KNOWING THE LOVE OF GOD

 

 

Contrary to many of today’s voices, it is actually liberating to know that we are sinners in need of God’s all-embracing mercy. Why?

 

1. Let’s be honest with ourselves. We already know that we are sinners who deserve punishment (Romans 1:32). This is why we are coerced by this awareness to deny, compensate, or punish ourselves through building self-esteem, self-glorification, self-forgiveness, self-actualization, self-love, and even self-harm. Why not instead accept this fact of our apparent moral unworthiness along with the Savior’s forgiveness, love, worthiness, and even glorification!

 

2. Jesus’ love and acceptance of us, warts-and-all, translates into self-acceptance: the removal of our mask, the need to impress others, and to convince ourselves that we have worth. It is also peace-of-mind, the cessation of our struggle to prove that we are good people by suppressing or rationalizing every counter-indication and endless internal conflict.

 

3. Christ is peace and freedom. “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:31-32) However, many do not press on to experience this freedom through the assurance of His love.

 

4. We are relational beings who need to be loved by others. However, to rely upon their love for our mental stability is to put undo pressure on our loved ones and leads to co-dependency and neediness. This dependency does not give us the strength to live according to our beliefs. In contrast, Christ is unchanging and definitively defines who we are. This enables us to stand against the crowd, since we are now free from the opinions of others:

 

·       Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety. Many seek the ruler’s favor, but justice comes from the LORD. (Proverbs 29:25–26 (NLT)

 

Since I know that I am inadequate to deal with life’s challenges, every day I rejoice in reminding myself of His love, which transcends anything we can imagine. Therefore, we must:

…know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:19)