God is love and loves us. This statement would seem to be a very easy concept to understand especially for me considering I have heard this truth as long as I can remember. For whatever reason I have always had an issue with feeling unworthy of God's love or love from others as well. This week I was reading "The Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeshel and God just showed me this truth in a way I have never understood it before. In 1 John 4:8 it says
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
Craig Groeshel goes on to explain:
"There is nothing we can do to earn God's love. We are already and always loved simply because God made us and he loves each and every one of his creations. There's nothing we can do to get God to love us more, and there is nothing we can do to cause God to love us less."
This just made me stop and start crying. I was overwhelmed with the magnitude of God loving me. When I sin it doesn't change God's opinion of me. Thinking that it does is putting God in human terms. Human love is conditional. When we sin against each other relationships are broken and have to be repaired or sometimes they are not fixable. With God is completely different than that. When I sin against God it hurts Him, but His love for me is no less. It doesn't change. This concept is totally freeing. I am not saying that I am now going to do whatever I want because "God loves me regardless". My relationship with Christ creates obedience, but when I do mess up (which being human I will) God is right there to take me back as if nothing happened. This feeling of freedom helps take away the worry I have always had of pleasing others. With God I am loved just for being me. I sang the song "Cannons" by Phil Wickham today at church and the lyrics ring true.
"You are holy great and mighty
The moon and the stars declare who You are
I'm so unworthy, but still You love me
Forever my heart will sing of how great You are"
No comments:
Post a Comment