God is love. This is something I have known my entire life. However, it took me most of it to understand. I probably still don’t completely.
God’s nature is love. He loves us, because that is what he is like. Even though we are not perfect, he still loves us. When you become “better” he won’t love you anymore, because he already loves you 100%. He loves you 100% on good days, and 100% on bad days. He loves you 100% when you make bad choices and 100% when all is well. God’s love is unchanging, relentless, and radical.
If you have grown up in a Christian home and gone to church every Sunday your entire life God loves you. If you have never been in a church and have no parents, God loves you. If you are an atheist and think I’m crazy, God still loves you.
God’s love damages our fears, weaknesses, and doubt. He takes away pain and struggle. God’s love conquers the parts of our lives that no one knows about.
When God sees people, he does not see their problems. Your worth is not defined by your past sins or today’s struggles. He does not love them based on their weakness. He only sees his child, whom he created, that he can love 100%. There is nothing you can do to make him love you less than 100%.
What does this love require of you?
Be loved. This is extremely difficult at times. God wants to love you with a radical and unshakable love. There is absolutely nothing you can do to make God love you any less. All you have to do is BE LOVED. He chose you. He chose ME. He doesn’t need us, but chose you anyway. Open your heart to him. He loves you, because he loves you.
I’m not perfect. I have hurt people, and been hurt. I’ve lied, cheated, and blown up microwaves. I make mistakes daily. I have a ton of weaknesses. I love too hard and too much. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and you get the real me. I am passionate about what others aren’t and I am apathetic to things that I should probably care about.
However, hidden deep in all the mistakes, muck, and disgusting things there is hope.
Why? What did I do? Nothing. I did nothing. God choose me and is turning my muck into beauty. He is turning my mistakes into strength. He is turning my failure into his victory. I don’t know what I’m going to be when I grow up (it’s okay to laugh…I turn old next month) but I am realizing I have this commission on my life. I was put here to love people with crazy genuine love. I have been forgiven for my past (and even my future.) So, why would I not turn around and forgive and love other people?
God choose you too. He loves you, because he loves you, because he loves you.
Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 John 4:9-11 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Keep on keeping on
