I've been writing over and over about the love of God: that "our worth is not calculated on our performance or our moral rectitude, but on the love of the One who loves us." But sometimes I don't believe it about myself. I see my sins and faults (well, some of them) and figure that if anybody knew them, they wouldn't like me; and because God knows all of them, he must not love me. But it's God who decides to love, and he loves me. So why don't I trust his love?
Jared C. Wilson, a pastor and writer, tells about a speaker he heard who visited a village in Cambodia. This village had converted wholesale to the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, and supported, passively or actively, the torture and murder committed in Cambodia then. That village now has a Christian church that is filled with joy and life. Why? Because the villagers know their countrymen shun and hate them for their Khmer Rouge background (though most of those who participated are long dead), and they believe that God is the only one who wants them. They are now full of life and joy as they love, with all their hearts, this God who loves and wants them!
Wilson quotes Dr. Sharon Hersh as saying: “To be totally known and still to be wanted is the way to liberation.” You and I, if we are afraid of being totally known and rejected for it, don't yet trust this God who loves us, knows us totally and wants us. Here's what scripture says:
Romans 5:6-10 -- Jesus died for us, while we were helpless, sinners and even God's enemies.
John 3:16-17 -- God loved the world by giving his Son to save the whole world.
Eph 1:3-8 -- God took great pleasure in making the decision, all by himself, to love us as his children, before he created anything including us.
Col. 1:13 -- God has already transferred us into the kingdom of his dear Son.
Col. 1:21-22 -- This may be our path to the liberation Dr. Hersh described: though we "were" separated from God by our evil thoughts and actions, he has [already] rescued us [all on his own!] through his Son, brought us into his presence, and sees us now as "holy and blameless" just as Jesus is. Paul says Jesus has already set me free! So any bondage I feel is from my feelings, not the truth!
Yes, God wants me, and he wants you. That's his story, and he's sticking to it. When your feelings lie to you, take yourself back to him, climb up in his lap and tell him where it hurts. Let him show you his love, as he responds to you in your prayers and meditations. Let his love set you free!
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