11 December 2020
God Most Certainly Does Not
1 John 4:15-16 NLT
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
Rob was teaching on Wednesday night about how God’s love isn’t like any love we are used to experiencing. Human relationships are typically based on a currency of affection; do well & feel loved, mess up and get shunned. It’s natural for us to take these traits of love and apply God’s love, but we shouldn’t because his love isn’t comparable to currency of affection at all.
God simply gives us his love, and we live in it (v.16) He doesn’t love us more when we’re having a “good” day. We love ourselves more when we’re having a good day. We are disappointed by ourselves more when we have a “bad” day. But God is loving us wholly and completely on both kinds of days. Attributing our own approval of ourselves is meaningless and unnecessary, because the Believer simply is invited to live in God’s love all the time.
I confidently believe that God loves me equally on my good days and bad days. Romans 5:8 reminds us that while we were still sinners he gave us what we did not earn or deserve. As a Believer it is contradictory to concoct the notion that when I fail & mess up he loves me less. Maybe a spouse, parent, teacher or myself would, but God most certainly does not.
Dear God,
Thank you for loving me all the time regardless if I think I have my act together today or not. You are always teaching, instructing, blessing and providing and therefore always loving me all day long. Thank you. Help me be more like you and not use love as currency but genuinely love people for who they are and because you love them. I love YOU and thank you and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Most Certainly Does Not
1 John 4:15-16 NLT
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
Rob was teaching on Wednesday night about how God’s love isn’t like any love we are used to experiencing. Human relationships are typically based on a currency of affection; do well & feel loved, mess up and get shunned. It’s natural for us to take these traits of love and apply God’s love, but we shouldn’t because his love isn’t comparable to currency of affection at all.
God simply gives us his love, and we live in it (v.16) He doesn’t love us more when we’re having a “good” day. We love ourselves more when we’re having a good day. We are disappointed by ourselves more when we have a “bad” day. But God is loving us wholly and completely on both kinds of days. Attributing our own approval of ourselves is meaningless and unnecessary, because the Believer simply is invited to live in God’s love all the time.
I confidently believe that God loves me equally on my good days and bad days. Romans 5:8 reminds us that while we were still sinners he gave us what we did not earn or deserve. As a Believer it is contradictory to concoct the notion that when I fail & mess up he loves me less. Maybe a spouse, parent, teacher or myself would, but God most certainly does not.
Dear God,
Thank you for loving me all the time regardless if I think I have my act together today or not. You are always teaching, instructing, blessing and providing and therefore always loving me all day long. Thank you. Help me be more like you and not use love as currency but genuinely love people for who they are and because you love them. I love YOU and thank you and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
RSS Feed