky with a condemning gavel?
Best to just try and stay on His good side, right?
How did I miss the truth all
those years? So now there is no
condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 (NLT)
Once
we make the decision to accept Christ we belong to Him. He doesn’t condemn us.
He welcomes us with loving arms.
I will take this loving relationship with Jesus over religion any day of the week!
Now
that good Christian girl badge has been replaced with a heart for Jesus and
sharing His love with everyone I can.
If
you’re interested in learning more about how to stop striving to earn God’s
love and rest in the knowledge that He already loves you completely check out
this series.
I’m
praying with you friend!
This is so true. I think many judge God's love by the way they are treated by those around them. Try harder and just maybe life can be different. God just wants us to BE with Him...that's a learning process!
ReplyDeleteSo true Bethany. Thanks so much for stopping by. Blessings to you!
Delete"The only striving we should be concerned about is seeking God's face!" I love that Laura!
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to get caught up with trying to do all the right things. All he wants is for us to pursue him...
I'm so grateful that the God of the universe simply wants me to seek Him out. No hoops to jump through. Just follow after Him. Thanks so much for stopping by Kelly. Blessings to you!
DeleteI am so thankful that I don't have to earn God's love. It is ridiculous that He loves me, but I'm so thankful for that love. Stopping in from #TellHisStory.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing Leah! Thanks so much for stopping by. Blessings to you!
DeleteNo condemnation! What a great God we have. I'm always reminded that God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. If only more people knew this. Your blog is helping to spread this good news.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the encouragement Rachel. I really appreciate it. God bless you.
DeleteI am SO like this! I love being reminded that it's not what I do that matters but where my heart is. :) Thanks for this!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it Whitney. Thanks so much for stopping by. Blessings to you.
DeleteI read a wonderful children's novel several times as a kid. The protagonist is about 10/11. The plot is a Christian coming-of-age story. The protagonist's grandmother offers this beautiful metaphor for accepting Jesus.
ReplyDeleteWhen you enter a dark room, do you chase out all the darkness and shadows before lighting a candle? You light a candle first, which then eliminates the darkness. The same is true for accepting Christ. You can't get rid of your own darkness first. You must accept Him in your heart, and He will help you overcome your own shadows.
Your post obviously reminded me greatly of this!
Brita, do you happen to remember the name of that children's novel? It sounds like a great one to share with our youth group. Thanks so much for stopping by!
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