God loves us. He doesn’t love us because we can sing well. He doesn’t love us because we do great things. He doesn’t love us because we deserve it. He doesn’t love us because we behave ourselves. He doesn’t love us because we worship the ‘proper’ way. He doesn’t love us because we go to the right places or stay away from the wrong places. He doesn’t love us because we evangelize. He doesn’t love us because we teach Sunday school. God just loves us.
If we think we have to ‘earn’ God’s love we push His grace aside. God made us acceptable to Him through His Son’s sacrifice in our place.
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but has eternal life.” John 3:16 Whosoever believes, not performs. God has loved us from the very foundations of the world. God loves us yesterday, today and forever.
We have access to the Father through Jesus, His only begotten Son. Jesus is “the Way, The Truth, and The Life.” Those who reject Jesus reject God incarnate, reject Love, for God is Love. God won’t make you love Him. Again, why did God sacrifice His Son for us? Because He loves us.
If we start putting conditions on people’s access to God then we are trying to circumvent the grace of God by saying that our relationship to God is based on our behavior. I believe God loves us in spite of our behavior, but I also believe that as we learn to love God we learn to love each other and we learn to abide in Jesus. The first fruit of the spirit we are told is love. As we develop our relationship with Jesus we abide in love.
Accept the grace of God given by Jesus sacrifice on the cross to make us acceptable to God. The burden of trying to earn salvation will be lifted off your shoulders because Christ sacrifice is what God accepts. Then, love God. Love your neighbors. All else will fall into place.
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2 comments:
Hello Glen,
While we cannot earn Gods love, scripture does say that certain behaviors are pleasing to God and other behaviors anger and offend him. Read all Jesus's words, also Proverbs, and Pauls letters to Titus. The below texts are always convicting to me, especially verses 14 and 15. Jesus is clearly teaching that we must forgive others or else our heavenly Father will not forgive us. Also the parable of the wicked lender in Matthew 18:23-35
32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Matthew 6
14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Forgiveness is based on Love.
I have read the Bible from beginning to end numerous times. It's easy to get involved in a battle of words, but as I originally ended my blog..."Accept the grace of God given by Jesus sacrifice on the cross to make us acceptable to God. The burden of trying to earn salvation will be lifted off your shoulders because Christ sacrifice is what God accepts. Then, love God. Love your neighbors. All else will fall into place."
May the Grace of God in Christ Jesus fill your heart with the Love that is from God.
Blessings Bro,
DJ GlenMC
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