From Rejected To Accepted!
From Nothing To Something!
God’s Great Love Changes Everything!
1 Peter 2:10 (MSG)
Love. Pure Love. Unconditional Love. Love without demand. Love without expectation. Love without conformity. Love without judgement. Unadulterated Love!
What is “love” anyways? How do we even define it, much less walk in it?
According to Dictionary.com, love is defined as “a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend; and lastly, sexual passion or desire.”
When we look closely at this definition, this kind of love is “based on” an implication of some sort of condition, which makes it conditional.
How do you make me feel? If I make you feel good and/or conform to your likeness, does that mean that’s what love is? That’s conditional love. That’s loving based on a set of feelings or emotions that changes like the wind. Here today, gone tomorrow! This toxic, selfish definition of love is creating nothing but destruction, division, and death (broken hearts). That’s conditional love, based on fulfilling a requirement; which is without any ability to succeed.
God’s Definition of Love!
God’s Love transcends any definition of the word. Since the Bible beautifully articulates “God is Love” in 1 John 4:8, I personally challenged the Lord to show me this truth throughout all my failures, imperfections and indiscretions. His constant outpouring of restorative Love and Redemption calms my fears and insecurities allowing me to see He loves me just the way I am.
I don’t know about you, but my love tank seemed to always be low on fuel, more like running on fumes, due to the constant expectations requiring conformity and performance in order to be loved and filled up. How can we get our love tanks filled up when that pesky fuel line leaks constantly from the draining anxiety that performance-based love requires (so exhausting), meaning you could never just be, you know, loved just the way you are?
God’s love is different than ours in that it’s unconditional and not based on warm and fuzzy feelings. It’s not based on emotions and/or expectations (thank God, PMS; just sayin!). God doesn’t love us because we make Him feel good (though we are the apple of His eye, Psalm 17:8) or because we made it through the hour without sinning (thank you, Jesus, moment by moment for me) or even because we’re momentarily loveable.
God created us just so He could love us and engage in a relationship with us. There’s no mention of performance-based love, much less today’s guilt-induced love controlled by fear, shame, abuse, sexually or otherwise. God gives Love because God is Love! God loves us just the way we are! He loves us so much, though, that He won’t leave us in our broken state. After all, For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, NIV, emphasis mine).
There are absolutely NO CONDITIONS placed on God’s Great Love for His children! And there’s nothing that would make Him love us less either. We can mess up. Amazing! We get to just be and receive. God’s Love is an invitation to believe and receive. It’s that easy!
God loved us even before we were conceived. He knew what we’d become. His Love runs so deep and wide, He designed our specific DNA with qualities that only we possess. These unique qualities are the valuable gems hidden inside God’s treasure chest that the world is searching for.
Another way God defines Love is through the “act” of “giving.” Love is an action! It’s not a feeling or condition that comes and goes. Love is a selfless act. It keeps on giving without expecting anything in return. Love gives! This love is an action requiring grace and mercy when another doesn’t deserve it (so hard to do). Love never ends (fails) (1 Corinthians 13:8).
What God gave us as an expression of His Love is the W-H-O. His name is Jesus Christ! God gave us His Son as a gift so we would never be eternally separated from Him once we made the decision to believe. Jesus is so much more than a beautiful gift-wrapped present, though we tend to discard this gift of Love when things don’t go the way we want or planned on.
If you’re having a hard time wrapping your mind around God’s Gift to mankind, think about how our Amazing Father is constantly thinking about us. He knew the devastation that loneliness would cause. God even said, It’s not good for the man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion (Genesis 2:18, MSG).
God’s love for us is so pure and unconditional, a reflection of His giving nature, He would not rest until He gave us a companion. He created a woman for man, a companion/a helper, which He pronounced good. God’s Great Love Changes Everything! He gave us gifts of community and comfort in order to keep us from isolating. We come from God and belong to God.
From nothing to something!
From rejected to accepted!
Our Father God is ALWAYS available to pour out His Love. Our study is starting with 1 John 4. I feel this is the most profound book in the Bible that taps into the Father’s heart. It shares the reason we’re loved and why we belong. No longer rejected to accepted! Our amazing Lord had these words penned to relate to us what love is and how to love others as He loves us.
Let’s end this week’s study by reading, maybe even memorizing, 1 John 4 allowing it to marinate every cell and fiber of our hearts and souls in order to flood our minds with His peace. This will awaken us to receive a fresh revelation and understanding as to why God sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
God’s Great Love Changes Everything!
Beloved friends, God never intended our relationship with Him to be guided or induced by guilt or fear and condemnation. That’s what religion has done, allowing the lies of the enemy to destroy the invitation of our Beautiful Jesus leading us to eternal life with the Father. That is why knowing what the Word of God says is imperative. Do not believe everything you hear!
There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear (1 John 4:18, MSG). Instead of fearing the future, let’s explore scripture together that opens our eyes and hearts to receive His Truths that transforms us into confident beloveds ready to embrace the change that empowers us to live from nothing to something. Living each day being fully known and loved, not running and hiding from our mistakes!
Until next time…
Tammy Ingram 